The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

/ • Kr~^ VOL. V. NO 30 CLEVELAND, Q„ JULY 26, 1883. S2.ISJ 1'2R AW.N UM " Sworn Conns 6 Cpm. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE IMKKN'IX. Fron\ tho Chicago TlttKi. Thirty-six jciir* ugo the < o mtry was Hurtled mid horrified by Hie announcement that the new mid line steam pnuket I'hamlx wns burned oil' Sheboygan, and out of the three hundred souls on bnurd only forty- eight were saved. The rc»t mid fallen n prey either to', the fury of Ilio fierce lluinc* . which consumed the iiingnlllcent boat or to the ley wrath or the opposing clement. Dante, In his wonderful ode of the "Inferno." has pictured in graphic and sonorous lan¬ guage the tortures of the lout souls who wero expiating, by an eternity of torture, tlie sins of their mortal life. Some lire plunged waist-deep Into rivers of molleii lava, Drentliing the sulphnrovs vapors that rise from an ever burning volcano, while others are vainly trying to escape the frigid breath of the Norse king, and burst the ley fetters which hold them in an Iron grasp, writhing in an agony of an eternity of cold. Of the two s|K!chis of suffer.ing It is dilll- cult to dceldt! which is the wont. But Dnnte never witnessed the warring ot the elements which he evoked within the seclusion of » monastic'cell. Could he have been an eye¬ witness ot the burning of a. modern steam¬ boat, packed from stem to stern wlili human beings, out upon the wild vwiste of watery which eagerly lap the sides of the doomed vessel m If hungry lor their prey, with the wild blast orrude'Bonms miuglliiK with the roar of the Humes which are fanned by his breath Into redoubled fury; could he-have seon this commingling of the two elements, and tlie terror of the poor wretches, who, vainly trying to escape the one,, fell an easy victim to the other, ail language would have failed to convey even an Imperfect picture of the scene. The disaster to the Phoenix occurred on a dark, stormy night In November, umlil a driving snowstorm, while a fierce gale was blowing. It was a scene ot Indescribable horror that was Indelibly stamped upon the memory of the only living witness, Mr. T. ■8. Donahue, who was at that time the clerk of the boat, and who now resides In thlscity. The vessel left Buffalo on Filday, the 12th of November, 1847, for Chicago, commanded by Captain B. G. Sweet, and having on board 250 steerago passengers, who were mostly Norwegians; 25 cabin passengers, andu'erewof 25, linking In all 300 souls. She had pleasant weather as far as Macki¬ nac, and, little recking of the dreadful fale iii store for lliem, tho pussengers abandoned themselves to various amusements. Every night tho fiddler brought out the old fiddle and Bcraped away, while the lads and hisses tripped tho light fautsetlc through the small bourn of the night. Alter passing through tlie straits tho weather changed, heavy sons and headwinds distressed the boat, and u se¬ vere snowstorm sot In. On Saturday morn¬ ing, tho 20th ot November, the Wisconsin shore was made amid a violent gale, Mid the anchor was let go In Munltowoo buy. In a Bhort time the anchor began to drug, und the vofsel wns put nlongslde a small pier, which was the private property of n citizen of Munltowoo. The sou wiib so heavy thai the bout soon commenced riding down the pier, which wiurimt very strongly built. The owner ol the pier tried to drive the bout away, threatening to libel It for damaging the pier. Fearing that ho would perform his threat, Captain Sweet ordered lliu bom cast Iodic and imiiW way, although It wns still blowing ii giile. Soon alter leaving Manitowoc the wind lulled a little, but the snow continued to full und the sen run tilgli. The captain, who was sick and suffering from a sprained knee, was obliged to go to his bed, and Mr. Donahucrtho clerk, alter getting ready the bllhrof lading for Sheboy¬ gan, and placing them In the breast pocket of bis overcoat, buttoned the cout around lilm und lay down upon tho floor of the captain's room lo obtain a little much need¬ ed sleep. lie had not been there long when tho engineer culled them, saying the'bout was on fire. Thoy were awoke and on deck lu an Instant, The captain gave tho order to bead tlie boat for the shore, but the engi¬ neer replied that tiiere was no steam to run the engines. The water had given, out In the boilers, which hod become red-hot, set¬ ting fire to the woodwork about theiu. Mr.. Donahue nilli'dllnce or four uicii In go with hlni'iind run "> ilie engine room In the for¬ lorn hope of pumping water into Ihe hollers. But It was loo lute. The lire had gnlned so much headway mid the smoke was so dense Iluil they were drlveli uwuy tolhe forward part ol ihe bum. uud nearly lout their lfves In the heroic attempt lo suve the boat. The only thing to be done was to liiuer the life¬ boats. There were only two and these enuld cany but twenty people curb, und they were lltteen miles, from hind. Forty people out of three hundred! The I'rlglitlul reality of the situation buist'upoulhcm with over¬ whelming force. But no time was to be lust,' and In less lime tliiin It takes to write It the chief mute bad lowered one of Ihe boats uud taken Into It his '"brother—a porter—and twenty-one of the steerage pussengers, mostly Norwegians. The en bin passengers vereull in tlie after part of the boat, and separated by n wall of Jliiino Horn the lor- wurd part of the boat. Captain Sweet and Mr. Donahue lowered the other bout and a struggle began lo see who should get into It. '1 Iki Norwegians wauled to put their heavy boxes into the boat, and 