Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-01-15

The fire ate its way steadily, despising
the bucket brigade that fought it. 1t
scorched the clothes, it singed the hair of
the axmen-it drove them back foot by
foot-inch by inch-they wavered, struck
a final blow in the teeth of the enemy,
and surrendered. And as they fell back
they heard prisoned voices saying:
Don't leave u.s. Don't desert u.s.
Don't, don't do itr'
And one poor fellow said:
Il am Henry Morley, striker of the
Amaranth. My mother lives in St. Louis.
Tell her a lie for a poor devils sake,
please. Say / was killed in an instant
and never knew what hurt me-though
God knows I've neither scratch nor bruise
this moment It's hard to burn up n
coop like this with the whole wide world
so near. Good bye, boys-we've all got
to come to it at last, anyway"
The BOreas stood away out OF danger,
and the ruined steamer went drifting
down the stream an island OF wreathing
and climbing flame that yomited clouds
of smoke from time to time, and glared
more fercelY and sent the luminous
tongues higher and higher after each
mission. A shrek at intervals told of a
captive that had met his doom. The
wreck lodged upon a sand-bar, and when
the Boreas turned the next point on her
upward journey it was still burning with
scarcely abated fury.
When the boys came down into the
main saloon of the Boreas, they saw
pitiful sight, and heard world of pitiful
sounds. Eleven poor creatures lay dead,
and forty more lay moaning, or pleading
or screaming, while score of Good
Samaritans moved among them doing
what they could TO relieve their suffer
ings; bathing their skinless faces and
bodies with linseed-oil and lime-water,
nd covering the places with bullying
masses of raw cotton that gave to every
face and form dreadful and inhuman
| aspect.
A little wee French midshipman, of four
teen lay fearfully injured, butnever uttered
a sound till physician of Memphis was
about to dress his hurts.
Can I get well? You need not be
afraid to tell me-"
"No-I-I am afraid you cannot"
'Then do not waste your time with me
help those that can get well"
But"
"Help those that can get well! It is
| not for me to be girl. | carry the blood
of eleven generations of soldiers in my
| veins!"
The physician-himselfa man who had
| seen service in the navy in his time
| touched his hat to this little hero and
passed on.
| The head engineer of the Aramanth, a
grand specimen of physical manhood,
struggled to his feet a CHASTITY spectacle,
and strobe toward his brother, the second
| engineer, who was unhurt. He said:
"You were on watch. You were boss.
| You would not listen to me when | beg
ged you to reduce your steam. Take that
| take it to my wife, and tell her it comes
| from me by the hand of my murderer
! Take it!--and take my curse with it to
| blister your heart a hundred years--and
may you live SO long!"
And he tore ring from his finger,
stripping flesh and skin with it, threw it
down and fell dead!
But these things must not be dwelt up
on. The Boreas landed her dreadful car
| go at the next large town and delivered it
| over to a multitude of eager hands and
warm Southern hearts-a cargo amount
| ing by this time to thirty-nine wounded
persons and twenty-five dead bodies.
| And with these she delivered list of
ninety-six persons that had drowned or
otherwise persisted at the time of the dis
aster.
A jury of inquest was impaneled, and
after due deliberation and inquiry, they
returned the inevitable American verdict,
| which has been so familiar to our ears all
the days of our lives-'Nobody to
| blame"
I'm note the authors vouch for the
entire authenticity of the above account.