The New York Herald Newspaper, August 10, 1873, Page 3

TK POTOMAC SLAUGHTER. Details of the Wawaset Calamity. ‘A Passenger’s First Alarm--- ‘Your Ship’s on Fire.” + CONSTERNATION AND DEATH. Passengers, Wild with Excitement, Leap Overboard. ‘Women and Children Drowned and Burned to Death. OFFICIAL STATEMENTS. Captain Wood’s Endeavors to Save Life. Only Two Life Preservers Used and No Lifeboats. THE PILOT’S HEROISM. The Blazing Steamer as Seen by the Clerk and Engineers. Fearful Struggles for Life in the Water. Harrowing Scenes Around the Sinking Craft. EXCITEMENT IN WASHINGTON. Names ot the Rescued Passengers. The Dead Already Arriving at the Capital. WASHINGTON, August 9, 1978, At a Jate hour last night a despatch was received in this city from Fredericksburg, Virginia, briefly announcing the total loss by burning of the passen- ger steamer Wawaset, and the probable loss of fifty lives, The information was known to but few, and the lateness of the hour prevented further commu- nication with the scene of the disaster by boat, nor ‘was it possible to reopen the telegraph office from which the news was received. The Wawaset was 129 feet long, 26 feet wide, 9 feet depth of hold, and ‘Was 326 90-100 tons, Custom House measurement. She was fitted up to suit both freight and passen- gers. She was built in 1863, at Wilming- ton, Delaware, for the purpose of running fruit from Duck Creek and Smyrna to Philadelphia, but was chartered by the government and brought to this river to be used as a transport for troops. The Potomac Ferry Company purchased her from the government, and she had been used on the line between this city and Cone River for freight and passengers. Last Spring she was completely over- hanled on the ways at Baltimore, a saloon cabin puton her upper deck aft, newly furnished and newly upholstered and painted throughout, mak- ing her one of the most convenient as well as staunch boats on the river. THE STEAMER’S LAST TRIP. She left here yesterday morning, under charge of Captain John R. Woods, irom her wharf at the foot of Seventh street, having on board a targe quantity of freight and 117 registered pas- sengers, besides a number of children, who, being under ten years, were not counted as paying passengers. The trip from Washington to Alexandria was made in less than half an hour. At this point several adult passengers were taken on, and the boat steamed down the river, tend- ing to visit all her usual stopping places. The day was sultry, but a good breeze made the sailing agreeable. COLORED WOMEN GOING TO CAMP MEETING. Among the female passengers were a number of colored women who were en route for Cur- timan, in Westmoreland county, where a camp meeting was being held. With the religious fervor 80 peculiar to the African race, many hymns were sung, and the best o/ feeling prevailed among both whites and blacks. The littie children played together, prattied and watched the billowy waters as the boat steamed on. Ifany of the number on board had seriously thought of the uncertainty of life on steamboats all fear would naturally have been banished by the thought that such a thing asa Steamboat disaster on the Potomac was never known. Only a few weeks ago this same boat was chartered for the Poor Children’s Excursion, and was freighted with a thousand souls. She was well equipped—or said to be—and in accordance with the requirements oflaw had an abundant life saving apparatus. Her officers were experienced men, and, so far as human prudence could suggest, there was naught the Wawaset lacked to give wecurity to life and property, IT WAS TOWARD NOON when the Wawaset turned her bow for Chatterton’s landing, on the Vir- ginia shore of the Potomac, a place in Prince George county. There being no wharfat the place, passengers are landed in a small boat, the steamer slacking speed until the parties are safely on board. At this point the Potomac is very wide, and as the vessel changed her course amid Stream for land, quite a party of white ladies and children were occupied in preparations for leaving the steamer and awaiting the transfer to the smaller boat. The passengers were dividea between fore and alt; the decks of the steamer were not very high and tne male passengers found it more comfortable to remain about the bow, while the Stern cabins were almost exclusively occupied by the women and childen, At this time, Mr OR OD. Beckley, a special agent of the Post OMice Department, was in the barroom getting a drink of water, wnen the engineer came, and some conversation passed between them. Mr. Beckley was nearest the door, and looking in the Girection of the engineers’ room said he believed he saw smoke. The kitchen being on the other side of the gangway, no notice was first taken of the remark. When the smoxe became stronger, With the unmistakable smell of burning wood, as thongh confined and impatient for @ vent, Mr. Beckley quickly said, “YOUR VESSEL IS ON FIRE.’ The engineer rushed to his station only to fina the words just spoken too true. One of the deck bands passing at the time gave the alarm. It was Communicated to the Captain, who was in the wheel honse, and the order to put on the water Was promptly given. The hose was attached, but who could reach the donkey engine, which alone could work the pumps ? Dense volumes of black smoke poured upward through the walking beam amidship, penetrating the ladies’ cabin and form- ing @n impassable gulf between the stern and stem. Flame succeeuga ayoke, uptil the centre of the ves- |. evitanle. NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, 1873—TRIPLE SHEET. se! was wrapt in fire. The Captain, to whom all would naturally turn for counsel, was vewildered. The thought of the helpless passengers at one end, the impossibility of lowering the boats, the desper- ate sitaation—all were understood in an instant. The tiller rope was wet with buckets of water, and the boat, under full head of steam, STEERED FOR SHORE. By this time the fire was master of the vessel. Stil the vessel moved on, until there was heard crash and thump, indicating that the machinery had broken down and the only progress shore- ward would come from the momentum already gained. At the sound of the breaking of the en- gine the men at the bow began throwing over peach crates, furniture boxes, barrels, boards—in a word, everything that would float—and plunging, pell mell, into the shallow water, for at the bow it was not more than six feet deep, Those who did not lose presence of mind soon found themselves in water suMciently low to wade, and the beach was easily reached, WOMEN AND CHILDREN LEAPING INTO DEEP WATER. While the male portion of the passengers were escaping death, the women and children at the other end were forced to leap into deep water or be burned to death, What a fearful spectacle was presented? Within a hundred yards was land. No angry wave or wilful wind had driven them to this fate, The broad expanse of the Potomac Was as smooth as a mirror. The screams of the children, the wail of the mother as she saw death inevitable, wrung the hearts of those who were helpless to save, and saw the little ones perish, the waters closing over them seemingly without a ripple. Those who have survived were more panic stricken after the danger to them had passed than during the terrible scene. The total destruction of the vessel was in- The Captain and officers remained on board till the last, and only when driven by the flames did they abandon the boat. Passengers, too, who had coolness on thelr side, continued to throw into the water everything they could lay their hands on that would float. THE LIFEBOAT DISAB) ‘The lifeboat, which Wiehe ths Tl of the Wa- waset, is &6on ag the fire gained headway, was crowded by excited men, women and children. It Was impossible for the officers of the vessel to reach if. and lower the same to the water's edge. It finally broke under the weight of those in it, and bles i) the stern and was swamped. Nearly all who had taken refuge in her were lost. THE SECOND BOAT OF LITTLE USE, There was asecond boat almost as large as the lifeboat, which was thrown overboard by the pas- sengers, while the steamer was under headway, and only a few were able toreach jt. Some of the passengers jumped irom the steamer into it, while others who were in the water were drawn in by those already within it, In an attempt to jamp into it one passenger was struck by the whecl and sustained slight injuries. ONLY TWO LIFE PRESERVERS USED, The excitement which existed can be judged from the fact that the boat had nearly five hundred life preservers on board, and only two were used, one placed py Mr. Emerson upon a small child—his daugh- ter—and one which he used himself. They were both saved. Mr. Emerson felt so grateful for his preservation by its means that he took it with him to Alexandria, and sald to several friends who congratulated him upon his lucky es- cape that he would keep it as long as he hved. The preservers were distributed about the boat, in the staterooms and cabins, and alarge number stored in a convenient place in the gangway. But what are life preservers to inexperienced women and children, with strong smoke and flery tongues of flame threatening death by suffocation? There ‘were no cool-headed men to which they could look for advice, and panic stricken as they were, though every life preserver had been within grasp, it is doubtfal whether they would have been used. HOW MANY WERE BURNED TO DEATH ? Those who succeeded in reaching the shore saw the final destruction of the boat, and no one knows how Many either overcome by fright or stifled by the smoke perished in the flames. The vessel was a total loss. She was insured for $25,000, distrib- uted as follows:— Insurance Company of North America, Philadel- phia, $2,500. Phoenix, of Hartford, $5,000. Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company, of Richmond, $2,500, tna, of Hartford, $5,000. Atlantic, of New York, $5,000, Potomac, of Georgetown, $5,000. THE LIST OF THE OFFICERS of the boat is as follows:—John R. Wood, Captd@in; Robert Nasb, Engineer; J. W. Wheeler, Clerk; Robert Gravett, Mate; John W. Boswell, Pilot, and Samuel Nash, Second Engineer. There were also four deck hands, two firemen, one steward, one cook and the chambermaid. One of the deck hands and the chambermaid of the number men- tioned were lost, The passenger list as well as the manifest of the vessel was destreyed, the clerk being unable to save it on account of the flerce- ness of the flames when he reached his office. After the unfortunate parties had landed Captain Wood took the names of all the saved and fur- nished your correspondent with the following Uist:— WHITE WOMEN SAVED, Mrs. Ogleton Taylor, Alexandria. Laura Taylor and sister. Miss Kate M. McPherson, Charles county, Va. Miss Price—child. WHITE MALE PASSENGERS SAVED, J. B. North. J. H. Wise. Edwin Nash. Robert Olive. 