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[144] 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[145] 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[146] 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[147] 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[148] 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.”
