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Show THE SEAWANHAKA. The tale is a terribly tragic one. On a bright summer afternoon - June 18th - the steamer Seawanhaka left Peck Slip, in this city, for Glen Cove, Long Island. It is supposed she had on board about three hundred passengers. Between four and five o'clock a sudden explosion was heard, while passing through Hell Gate, and almost immediately flames burst from the engine-room, from which point they spread with great rapidity through the middle of the boat. Great confusion prevailed among the passengers when they realized that the vessel was on fire. The engineer, when the explosion first occurred, was seen to rush from the engine-room with his clothes on fire; but afterward he returned to his post, and endeavored to keep the paddle-wheels in motion. The captain, with great self possession and bravery, on seeing that the greatest safety lay in running his vessel ashore in shallow water, stood by the wheel, guiding the boat toward the Sunken Meadows, near Ward's Island, while hands and face were blistering by the advancing flames. Nor did he leave the helm until the Seawanhaka grounded, when, rushing through the fire, he jumped overboard, reached the shore, and was afterward taken to the hospital on Randall's Island, being severely burned. Both officers and crew did their duty nobly; but so rapid was the spread of the fire that soon there was no place of refuge on the steamer, and in a short time hundreds of hopeless passengers were struggling in the waters. There were steamers in the vicinity of the Seawanhaka when she caught fire, and several row boats not far off. Boats were also sent from Ward's and Randall's Islands. But notwithstanding all the help rendered, it is believed that about fifty persons perished either by fire or water. Exactly how many were lost will probably never be known. The next day the Morgue, attached to the Bellevue Hospital, was thronged with anxious inquiries for missing friends. The bodies of the recovered dead lay there awaiting recognition, and many agonizing scenes transpired as a husband identified his wife, or a mother her child, among the stiffened forms that were stretched upon the marble slabs. There is mourning in many households, for the Seawanhaka was a popular boat, and much patronized by citizens who have country places at Glen Cove, Sands Point, Roslyn, Whitestone, and [unreadable lines-about 3 or 4 lines] |