0. Eddy. A. Melvin, B, bartlett. Spencer N. Bennerman. A. J. McGuiggan. Thomas Massey. Thomas Owen. John Reid. Simon Emeseville. R, A. Coates. COLORED WOMBN SAVED, Susan A. Parker. Mary Biack well. Eliza Matthews. Lavinia Burnham and child, Julia Christopher. Mary Cougshell. Matilda Dunlap. Datfrey Winters. Mary Norman. Julia Shonkland. Clara Jackson. Nancy Baylor. Sarah Payne. Maria Ball. COLORED MALE PASSENGERS SAVED. R. D. Beckley. John Tape. William Saunders. — McAshton. James Brooks. Henry Street. George Parker. Samuel Blackwell. Charles Shampland, John Hughes. Jonn Scott. Thomas Croxton. Lewis Scott, Robert W. Gaston, Henry Tayler. William Herring. Moses Gordon. Edward Hawkins. John Christopher Topler. M, Walker, A, Stroud. James H. Wood, boy. T. Reib. H. Blackwell. William Johnson. William Brooks, burned, Lewis Woody. Joseph Newman, Lindsey Johnson, SEARCHING POR THE DEAD—THOSB FOUND. While tuis was being done @ number of small boats from different points on the river, attracted by the fire, came to Chatterton’s Landing, and commenced searching for the dead bodies, Among those found and brought to the city om the tug» boat National were :— Mrs. Cora Waters, ‘Miss Anna Wells, Mrs. Muse, Miss Kelley. Mrs. Sandy, of Currioman, Va. The others were residents of this city. OTHER VICTIMS. Miss Virginia Marbury was also lost, She is & daughter of Captain Leonard Marbury, of Glymont, Md., and was also a relative of the Georgetown Marburys, She held a clerkship in the Treasury Department, and is described as a young lady of many attractions and accomplishments, Among the victims also was Mr. George Cook, grocer, Seventh street, southwest, between D and E. He had two little children with him, and while he was struggling in the water, making a fight tor Ife, he was seen holding his youngest child to the surface, crying, “Oh, my God, save my baby!” It ‘was supposed that the oldest child had ‘already perished. There was a report that Mr. Cook was subsequently seen alive on the shore, but there has been nothing received to confirm the Tumor, and it is probable that he and his two chil- dren all perished. A WHOLE FAMILY DROWNED. The crushing blow that wiped nearly a whole family out of existence in the case of Officer Reed, of the Metropolitan police, appears to have been even more sweeping in ita effects than first re- ported. Mr. Reed not only loses his wife, three chil- dren and a niece, Bettie Reed, but also an aunt, Miss Julia Kelley, whose name appears elsewhere among the victims. The Mrs. Reed who perished on the Wawaset was his second wife, to whom he had been married only about a year, and who at the time of her death ne onfinement, rn ORIG fms” seems to be a question of doubt. The Captain thinks it originated in the forward end of the bow; but hia opinion conflicta with the statement of othe @ thinks sparks from the smoke box were blown into the hold, and, coming in contact with the dry wood, easily ignited into flames, and the boat being almost as dry as tinder was soon ignited. Taking all the statements published it is generally conceded the fire broke out in the hold amidships and spread with alarming rapidity. From the time of the discovery of the fire the boat Was burned to the main deck and water's edge within less than twenty minutes. It may seem strange that so many women and children were upon the Wawaset, ag she was Dot runing as an eXcursien boat and was making her regular trip to Cone River and intermediate landings, butit seems that quite a number of families were seeking country resorts for the heated and sickly term during the present month. There were, therefore, comparatively few male passengers on board, and the females, without ex- Perience to guide them and not knowing what to do in the emergency, were capable of little more than frantic but useless efforts to save the lives of their children, _ THE SCENE OF THE CALAMITY, Chatterton Landing, the scene of this dire calamity, 18 an obscure place in itself, but a great convenience for shipping freight to the Virginia Jarmers living in that locality. It is but a few miles from Fredericksburg, yet this will serve to show how slow the news was in reaching Washington. Mr. Beckley, after Consultation with the Captain, said he would go to Fredericksburg and telegraph the fact 01 the losa of the Wawaset, He took with him memoranda, fur- nisned by the Captain, to show that the announce- ment was not over exaggerated. His despatch fell into the hands of w truly loyal operator, who discounts 900 per cent everything a colored man says. The word passed over the wires that ‘a nigger who had escaped from the Wawaset says she has been burned and ferty lives lost.” This information, received here about ten o'clock, was not generally credited, but a despatch came shortly after confirming the report. OFF FOR CHATTERTON’S LANDING, Anxiety to reach the scene of reported disaster ‘Was very great. The manner in which the tele- graphic information came left no hope of getting anything direct. The next best thing was to pro- ceed to Quantico, fifteen miles above Chatterton’s Landing, and, if possible, catch the Potomac steamer which stops there at midnight on her way up to Washington. The Fredericksburg train left at twenty minutes past eleven o’clock last night, and your correspondent was the only one on the train. Speeding through a fertile part of the Old Dominion at the rate of thirty miles an hour landed me safely in the uninhabited locality of Quantico. Peeping througn a window in the station house 1 could see an operator pegging away at his key, @ double-barrelled shotgun at his right anda towel with which to remove perspiration on his left. Iinqutred if he had heard the report of the loss of the Wawaset. Such a report, he said, had been repeated along the line, but he did not himself believe it to be true, “Can you call Fredericksburg?” I asked. The call was sent, but no reponse. “There is no Way then of getting at the truth or falsity of the report with telegraphic communication at hand in Washington?” “No, sir. Why, stranger, itis one o’clock in the morning. Whyden’t you wait until daylight and then go down by boat?’