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The Terrible Coniluiiriiiioii al New OrleuiiM.By Telegraph to New York.One of the most disastrous conflagration* of an epoch whirh ha* been so fruitful in every species of calamity, spread terror and dismay through the city of New Orleans, on Saturday last.About 3 p. m , on the 4th mat, the fine j steamer Charles Belcher, which had just arrived from Nashville with a very val uable cargo of tobacco, cotton and other river merchandise, among the rest Urge quantities of western produce, took fire and was in a short tune totally consuin cd.The affright and confusion on board the burning vessel are represented to l.ave been fearful, and so difficult was access to the cabins and subsequent es-ca^s to the shore, that many passengers barely saved their lives. In spite of all ctforts to rescue them, fifteen or twenty negroes perished miserably in the Haines, which spread with resistless rapidity to fbe steamer Natchez, lying close by.— The latter had also arrived with a cargo of at least 2.000 bales of cotton, all of I which fell a prey to the devouring ele , went.The steamer Cairo was the neat sac rific*. So rapid was the progress of the fire through the light woodwork of the j steamers and the combustible material heaped up every where around them, that almost before a useful effort could be made to arrest i*s onward sweep, it was extending on all sides. Large quantities of produce and merchandise were stowed upon the levee, where a cons ter- ! nation reigned that may be imaged hut • not described—dense volumes of smoke and sparks whirling into the faces of those who were hurrying to the rescue; ‘ so great was the universal confusion that several of the fire engines were pushed over the edge of the whartes into the ri»**r.The steamers Sultana and Crand Turk, the former with Madame Sontag on board, were the next to catch fire, hut j were hauled out into the stream and sated, with only partial damage.Considerable loss was sustained by various houses, in the serious damage of» ^umerous barges. luJen with produce, | winch were moored at the levee. Tin sc suffered greatly by both fire and water.A second dispatch, dated New Orleans. February 5, informs us tfiat the steamers consumed, in addition to those •heady named, were the Mohegau, Sax* »*n and Lmh Tuna. The value of all amounted to $300,000, chiefly inaur. d in Western offices. Thu remaining, properly destroyed w«s mostly insured «t New Orleans—the Crescent City office bearing the largest proportion of the last—which, taken altogether, for bo'h goods and steamers. is variously estimaud at from #700.0000 to $1,000,000.Many more lives are supposed to have teen lost, anu, tit the last accounts, the impression produced by tins learl«il calamity was intense, while the confusion Kill prevailing rendered any more c.r-lt; uiiistatitial narrative than we have giv. . eii impossible.
Newspaper Details
Des Moines Courier
Ottumwa, Iowa, US
Thu, Feb 23, 1854
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 16 Aug 2021
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