The New York herald., 1878-09-15
NARRATIVES OF THE SURVIVORS.
Whole Families Lost and Sorrow
Brought to Many Homes.
THE DAY AFTER THE ACCIDENT.

bourne, ON Saturday last, whom an excursion train
loaded with people returning from Ramsgate and
Margato was wrecked SIX person killed aud over
sixty wounded But catastrophe of infinitely greater
magnitude the SINKING OF the excursion steamer
Princess Alice on tho Thames on Tuesday
night; six hundred persons lost THAR lives and
hundreds of families in the East bemsan.
ing the loss OF relatives and rienas The story o: the
disaster short IL is TERRIBLE and has been told
by the cable Tho Princess Alice. large excursion
boat belonging to tho London Steamboat Company,
left London early on Tuesday morning for Gravssend
and Shecrness filled with excursonists Tor the day,
for the steamboat advertised to return London
Bridge about eight o'clock tho same evening. All
went we'll during the day. The people On board we're
merry and good-natured They were of oil classes,
mostly city clerks tradssmen and their families, aud
many women with sucking children and nurses and
govsrness in charge OF children, girls and boys
THE CATASTROPHE
About eight O'Clock in the evening" lust as darkness
had set IN upon the river, tho Princess Alice was
steaming up the fine reach. below North Woolwich,
when she was mot by another steamer passng down
the river route to the The latter vessel was
the Bywell Castle, large handsome collier Of
nearly thousand Tons burden, and passing dow
under full steam and with the strongy ebbing ude.
Both were IN mid-stream. A bend In the river
had prevented ono from seelng the other un.
I'll they were within two hundred yards
Of each other rne collier kept straight on, swervng
neither 10 the right TO the left, is custom
OF these grimy monsters. They are accustomed TO
the smaller craft get OF sher way, and
ANXIOUS avoid harm IRON collision that they take
the greatest pains to give them q wide berth. Tho
collier was In charge OF Thames pilot named Dicks;
the Princess Alice was IN command OF her captain,
Grinsesd, who has nsvigated the Thames for twenty
years. fhe captain OF The Princess Alice saw the
great ship bearing down upon him; he shouted IN
vain he perhaps lost bis head for moment; he put
up The helm OF his boat, thinking to run into The
shore order 10 escape. But TOO late; the Princess
Alice was struck ON her port side, just bshind tho
paddle in fact, the PROV Of the collier cut the shell
OF the excursion boat almost IN two. The collier
drew back The blow she had deah; the water
rushed the saloon boat seemed to collapse In The
middle; each end rose up in the and lhs passen.
and 10 TWO minutes the ra boat ''sank like stonsD
aud 500 persons were LETT struggling IN the water
Another tive minutes ana all was silence
TALES OF WOE.
The descriptions OF Inc terrible at the time
Of the passengers fr,ghtul; their screams were
heard Two miles away. There were only dozen ne
davits but tho boat sank too quickly Tor any aid
CHARLES Handley, the captain OF the barge Chance.
scones:-
About quarter to eight was with my barge at
Seek.on ~nsn beard atoad,u. scvssm.ng inc blew
down the river saw that . collision had occurreA.
There was regular tearing crash crash Instantly took
Yowed TO tie spot Ours was about the hrst
beat there 1 shall never forget the sight saw.
The whole river seemed alrve With heads and
hair. II looked IKE river full Of cocoanuts Some
people were holding 70 FORMS others TO chairs and
pieces Of wood stout gentleman came close 70 me,
and grabbed at him at once, but he was heavy
that no nearly pulled Us over He was Ike mad
man. and could not be quiet l ordered him to SIT
down In the boat but he would not aud my mate and
/ had TO push him down. Then anoIhsr gentleman
cried out '..Tweaty pounds to save my lnan The
promise OF money did not influence me, but ssIzed
mold OF him, but he was DO ncavy. We tugged aud
tusged away. ana At last we got him in, and
Nr A RA dn mn hAu
by rs. ana their bsseecning looks were some
tning dreadful We saved them, thank Goo.