? “To-morrow,” I said, “in newspaper business never comes. I must have the news to-night.” After consultation he lighted a lantern and guidea me 4 distance down the railroad to QUANTICO WHARF. It was a desolate place to seek news, A man half asleep was guarding a truck, ana when spoken to aroused with fright and wanted to know the meaning of this unexpected visit. He was waiting ‘for the Georgeanna to arrive and ship her freight. She was then more than two hours overdue. He had heard about the Wawaset, but did not credit the rumor. The boat had passed that landing at about eleven all right, and if she had met with disaster it was very strange the news had not reached Quantico. Another telegraph operator was aroused and Washington was called. Communication was established at last, but it ‘was very slow work. It was evident that, in the order of nature, that oMce had never been equipped for newspaper business, and it was too late, at two o’clock in the merning, forty miles from civilization, to attempt to reconstruct it. While a partial effort was made, however, THE FREDERICKSBURG TRAIN CAME ALONG, with Mr. Beckley, who had first given the news, and from him was learned the main tacts, already given. It being important that the train should reach Washington as soon as possible, the engine must necessarily get out of order, so that when we reached here it was broad daylight, THE “DOC” REACHES THE CAPITAL BY WATER. But Mr. Peter McKenoy, the barkeeper of the Wawaset, who was rescued when on the point of drowning, had taken another way to reach Wash- ington. A sailboat took him out into the middie of the Potomac, where he signalled the steamer Ex- press, and arrived in Washington at midnight. McKenny said he was in the bar, and about twenty- five minutes past eleven beard the cry of “Fire!” Rushed up on deck and then to the hurricane deck, and saw smoke and flames leaping from the engine room, near the walking beam. The womem were running back towards the stern, screaming aud shouting; but most of the passengers were cool, a8 also were the deck hands. At this time the hose had been put in service, and they did the best they could, and the fire extinguisher was also turned on, is BUT THE FLAMES WERE TOO FAST, and buckets were then taken, some of the passen- gers working as well as the crew. The boat's Was headed to the shore as soon as the alarm was sounded, and she was making her way rapidly in, the flames, in the meantime, enveleping the whole after part of the vessel. She ran in to within one handred and fifty yards of it and many pas- sengers jumped over from the bow and waded ashore. But by this time numbers had jumped overboard from towards the stern of tne boat, where the water was deeper—about nine feet— and were drowned, { can vouch that the captain and crew, a8 well as the pas Sengers, were perfectly sober, and I have never seen men work better, But the fre spread very rapidly. Captain Wood and most of the crew remained on board until it waa fmpossible for them to remain longer. I got to the shore after twelve o’clock, and when I jumped overboard the steam struck me and knocked me senseless, but a boat picked me up and Lrecovered. When we reached shore some of the passengers had been taken off by the neighbors, who had been attracted by the smoke from the burning boat, and we were all treated kindly , the people offering every asaist- ance in their power, CAPTAIN WOOD'S STATEMENT. This morning the Georgiana Arrived, bringing the captain and other officers, from whom the {ol- lowing was obtained :— ‘The fire broke out at twonty-fve minutes past twelve o'clock, between Thorn’s Gut and Chatter- ton. Iwas in the pilot house at the time. A fire man came in and told me that the boat was on fire below. I immediately came out, and found the flames reached quite to the turricane deck, along the walking beam. I then saw that ic was impos- sible to get to the lifeboats, which were on after quarters on each, to lower them, although they were full of passengers. I threw water on the wheel ropes, 80 us to keep her steerage all right, and passed buckets of water from below to the hurricane deck for the purpose, as I became satisiied there was no hope of saving the vessel, and that the only chance to save the pas- sengers was to keep her going, she heading for the beach, The boat reached the beach in about twelve or thirteen minutes after the alarm was given. Ip less than five minutes after the alarm was given the fire wasin the rear of the pilot house. THE ENGINE REFUSED TO WORK about a half a minute before she struck the shore, and the boat ran a length before she came to a dead stop and grounded in less than five fect of water from the bow. I remained on the hurricane deck until the Hames had burned the window curtain in My room, and the saloon windows, below, were shooting forth flery darts, I then came down on the forward deck and dia what I could to save the passengers, : ‘ A or#at MANY WERE APRAID TO JUMP OVERBOARD. I assured them they were safe in jumping, as the water from the bow was not over their heads, ana upon this assurance one or two made a leap, and many others, seeing that the water was shallow, followed their example and were saved. It was with diMeculty I checked them jumping over in large bodies and drowning eack other during the excitement. I am satisfied that nearly all lives lost. were lost in the stern of the boat, the flames driving that way and forcin; ngers to JUMP OR Ps Just before Ileft the boat I heard a lady—Mrs. Taylor, of Alexandria—crying for help from the rear of the vessel. I saw her hanging to the middle chains, and senta boat to her rescue and saved her- Iam satisfled the excitement caused undue loss of life, and that every passenger was saved who jumped overboard forward, A great many lives were lost on the lifeboats by being over- crowded. Before the boat stopped one of them ‘was crowded with colored