The record-union., 1898-02-06

stead of ordering men to the duty, he
consulted his officers, and among them
Captain Drew, who was given permits
sion 20 call for volunteers to form the
expedition that was destined to send
the Caroline to destruction and prove
one Of the most thrilling incidents ever
enacted at Niagara.
When Captain Drew called for men
there We're no responses at first. The
men knew of the dangers attending
such an expedition, and asked for fur
Their information. Finally the youngest
men in camp became imbued with the
enthusiasm of prospective laurels and
of becoming heroes. Enough men vol
unteered to man seven boats, making
a party of seventy or eighty in all. The
men were marched down to boats ly
ing IN the creek, and there Captain
Drew gave explicit instructions to the
commanders of the boats, at the same
time ordering that all the men pre-
serve strict silence and cautioned them
to be obedient Captain Drew took
charge of one of the boats, Shepard
Mccormack of another, while others
in charge of boats were Christian Beer,
John Elmsley. Thomas Hactor, John
Gordon and John Battersby.
The point of starting was pretty close
to the upper rapids, and in order to
avoid the strong current the boats
pulled up stream short distance before
starting to cross the stream. 1t was
approaching midnight and young
moon aided them in their route al the
start, hut this light did not last, and
two of the boats lost their way, one
striking on Buckhorn Island, the othai
on Navy Island, from which point she
was fred at by the patriot sentries
This reception told them of their
whereabouts, and they fastened to the
Canadian shore. AS the. other five
boats reached the middle of the river
the men in them We're ordered to at
tack The Caroline as soon as the vessel
was reached, and then they pulled in
silence toward the steamer
The sentry on her deck was alert and
discovered the approach of the boats
He hailed them, but Drew's orders were
obeyed, and no answer was given. Re
ceiving no response, it is said, he fred
on the boats and then sounded an
alarm. Reports conflict here, for il is
said that there were no arms aboard
the boat beyond an old pistol rhe
people on the shore were aroused, but
had no arms to repel the invaders. The
British soldiers had little trouble in
securing control of the craft. They
towed her out in the river on the way
setting her on fire. and as they left her
to the mercy of the current the flames
shot skyward and illumined the river
from bank to bank
People on both shores stated after
ward that they We're certain they saw
human beings on her deck as she was
swept down to destruction. The fire
that was fast eating into her shone
brighter and brighter, and across the
waters came to those on shore the
ish by fate nothing could avert Up
and down the vessel rocked as it passed
down the rapids, and thousands watch
ed her course as she neared the cat
aract and made the plunge to be lost
forever in the waters OF the gorge be-
low. Never since has. such a weird
spectacle been witnessed at the falls
When the facts about the destruction
of the Caroline became Generosity
known the excitement was intense The
border assumed a warlike attitude and
it is notable fact that the United
States Government demanded redress
for the destruction Of property and
assassination of citizens of the United
States on the soil of New York State
at Schlosser.' The assassination re-
ferred to was the killing of Amos Dur
fee on the dock at the time the Caro-