Chapter X: From an Old Scrap-Book

In _The New York Tribune_ of September ――, 188–, appeared an article of interest to the readers of this narration. And here is a portion of it:

“... All facts as to the loss of the steamer _Old Province_,
the absorbing subject of public attention since last week,
seem gathered now from the various sources available. Captain
Widgins, Mr. A. Y. Arrowsmith, the mate, and several others
of the crew and of the boatload last to leave the ill-fated
vessel and make Knoxport Cove, have been repeatedly interviewed
without developing any facts not already made known. The
steamer lies in a considerable depth of water. The question
of raising her is under consideration. Cargo and baggage are
almost a total loss.

“It is now certain that the mysterious explosion in the hold,
which caused the leak and disabled the vessel with its terrific
shock, was the work of the infernal machine shipped from this
city to Halifax by the two men, O’Reilly and Hand, who have so
far eluded all detection. That they intended mischief to the
steamer or those aboard is not likely. Their big ‘oblong box,’
of which so much has been said in the papers, was probably
expected to make a quick journey and be duly received at
Halifax by the so-called ‘Mr. Patrick Heffernan,’ to whom it
was addressed. It is scarcely necessary to say that Mr. Patrick
Heffernan is still a myth. It is supposed that a very prominent
member of the Non-Resident Land League is identical with him,
and was to call for the box. The machine, by some accident, did
its dastardly work too soon. The cowardly constructors of it
are thus responsible for a direful calamity, the loss of many
lives and of thousands of dollars’ worth of valuable property;
another example of what dynamiters are willing to ‘risk for the
Irish cause.’

“The divers agree with those who tried to stop the ragged
hole blown in the hull that the force of the explosion was
awful. A wreck of packing-cases, bulkheads, and freight of all
descriptions, blown to atoms, was hurled about the ship. The
water must soon have poured in like a torrent, as was described
by those who fought it. Whether the ship could have been
beached successfully in the fog, had the explosion not disabled
her, is doubtful.

“Had the _Old Province_ carried her usual load of passengers,
panic might have made the death-list far longer. All agree that
there was remarkable composure shown every-where. The highest
praise is given to Captain Widgins and to his assistants for
their coolness and devotion to the safety of those committed to
their charge. The presence of mind of the unfortunate young Mr.
Eversham (who was afterward lost in the boat that was swamped)
is also warmly praised. His body was to be buried in Brooklyn
to-day. The other bodies washed ashore at Knoxport Cove and
Sweetapple Reef have been in some instances identified, and are
being forwarded elsewhere; others will be buried in Knoxport.

“Many corpses have been found in sad witness to the swamping of
the boat lost in making for Knoxport. It was the first sent out
from the steamer. The facts of its fate have been all learned
from the lips of James Hoyt, the seaman, picked up at no later
than two o’clock the next morning by the yacht _Alicia_ while
he was tossing in a state of almost perfect exhaustion in the
sea (still running very rough). Hoyt says that the boat, under
the command of Mr. Eversham, was proceeding, though with some
difficulty, straight to Knoxport, when the leaping up of Mrs.
Cassidy, to save her child, upset it. He remembers, too, that,
in spite of the care taken before the _Old Province_ was left,
few of the emigrants with him had their life-preservers on.
Mr. Eversham had been greatly alarmed when Hoyt pointed out
that fact. Eversham was about to order all who could to don
them. Just then the capsize came. Mr. Eversham had an old set
himself, and Hoyt remembers his complaining of its straps being
rotten. Hoyt says that the sea was so violent that, even with
his life-preserver, it was a miracle he kept his head above
water half an hour. An oar he grasped was of great service.
He was almost gone when picked up. Some of the bodies found,
however, wore life-preservers. In some cases the bruising from
the rocks along the shore was disfiguring, and it is likely
that many of those from the two capsized boats had what little
life was left in them literally pounded out of them in the surf
along Sweetapple and Knoxport Ledges.

“One boat which contained few passengers except for Nova Scotia
did not come in by itself, but was picked up by the schooner
_Mary Linda Brown_, bound north. It narrowly escaped being
run down by the _Mary Linda Brown_ instead of being rescued.
The schooner’s crew heard none of the distress signals from
the _Old Province_. Among those brought by the schooner were
Gen. John Bry, K.C.B., Sir Hastings Halbert, and Rev. Francis
Holman, of Halifax; Mr. and Mrs. George Freeborn, Mr. and Mrs.
Henry Earle, and Mr. John A. Belmont. A son of the latter
gentleman, on one of the boats, was drowned.

“A singularly sad history attaches to the loss of a young lad
named Saxton, the son of Mr. Gerald B. Saxton, of this city.
He was traveling with his tutor to Nova Scotia, and, according
to one story, went from the ship in the same boat with Hoyt.
His body was not recovered, nor his tutor’s. Young Saxton’s
father, who has been with a camping-party in Nova Scotia, was
immediately sent for. He came on to Knoxport. The shock to
him was terrible, and he was so completely prostrated that his
reason has seemed endangered. He was prevailed upon to speedily
quit Knoxport. He is now making an indefinite journey westward
in company of his friend Mr. Jay Marcy (of the well-known
Ossokosee Hotel). Mr. Marcy hopes to break up the alarming
stupor of grief into which Mr. Saxton is plunged. But, indeed,
the calamity abounds in such distressing particulars. It might
have been far worse. It is to be hoped that another originating
like it, and of as melancholy an extent, may not soon be added
to the list of our sea disasters.”