passengers, and when she was cut loose the stern bulged out and swamped the craft. About a dozen small children were aboard, and I think five or six were lost. THE FIRE CAUGHT IN THE HOLD, but it is impossible to tell just where. The boat was very dry, almost like tinder, and the flames, when they struck the oiled machinery, spread like torch. The cargo was of a miscellaneous nature, and contained nothing infammable except two barrele of whiskey, which were in the forward hold and were among the last things burned. It was entirely lost. The passenger list and manifest Of the vessel was lost, it being impossible for the clerk to reach the office to obtain it. Atthe time of the accident but few of the passengers were asleep and none in the state rooms, Some were lying down on sofas. THE CLERK'S SPATEMENT. Mr. J. W. Wheeler, the clerk, states that after leaving Alexandria they took aboard a white man at Liverpool Point, named Robert Olive, bound for Longwood Wharf, and this man, he thinks, was lost. At Glymont they teok on board Kate McPherson and Miss Jenny Marbury. The latter was lost and the former saved. One colored man got on at Evansport and was lost. Those landed were as follows:—One at Glymont, two or three at Sandy Point, of whom he thinks one was a colored woman, and two children; four white ladies and two or three children, and one or two white men, and six colored men and women. Also, @ white boy named Braxton, at Smith’s Point. He also states that there were some adults on board not registered, and that ‘no children younger than nine or ten years were on the regis- ter list, These are not charged with fare, and he thinks there were about twelve of them. He thinks there must have been above thirty lives lost, and is afraid there are more. He says that at about one o'clock, after all had got ashore that could, an attempt was made to collect the passengers to- gether to get a correot list of the saved, but many were wandering about the shore and some had started off through the country, so that it ts not possible to arrive at the correct number lost at present, a8 it is believed that many reported lost are among those named. Mr. Wheeler states that he was among the last to leave the boat. ROBERT NASH, THE ENGINEER. Robert Nash, the engineer of the boat, says the first intimation he had of the fire was. from the fireman. He said he had seen gmoke, but thought it came from the cook room. He subsequently dis- covered the fire and reported it; tried to get in the hold to discover the place burning, but the smoke was 80 thick he could not. He then turned in a fire extinguisher; went on the forward deck and used buckets of water. After he saw he was of no farther service jumped overboard, and clung to @ peach box until rescued by his son. Many were saved by clinging to the peach boxes which were thrown overboard. The excitement was intense, Thinks the fire originated in the back smokebox from some un- known cause. The fireman says he is certain it originated in the back smokebox. When in the water saw & man and a amall child struggling; tried to save the child by placing it on the peach- box, but by some means both got away from me, and it was the last he saw of them, and presumes both were drowned. The boate could not be used, because the fire broke out amidships and the flames prevented us from reaching them. One of the boats was 80 crowded before being cut away that she broke upon striking the water and swamped. He thinks many lives could have been saved if the life- boat could have been reached by the passengers after she was finally thrown overboard. THE HEROIC PILOT, John W. L. Boswell, the pilot of the vessel, made the following statement :— “Ihave beew pilot on the Potomac upwards of nine years. The fireman at twenty minutes of twelve came to the wheelhouse and told me the boat was on fire. The Captain was standing outside of the pilothouse at the time. I says, ‘aptain, the best thing we can do is to run her ashore at the nearest place—Chatterton’s landing.’ I headed her for the shore and she strack in five feet of water. 1 stayed in the pilot house until the wheel ropes broke in two and the fire was coming into the pilot house. I then jumped overboard and swam ashore with two ladies, whom I saved ; then brought out and landed Six oF elght passengers. I made @ second trip with the boat apd took in three colored women, with a child, who were hanging to the rudder, and landed them salely; then swam out agaim and made two eee TO RBSCUR ATTEM OFFICER REED’S WIFE, bat she twisted away from me in each instance—I presume not knowing what she was doing Ln excitement. When i came back to the stern of the boat for the last time three children, two white and one colored, were there. I tried to get at them, but the lames prevented me, and they were all burned. 1 think two of them were Mr. hoea's children. I then went astern and bailed out the leboat, and took nine dead bodies to Stewart’s wharf—lour white and five colored; I remained at Stewart's wharf and placed the bodies on the steamer National, which prcagn them to Wash- ington. I came up in ti Ge jana. I kept the deck hands ponring water o1 e wheel ropes until the fire drove them offdeck. The fire- man told me, in the first place, he saw the fire in the forward bow. I don’t think any but Mr. Reed’s cousin, Mise Bettie Reed, were lost in jamp- ing off the bow of the boat. She jumped before the boat struck, aud was lost, Mr. J, W. Reed was a BS passenger on board ‘ tt on in Washington for ‘urriman. The fire, I think broke, out about five or ten minutes before twelve o'clock. After the ex- citement became general, I ADVISKD THE PASSENGERS 0 KEEP COOL, as the boat, I knew, would ground in low water. Many jnmped