OCR Text |
Show Full Particulars of the burning of the United States mail steamship "America," show that the conflagration conflagra-tion occurred while the ship's fires were out, so that the steam pumps were useless. use-less. The powder magazine contained two hundred kega of powder and fifty boxes of cartridges. All attempts to flood this place were unavailing, and the officers and crew were forced to flee for their lives with scarcely a successful effort toward saving the vessel. One hundred and seventy-nine Chinese were in the steerage, all of whom jumped overboard, each one with his box or tmdle under his arm, and nearly sixty of whom were drowned. The fear of an explosion drove every boat away fom the burning vessel, and thus prevented pre-vented tho rescue of many of the unfortunate un-fortunate Chinamen, who otherwise might have been saved. The court of inquiry, held at Yokohama, reported that the evidence went to show that the firing of the "America" was intentional, done either to plunder plun-der the Chinese who were supplied sup-plied with large amouuts of money, or for the purposo of revenge upon the Pacific Mail company. The "America" was built in 186'J, at a cost of $1,250,000, and was considered the finest steamer of tho line |