The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-09-13
TIE THAMES HORROR.


Hnso1onIars Of the Loss Of the Princees
Alice Over 600 People Find q watssy
!. crave. an ~
The steamer Princes Alice, which
was recently run into and sunk, with
such frightful results, in the river
Thames, by the steam collier Byweu
Castle, was one of the largest saloon
steamers of the London Steamboat Com
pany. The Princess Alice left Graves
end fo- London soon after 6 in the even
ing, and IA lived within sight of the
royal arsenal at Woolwich at about 8.
The Bywell Cal lie was sler approaching
on an opposite coGrse. Tho two steam
ers were near the middle of the stream,
Just off the city of London gas works, at
Beckton, almost the precise spot where
the fatal collision occurred between the
Metis and Wentworth ten years ago.
What happened is impossible to accu-
rately detail. All that is known amid the
maddening excitement is that the screw
steamer struck the Princess Alice on her
port side, near the corresponding.
A scene which has had no parallel on
the river ensued. A very few persons
clambered on the other vessel, but near
ly all rushed to the after part of the
Princess Alice, as the bow subsidized
gradually under water. The shrieks
were fearful and nothing could be done
to save life. There were dozen or more
life buoys on board, and some boats
were swinging i'll the davits, but even if
they could have been got at they would
have been of little service under the cir
cumstances.
Within five minutes the Princess Alice
keeled completely over, and went down
in the deep water. Some small boats
fastened to the scene, and the Duke of
Teck, another steamer belonging to the
same company, which was also on it's
passage up the river with party of ex-
cursionists, went to the rescue, but the
river for a hundred yards was full of
drowning people screaming in anguish
and praying for help. AS it was grow
ing dark then, not much could be done.
1t is believed that not more than $50
persons escaped, out of 800 aboard the
vessel.
The Princess Alice was long and low
river steamer, built for excursions down
the Thames, of which the middle and
poorer classes of London were very fond.
She hao saloons ON her forward and after
decks, and her passenger-carrying ca
pacity was very large. A large proper
ton of her passengers were on the upper
or saloon deck, and must have seen be-
forehand their impending doom, but
those in the stern of the steamer had no
warning until they heard the crash and
found the passengers from the forward
part of the vessel running to the after
part.
Beyond the fact that the tide was about
two hours ebb, which would enable the
Princess Alice to ease and stop sooner
than the screw steamer, which would be
borne on the tide, it is impossible to
discover any of the circumstances imme-
diately preceding the collision. Before
the boats came In collision there were
cries from one to the other to keep out
of the way, but, as usual in such cases,
the accident was probably due to mis-
understanding.
The cause of the disaster is believed
to be that both vessels were rounding a
sharp bend in the river caused by the
projection of a point of land wherein
the powder magazine of the Woolwich
Arsenal is situated. In order to turn
this point the Princess Alice had crossed
over to the right bank of the river, and
was thus out of her proper course. Her
lights were probably obscured by the
shadow of the powder magazine, and.
being much smaller and lower than the
Bywell Castle, the latter was upon her
before the danger was perceived.