overboard before she struck, and I threw planks to them. I den’t think a single person was drowned off the forward deck after the boat Struck, Captain Wood was the last man that left the boat. I don’t think there was alive passenger afloat when Captain Wood left the boat; don’t think any- thing was left undone by the officers to save lives and the boat. IT told many of the passengers, ‘For God’s sake don’t Jump overboard; we will be aground in low water soon, and you can wade ashore.” They wouldn’t heed me, but jumped ex- citedly into the water. I had a cousin who jumped Overboard before the boat stopped, who was lost. If we could have got all the planks overboard many would have been saved. The shrieks of women and children were enough to appall the stoutest heart,’ ARRIVAL.OP THE NATIONAL AT WASHINGTON, About I-past five o’clock this morning the sternwheel boat National, Captain Cregg, bronght up ten bodies, ve women and five children, four colored children and one white child, the latter a little son of Joseph Reed. He says that upon re- ceiving the news of the disaster he Eamascia iely steamed to the spot, and arrived at about three P. M. ae found the Wawaset @ living mass of coal, burned to the water's edge. The crew and pas- sengera had long since been removed to a place of afety or had tound sudden graves. The survivors and the dead were scattered along the river at igh wharf, Childs’, Liverpool and other land- TOE WRECK HAD BURNED S80 LOW at six o'clock that the water rushed in and it sunk in about ten feet of water. Three of the white women and the four colored infants were not recognized. On ha | at the wharf the crowd rushed around the boat, but were kept back, while some wharf hands brought them to the landing, and their bodies were ranged side by side in the warehouse of the ferry company. APPEARANCE OF THE DEAD. The features of the children and some of the women presented a calm and natural appearance ; but in others there were signs of pain. Almost all Were somewhat bloody about the face, and on some were spots resembling vmuises. The bodies were laid on some planks in the warehonse, and the police guarded the door. These bodies were picked up at Chatterton and carried to Stewart’s wharf, about one and a half Miies below, and the National took them aboard Qt that whari! as above stated. EXCITEMENT IN WASHINGTON. The scenes at the Seventh street wharf last night, as different persons arrived who had lost relatives and friends, were truly Se est Among the 5 is ran data WPBch cer Ree agony, aa he trying to glean some ray of ope that some of mis loved ones were saved, to witne; Seeing @ group about Mr, McKenney, the bartender on the Wawaaet, who was giving particulars of the tri ay he inquired, in hoarse, broken tones, “McKenney, for God's sake, can you not tell me something about my family ?” McKenney replied feelingly :—"Would to Heave! Zoonle ve you some encouragement, but it woul e cruel to deceive you: your family were all lost.” Mr. Reed thereupon broke into a wail of despair, wringing his hands and showing such marks of hopeless “= to bring tears toeveryeye. It was indeed a household wreck for Mr. Reed, who, at one fell swoop, loses his wife, three children afi niece. The children were all under clgbt, years of age, and the niece, Bettie Reed, wag a ati+ ful and amiable young lady, about cigntcen years was feariul of age. ‘ ANOTHER DISTRESSING SCENE, following upon Mr. Reed’s terrible display of agony, Was presented on the arrival of Mr. Willian Muse—a neighbor of Mr, Reed’s—who had a wife and two children on the Wawaset. His distress workings of his face, in his attempts to subdue violent expressions of grief, and from the silent tears running down his face, and his almost in- articulate attempts to frame words of inquiry. No one can give any information as to how the fire originated ; but all agree that it started in the boiler room below her machinery, and that in two or three minutes all about ‘midships was on fire, the flames bursting up through the decks and gangway, thos cutting off all communication be- tween the stern and the aft parts of the boat, In less than twenty-five minutes from the time the fire broke out the steamer was destroyed. As the windows and doors were all open the draught was ea and the doomed boat was soon a sheet of ame. MR. SAMUEL NASH, ASSISTANT ENGINEER, swum ashore with an old man before he returned and saved his father. He does not know the name ot ne Seen teeee but describes him as short and stou Mr. Robert Nash states that the scene of terror among the women and children exceeds anything he ever witnessed !n his experience of thirty years’ steamboat engineering; at the situation was such that it was utterly impossible vo do anything to gave them more than was done; that the fear of the women of the fire caused them to jump pell mell into the water. He thinks several of the children were burned to death. Miss Cornelia Hobb, a beautiful young lady, re- siding on K street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, waa under the protection of Mr. McGuigan, and he went to her assistance, but before he could t her tothe side of the boat her clothing took ire and he was forced to leave her. She perished in the fames and Mr, McGuigan swam ashore. Mrs. Hester Grifin, a daughter of Captain Ragan, of South Washington, now residing in Alexandria, was drowned, Her was brought up, but the children are missing. scene at the identification of the remains by the mother was one which brought tears to many eyes, Mrs. Taysor, @ widow lady, with her chiid, with & small valise, Jumped overboard, and was seen to reach the shore, swimmi and floating alter- nately. The other child is believed to have been lost. ‘The scene at the