New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-05-27
A CITY OF DESOLATION.

lI)Ss OF IHE ssfNfS.
The people of London, Ont. overwhelmed by
the Victoria calamity deep gloom has settled upon
the city. Bells were toIng all day yesterday. and
the clergymen were worn ont with the performance
Of services for the dead. Conflicting statements are
made respecting the of the accident. Graphic
descriptions by SURVIVORS make the horrors OF the
struggle for life in some degree appreciablc.
THOUGHTLESSNESS OF PASSENGERS.
MAKING LIGHT OF IMPENDING DANGER-THR STATE
ME>T OF TIE CAPTAIN WHO SAYS HE TRIED
| TO AVERT THE CALAMITY - VANDALISM AND
| HEARTLEssNEss
LONDON, Ont, May 26.-Intcnsc gloom pre-
yails here to-day. From early hour tho bells have
been tong and funeral professions have been passing
through every street All the places Of business arc
closed and Sunday Stiffness has settled upon the city,
No one speaks or seems 10 think Of anything else than
the calamity, and IL has had para yzng effect upon
all classes Of the citizens IL has been decided 10 erect
nc mortal monument in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Atn0
time to-day could walk block without meeting
solemn procession. One OF these greatly noticed
that attending the remains Of Willie Glass and Miss
Cooper who were engaged TO be married next month,
ami who pcrshed together In the water. The hearsss
| passed along side by side. la several cases entire
families with two exceptions, have periehed Mr
James Coughns children and grandchildren numbering
five In all, lying dead In his house. He Is thus left
alone. His daughter, Jennie, married 10 a young
they were both drowned The family Of w. Halt loses
dive members also Every kind OF cofin Il in use. aud
tho dead being conveyed to the bualpaees In every
class of vehicles. The remains OF Sr. william Mcbride
carried In light wagon, which was followed by
procession mile long. Men hardly speak To each
other without breaking down The In the afflicted
households bcartrendng in the extreme. The clergy
men, who have worked nObly all through, worn out,
and cannot reach the fast enough IT, many
tie members Of different families put IN grave
he various societies hand and doing their Ut
most to facilitate the burials.
THOUGHrLEss AMUSEMENT OF TIE CROWD.
The story OF the disaster, given by competent wit.
ncsses shows that the Victoria her trip and
that on setting from Spring Bank 10 return to tho
city she had nearly all her passengers on the way down.
and In addition a large number who were waiting on
the wharf to be conveyed home. The number board
the return trip ia estimated at 700a burden out Of
all proportion the strength and capacity Of the vessel
shortly after passing Woodland Cemetery the boat began
rock and the crowd surged from side to the other
with each oscillation, rather enjoying the motion instead
Of being In any way alarmed. one of the passengers
stated that number OF youths the upper deck took
delight IN keeping up the rocking motion by moving
FROM .ide side while others shouted geefully: Let
her sink Wen only have to wade ashore" The crowd
srged from side to side and Tith each movement the
vessel took in increasing amount Of water on the lower
deck. the OF aud the delight Of many
OF those below. Few seemed 10 foresee danger. sud-
denly, when nearly opposite Cove Bridge, the
the depth OF foot rushed ia on the south side OF
the boat and the crowd surged again T. the north the
boat slowly following the movement by listing over 10
that side This time the vessel almost turned on her
edge aud the ho0r became elevated to angle not
far from the perpendicular All at once the supports or
the upper deck gave way with terrible crash on ac-
OF the unnatural position and the great weight inn
posed the rangs. LSe people tumbcd in hundreds
hcaong into the deep water and to make the situation
terrible the whole OF the upper deck and supports
crashing down upon the wretched victims, tearing
and bruising hc struggling mass OF humanity which
thus became cngIfed in a drestu watcry tomb. The
that followed beggars description Between the
wreck and the shore could he seen scores of human
beings who had become liberated from the OF
debris aud were battling with the element, and slowly,
but surely, yielding to ts power Many who were so
stunned ny the crash TO be- unconscious sank without
effort.
The Princess Louise came alon ysde in q few minutes
and short time both her decks and every available
inch 0f space was taken up with dead bodies. Tears
into tie eyes OF many man of iron nerves a. he
cazcd upon the cury yharcd boy. and faraird girls
they emerged from the river clad in their holiday attire,
and were carried aboard the Princess Louise. Many Of
the bodies terribly bruised and manged from tho
crush Of timber which down from the upper deck,
aud In many the features bore evidence OF tha
desperate struggle which must haze taken place. 4
yi-it to the scene shows the Victoria be complete
wreck being literally broken into pieces Hardly any
portion Of the vessel Is NlslDlc aIo'c "ai'I'
STATEMENT or THE CAPTAIS.
Captain Rankin who had charge o The Victoria ~ the
tim Of the disaster, makes the following statement:
We were on the last trip for the day, having made
three trips previously. We had not very heavy load
6g When we got 10 the wharf at spring Bank was
large crowd waiting, and before could s'i Ne assen'
mnipins aud climbing in every direction I ordered
them down on the top deck and The main deck and
night of them did not get or one genteinans
Mr.. Powell of London last, sad TO me loY are hos
yoing to put me OF. you g. and said fon had
better gct oa" He did 81. and is now alive Very few
pr twenty went on the After started number
OF people on the lower deck began snsinS and moving
on the boat and being unable 10 leave my post nt tue
Wheel sent boy down to the engineer 10 n,,,s,ain
bOarl and was getting more anxious, -ent ne BOY
down again. He returned with w0;n lio1 the engineer
that unrs. could sraghten the boat there was dan.
ger. was looking forward TO -andhar 9bou' 200
was my determination because Was beginning to get
an xour. Just then couple OF rowboats came along.
crowd crushed to the side Of the boat TO
them The engineer ths9 90 sem ,.S up ~o5a S5a
water was coming In Just then the crowd inai rusn
to ths ofI fbe Tr ar bow down Thea the boiler shifted
from position and went through .ir ds oSleSs Eve
boiler going over And as II Wei II carried away the
main deck aud that let down ,he Upper deck & %ita tho
deck the space below Was largely taken up with
down but the fore part to the surface, and the
boat was spread about six feet apart The result was
thn many OF the passengers imprisoned between
tLr water and top deck which down above them;
lmt they had a breathing space of foot or which
rod ayo saved many had the others pe rsisted in
climbing the floating deck, thus crushing II down
and snothering those underneath rescued one man
no had been this deck four minutes before it
went down. did all could Ia prevent the people from
rlmhtug IT, A great number had the presence of
mind swim from under the deck the side end
and in this way saved In few minutes al who
v ere thur imprisoned were drowned. then swan to
he shore aud the city with all speed for hep.
The tonnage of the boat about nineteen tons she
a as nat bottom both ends, anu