Miss Towse, the daughter OF the superintendent OF
the steamboat company, came close by, ana she
seemed to know me. seized ner and drew her In,
800. Our boat vas now pretty iull aud we founa
could not take in any more So loud were tho
ourselves speak. rho rush Of steam IRE, TOO.
something terrible. In q lew minutes ali was
over and could not soc the funnel OF the Princess
Alice anything else The river ap psared when We
got there covered with ladics' hair. The ladies
noaied. while the gentlemen who could net swim
sank at once.
THE TERRIBLE WATER
Strange that SO isw persons were saved taking iuto
place within haug distance or the snors SO
near 10 North Wooiwich. and the large col
crew Of the collier d,a succeed by Throwing out
ropes, In saving some forty lives; but
sstisfactory extent barts and . lew small boats
succeeded In saving few more, but, altogeiher
scaresly a hundred persons were rescued. visit
chance oi lie was 10 those not saved BY the fow
boats. The accident occurred st point midway be-
zine, a broad. drsary stretch 81 river, a mile
aud quarter ieas. from shore 70
s~mm. ssSrs In oayngn. 4ossn the abo,.s sa, s0:a
night IN the darkness with scattered lights bes
cons, the best swimmer might never succeed 10
reaching land. he might swim toward the gus works
only 10 find himself there among the smooth iron
pillars of a jetiv. with neiInsr rope nor chain per
boat to grasp. He would SINK In utter despair Only
few swimmers reached shore; even the best hardly
got without the doomed circle, where 100 hasds Of
the drowning clutched MIN and dragged him below.
Two brothers succeeded In escaping tue horrd circle
by diving. Oce bravo fellow jumped into the river,
~wsy pu, "s prec,oUs snScsn xas or h;s
back and tnougb he dived search Tor again,
did not find her. Tue "incidents" OF tho disaster
would Nil psge
went down ycsie rday TO the oi the disaster,
and the sights anu SOUNDS tho Thames snd AZ
Wooiwicn were Of a most heartrcnding On aracter.
Dead bodies were being recovered by the boatmon
and taken to various places Ia Woowich
and other points. Tho scenes at the Tovn Hail,
where relatives to ideE tiiy the dead, are OF
course terrible IN sad and even repugDant details.
"a compact, soething tumutuous, noisy crowd,
crushing and pushing each other In every direction,
bustiing the women and cursins the policemen, IN.
tent upon one thing oniy-to get In, regardless Of
the tact that only Two or three at q time eau on.
ter and that they themselves are dong their best
~ prevent the rapid ext and entry OF those who
desire admission for the purpose Of viewing the
bodies lying inside--an unreasonine and unreason.
aoie crowd, over which tho haf.uozeD policemen
present nave not the slightest control. Among ths
multitude were agouized relatives and anxious
friends full Of xpcctsion and dread appr..
henson, to whom the suspense tney were now al
lentiy enduring worse than the full reality aud
certain Knowledge OF the oereavcment they have 90
shocwngly sustained. Mingiug with these we're mon,
noisy ana importunate, who had no reason 10 bc
present, and who only desire to gam admission sim
ply to crafty a morbid appetite TO see the horrid
sight witch lew OF brck wall hides from their
eyes" Yes, u was the smell OF blood that drew a
hdeousvisaged crowd togother from all tho low dens
along tho Thames Then the police lost temper aud
behaved ouraeeously, striking indisorminatsiy with
hss and clubs iDjurDg some who were sndeavofing
20 gain access TO the Town Hall order TO search for
lest fricnoa The town full OF 'excursion,sts,"
too Drought down IN immense numbers by the steum-
boats who were rsapipg harvest OF gold from that
Of DEATH
IN WATER.
At high water when visited the scene OF the dis
nter. not slgn OF the boat could be seen, save
slight ripple In the river oatrnen take visitors Ut
so much head 10 the point where the vessel lies,
twenty fcet deep low and thirty feet at high water