wharfof the Potomac Ferry Com- pany this morning was of the most harrowing de- scription. Hundreds of persons, of ali ages, Scint | sex, and almost all conditions in life, stepper on board the National, and, slowly lifting the linen covering from over the dead, looked to see if they could re ‘ize in the insensi- ble remains the features of some relative, friend or acquaintance. There was shrieking women and shuddesing men, who turned away heart sick from the sad and eat sight. The remains were in many cases ly bruised, the features, rigid in death, disclosing the terrible suffering that had been undergone before the eyes were forever closed in death. It was a sad picture, and one long to be remembered by those who saw it this beautiful August morning. The river that had engulfed them lay as placid and smiling, the game sun shone out as bright and undimmed as yesterday, when those now cold in death started out from the same place om their journey whose end was fated to be death. THE DEAD CHILDREN. Bat of all the sights that could melt the heart of man was the grouping of the five infant chilaren— four colored and one white. There death had made them equal. From under the snowy sheet pro- truded the tiny feet of these helpless es. So like the peaceful repose of inuocence did they appear on this beautiful Summer morn that the distorted features of women by their side lost half their hid- eousness beside the features of the little ones. How many are lost it is now impossible to say. Boats are at Chatterton’s grappling for the dead bodies, and reports are expected hourly. The Keyport did mot bring any additional news on her arrival at one o’clock to-day. Officers of the steamer Wawaset state that many of the passengers bound to the different landings on the river were saved and started of throngh the country, and that there were not above thirty lost, Se tere This, however, is quite uncertain, ere were about this number of chil- dren on board, and very few of them were saved. ‘AN INQUEST WAS HELD by the authorities near tie scene of the disaster yesterday, and a verdict rendered in accordance With the facts, The jury, as will be seen, entirely excnerated Captain Wood from all blame in the matter, and gave him a certificate to that effect. ‘The following is the verdict of the jury :— “We, the jury of inquest called to view the dead bodies lost on the steamer Wawaasett this day and to inquire into the cause of the disaster to the said steamer, find that, not knowing the condition of the steamer, we cannot say as to the cause, but from the examination we exonerate the oficers of said boat fromali blame, as all the passengers red testify that they did their duty. “Given under our hands at Stewart's wharf, King George county, Virginia, this 8th day of August, 1873, Not since the terrible explosion at the arsenal years ago, carrying death to so many families in this city, has the community had such a shock a8 that experienced through the loss of the steamer with its precious freight of human beings. The calamity has caused the deepest sorrow in all circles, The sad news which so often comes to the capital from other parts of the country can only be understood by affliction, which makes a kin- dred Cy of the mourner. Not since the time when the explosion of the Peacemaker on the Princeton, a quarter of a century ago, killed and wounded so many, endangering the lives of the President and his Cabinet, has such a calamity been known in these waters as occurred yester- day. The prayer oftthe thousands who, during the Summer months, sail down the Potomac in peace- ful enjoyment is, that such a calamity may never again be visited upon the peopie of this district. Fifteen More Bodies Recovered. WASHINGTON, August 9, 1873. Another steamer arrived here at seven o'clock this evening, bringing up three bodtes of those who perished on the Wawassett. They were those of Miss Bettie Reed, achild of Joseph Reed, and a colored child, whose parents reside on Madison street. Twelve bodies were washed ashore to-day, nine of them being of colored women and three of children, who were not identiNed. There were all buried on the shore, after a full descriptive list of each body had been made for future identification. Persons were engaged in grappling to-day about the wreck, and only one body was fished up, that of a colored woman, who could not be identified. Another steamer will go down to-morrow to re- sume the grappling for the bodies. So far twenty- one bodies have been recovered, and it 1s thought that there are at least eighteen or twenry more who were drowned, a8 also her two chil- || FRENCH FERVOR, Remarkable National Outburst o1 Religious Enthusiasm. ————— A MONTH OF PILGRIMAGES. From the 22d of July to the 22d of August. GENERAL DEVOTIONAL EXALTATION. Worshipping God at the Shrines of His Saints. ALL FRANCE ON THE MARCH. Priests and People in Solemn Processional Progress. THE CHIEF PILGRIMAGES. To the Tomb of St. Martin, at Tours; to the Birthplace of St. Vincent de Panl, at Buglose (Pouy), in the Landes, and to Our Lady of Lourdes. Lounpgs, July 23, 1873, One day last month my attention was called to the French pilgrimages, a subject of which I did not immediately appreciate the importance. I wags soon to learn that they are an outward manifesta- tion of the solemn protest and general uprising of the religious classes, not only in France, but alt over Catholic Europe, against the infidelity and heresy of modern thought, and that both from @ social and political point of view they are probably the most remarkable of the current events of the time. Being entrusted with the duty of draw- ing up & report on the French pilgrimages, in order to give the American pubilid a fair view of the whole