The daily gazette., 1881-05-28
rAE sIcroRIA DIsAsTER.

Boara-Ths VESSEL Broken In
Two.
LoNDV4, Ont, Msy 70. The numbel
Of passehgers on board the Victoria n
the time of the disaster ID now estimated
st 100 ~ btirderI out Of all proportion ID
the, stfsnRsh and capacity df the vessel
shortly afiss passing Woodland Gene
terry, and whsn the boat began To- rock
ths rowdisuyged from one side 10 thl
other with each 0pcillation, rather. en-
joying, The motion instead of bsina
any way alarmed Que Of the passen-
gers atAted that Z pnmber OF youths on
The upper deck took delight In keeping
up the rocking motion BY moving from
side 10 side, while others sholted glee.
fully, "Let her siDk we'li only have II
wade sshore.' It b said by some,
though denied by others, that the ofaceli
In charge sndeavored To- induce M
passsngers 10 remain quiet, but then
edofts were uDavailine. The crowd
surgsd from Ede to side, and with each
movement the vessel took 10 IN Iineraas'
Ing snount Of water on the lower deck,
to the terror Of some and the delight oi
many more Of those below. Few seem.
ed TO foresee danger, Suddenly the pt .
sition became alarming. When nearly
opposite Cove bridge, the water to the
depth OF 4 ioot or more rushed In on the
south side Of The boat and the crowd
surged again to the north, the boat slow.
iy following the movement by listing
over to that side. This time the vessel
almost turned on her edge and the deck
floor became elevated 10 an angle not
far from perpendicular. All atonce the
supports Of the upper deck gave way
with Z terrible crash, on account of the
unnstural position and the great weight
imposed over the railings. The people
tunblej IN huedreds Into The deep wat
er, and to make the terror more terrible
the whole Of the upper deck and sup
ports went crashing down upon the
wretched victims, tearing aud bruising
the struggling mass and engulflng them
in dreadful watery tomb u l7%.v :
4 Many Of the bodies when they were
Afterwards taken from the water were
found to be terribly bruised and man.
gled from the crash of timber which
came down from the upper deck, and
in many cases the features bore evil
dence Of the desperste struggle which
must have taken place. A visit to the
scene shows the Victoria to be CON-
plete wreck, the lily constructed vessel
being literally broken into. pieces. 1T
is said en- good authority that her
boiler was not properly secured to the.
deck, and that it shifted with the
rocking Of the boat. Hardly any por-
sion Of the vessel is visible above
Water. -'--..
Tho feeling abroad, is one Of utter
desolation. In several cases, entire
families, With one or Two exceptions,
have persisted. Mr.. James Coughlin's
children and grandchildren, pumber-
ing i've IN all, arc lying dead in his
house. He 10 thus left alone. His
laughter Jennie was married to
foung man named Swazzse ON the day
before the accident, aud the couple
we're both drowned. The family of i
William Heal losss Eve members also. i
Every kind of coffins 10 in use, and the
lead are being conveyed to the burial
Place in every class Of vehicles. The
emains Of Mr.. VIM. Mcbride were
Iarried In Q light wagon, which was
0liowed by procession o mile long,
den can hardly speak 10 each other
Without breaking down. The SCENES
q tho afflicted households are heart
pnding in the extreme. The clergy
pen, who have worked nobly all |
hrough, are all worn, and cannot reach |
hs graves fast enough. In many
asss the members Of different families
70 put In one grave. The various TO- |
ieties are on hand, and are doing
heir utmost to facilitate the burials.
ntanse gloom prevails among the |
here to-day. From an
arly hour the bells have been tolling, /
nd funeral processions vending |
trough every street on, their way to 4
be several cemeteries. All places of |
asiness are closed, and . Sabbath
ILLNESS has ssytled upon the CITY.
'hs weather u intensely warm. Two |
lore bodies were recovered to-day,
10 one speaks, or seems to think of |
nything else than the great calamity,
nd " has hsd . paralysing effect MP
o all classes Of the citiEens. It has
sen decided to erect q memorial mon- |
mont in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
t no tlme to-day could one walk |
lock without meeting some s0lemn'l
recession. This largest procession to-
~ was that attending the romains Of |
1illis Glass snd Miss Cooper, who |
brished together in the water, Two
andrsd wall filled vehicles, attended,
ad the hsarsss pasaed along side by
do. i9.l a- # II II
IsrArEAKNT OF CAPT. RANKIN. i
Capt. Rankin, who was In command
the Victoria, makes statement, In
hlch be says: 81 believe the vessel
ould have rec0vered herself, only for
e boiler going over, and ~ II went 1t
'rriedy away the main deck, aud that
t down the upper deck with the crowd
/ 1t. There were not one hundred
,ople on the lower deck, because the
sce below was largely taken up with
Q boiler and machinery. The after
Irt Of the boat went down, but the fore
lrt came to the surface, and the boat
~ spread shout six feet apart. The
suit was tiiat many Of the passengers
ere imprisoned bot Ween the water And !
Q top deck, which came down above !.
en-, but they had . breathing space OF
foot or 20, which would have' saved
any had not the others persisted In
mting on the floating deck, thus Z
lshing II down and smothering those /
derneath. The Victoria was fat .
tom, scew shaps at both ends, aud ! :
yistered to carry 400 passengers. l do I
think we had more than $50 on t