question, I entered at onca upon my task, and I did so with peculiar pleasure, because I was informed explicitly that my pen was under no restrictions; for that the New Yor# HERALD, being that rarest of all things—an inde< pendent newspaper—had no party interests and no religious opinions to serve at the expense of truth, however respectable such interests or opin: lons might be in the abstract. To those who hava had much to do with journalism such a frank and handsome announcement on entering upon busi- ness will be understood as particularly gratifying, and it is only right to add that I should have been unable to discharge my functions with due regard to the public interests and my own self-respect upon any other conditions. Feeling, however, that my hands were quite free and that Thad plenty of elbow room, I applied to M. Louis Veuillot, the most famous of French journalists, who, after an eventfal literary career, has settled down into the position of editor and proprietor of the excellent French clerical paper known as tha Univers, and who is the doughtiest champion o/ the Roman Catholic Church. Through the ready Kindness of M. Louis Veuillot I obtained a letter of introduction to the Rey. Father Picard, Director of the Central Committee of the Pilgrimages in Paris, and had thereby access to the fountain head of in formation, It was one afternoon at the beginning of thi month that I called upon Father Picard, at No. 4 Rue Francois First, @ noble house, situated in a fine street leading out of the Champs Elysées and cooled by the breezes of the river Seine, All waa very quiet there, and I was obliged to wait soma time in @ corridor, only remarkable for its cleanli- ness, before any one replied to my summons, Monks of various orders, and now and then a sober curé in a shovel hat came and went, and passed and repassed me, but they did not speak. At length a serving brother of humble aspect and with a curious impediment in his speech appeared, noiselessly coming out of a quiet garden, wherein stood a chapel, at the back of the premises, I understood him to ask me what I wanted, with the air of & man whose tranquillity was rarely disturbed by visitors, and I presented my letter from the great French. journalist requesting him to carry it to its address, The doors of the council chamber of the Committeq of Pilgrimages opened instantly before the spell of M. Veuillot’s name, and I was ushered into the presence of LE REVEREND PERE BAILLY. He is ahandsome man of about thirty, with tha Manners and bearing of a French ecclesiastic of the highest class about him. He is one of tha chosen vessels of the Faubourg St. Germain, and by no means a vessel of wrath. His conversation had the gentle gravity of one whose ordinary talk was with ladies high descended and with states- men and nobles. It would have been impossible that he could give offence, his voice was 80 soft and musical, his smile so sweet and his look sa gracious. A man ofa fine, bold forehead, too, and, as afterwards learned, of a vigorous intellect; not a clerical dandy this courtly priest, but one of the coming prelates of the Roman Church, the finer porcelain of human ciay from which it makes its Cardinal Archbishops. In saying thus much I would desire cautiously to guard against misinterpretation. I do not in- tend to imply that the Peré Bailly is an ambitious or self-seeking man. I have no right to do any- thing of the Kind, for his private character 1s un- known to me, But ambition nowadays rushes into stump oratory and becomes a Gladstone, for any good that they do it, while covetousness haunts the Stock Exchange, and comes out strong in impressive architecture and trotting horses, The man who intends to become, or who is likely to become a Cardinal Archbishop must scorn de- lights, and the way to the eminences of the Charch is therny and steep. A TALK WITH A PRIEST. Thus spoke the Rev. Father Bailly, as he drew his chair near to mine in g business fashion, and met my inquiring glance very steadily : “A General Committee of Pilgrimage has been formed under tie auspices of His Greatness (La Grandeur) My Lord (Monseigneur) the Bishop of Grenoble, a8 the result or outcome of the national pilgrimage which lately took its way to Our Lady of Salette. It is composed of a director, a presi« dent, @ vice president, a secretary, a treasuret and several councillors, It aas established the fol lowing rules :—- 1, The object of the committee is to foster tha movement of pilgrimage in France, either by sug- gesting and originating national pilgrimage of ita OWN initiative, or by encouraging individual efforts in this direction, as application for its countenance and assistance may es ad its consideration. 2. The committee wul correspond with the di~ rectors of the sanctuaries or shrines to which the pilgrimages are to be made, in order to make the prsPihe committee will issue circulars stating the: conditious under which each pilgrimage ls to be made when it has been decided to undertake it, 4. The committee will be represented by one of) its’ members at each sanctuary during the whole Peo Ot eedttee will “saggest the formation off sub-committees in the provunces, organized upo! the same basis as itself, and will entertain sregelan| correspondence with such sub-committees, 6, These local committees will have the entiray control and direction of tue pilgrimages in their res: spective dioceses? ‘ 1, They will be also expected to interest them solves in the general Work of the national pilgrim. ages, and for this purpose will correspond with the: Central Committee in Paris, 8. The cashbox (caisse) of the committees of pil-, grimage will be filled the altos which pilgrims, tay choose to give for this object, In shore. thal