11 r. Donahue, who was a youngiiud powerfully built man, was obliged to tnko these and throw them overboard and then take tlie men by main strength and throw them iiitd tlie boat. Captain Sweet hud already been assisted In- -,to the lanrt and twenty-one of the passen¬ gers, . The eleik was about to step lure the boat himself, when ha saw that it wns al¬ ready overloaded and ono more must Inev¬ itably sink It. Seeing tills he stepped back and bidding them God-speed, told them to pull nwny and leave him. They did so and ho" was left on the burning boat, tlie only Intrepid soul among 250 frantic foreigners Just at this moment the Humes burst out with territtu fury, shooting up into the air to a height of a lurflTtwd teet, und lighting the wild waste of/watera w\th a slejtonlnit glare. The olerjt ran the gninitletof the wall of lire any lucoeedfcd In reaching the eubln passengers. Woo vvmrejuiddlejl togetn er In the sternfof rfitNloAni'eaHwtttfT Among these were elttWii women, and their cries for help were heartrending In the txtrenie. Seizing and throwing overboard everything that was movable, Mr. Donahue lowered some of the passengers over Ilk) side ol the boat, exhorting them to cling t<i the objects upon which they were placed) But nhisl nothing human could live in the Icy waters. They were benumbed mid sunk almost In¬ stantly, and tho cruel waves closed over them with a gurgle of fiendish satisfaction. Among the' female passengers, were two sis¬ ters, voung ladles who resided in Sheboygan und were returning home Irmii school. They were within ten miles of home and Inends. The boat was past due, and un anxious father und fond mother were eagerly waiting'their return. It was a cruel fale, to die almost within sound of home and family, to call for help and be answered by the wailing wind. Locked ill a close embrace, they juraped") overboard, and their bodies could be seen slowly sinking Iioiji sight through the clear, cold water, full forty hit bonis deep. 'I'm ni¬ hil; from this heartrending scene, the Noi- weglans lorward were seen climbing the rigging as the Haines forced them to retieat. Close upon their heels euiue the demon of lire, and us Its hot breath readied them they were picked oil' like lies and fell buck Into the soothing caldron, or jumped Into the turbulent wnters, Their cries of ugony were horrible, ami the sight sickening. If wns.soon over, and the entire forward part of the ship wiisuimiBs of Hume. By this time the flumes were working alt, aiid the few en bin passengers left took hold of each other's hands and jumped overhead. They all sank together remaining locked lit the close embriieo ol death. The only ones left on the boat by this time were Mr. House, the engineer, the clerk, the second unite, a boy purler, und two negro cooks. The en¬ gineer wrenched off u cabin door und lumped ovuibpaid with it. lie wns altorwiird'suved. Thecleik sel/.ud a ehlckeneoop, threw It overboard, and was about to jump after It, when one of the negroes forestalled him. It was well for the clerk that ho did, for the coop turned over upon the man and instant¬ ly drowned him. The flames meantime had, shot out on the lower deck, burning their way through and setting fire to the flagstaff upon the upper derV, Hiring the latter over the fnntiill Intiict. The deck, however, was so hot that Ihe feet of the meii'slandlng up on It were blistered, and they were finally compelled to jump Into <lie water. As a dernier resort Sir. Donahue seized a lender, the only thing left that «»• movable. It was green hickory iiiiillninuidiiit ly went to the bottom, taking Mr. Dunnhue down with ii. He went under the burning vessel. The rolling of the bout threw him nut again near the starboard wheel, the blade ot ihe wheel cnichlng his clothing, und as the boat rose on the sea lifting him out of the water. One of the pussengers who hud jumped over board had .succeeded,in getting onto the wheel, and. he now caught Mr. Donahue by the collar'and he hi Mini there until he hud recovered Milllileutly Irom the shock to take care of himself. He very soon climbed up¬ on Ihe rudder and braced hlmecll.thcic. His position, however, was very dangerous, us every time the vessel lell uwuy from the sen the rudder would swing round against him, just mlssli g him, and these two men—one clinging to the rudder uud the other to tlie wheel with the strength that Is born of des¬ peration—were tlie only two living beings left out of the three hundred who one shun hour belorc were dreaming of tlie great city ut the head of the lake, which was the goal of their journey. v Tho position of these two Was,perilous in the' extreme. * 'i'lie vessel rose and lull with tlie swell ol theses, and every time It came down they were submerged In the wider.. Mr. Donohue had retained his wuteh, and now tuklug it from his pocket lie noted the hour. It was hull'-pust 2 o'clock, and they remained In .this position until t) o'clock. Three hours'ot mortal agoiiv! To them It was mi eternity. Very soon they became benumbed and were g'ttlng Incobernt. Hops/alterniited with feur, and tlie latter was In a fair way to get the best of it, when the foremast, which hud burned through, fell overboard with a crash, and drifted alongside the vessel until the cross-trees were within reach of the mini on the rudder, and with a cry of joy ho reached over and threw himself upon It. Finding a rope there he threw' It to the man on tlie wheel, Instructing lilm to take a turn around the head of tlie rudder. This was done and the spar soon brought aronndxind made fast uud tl|U other mull assisted onto it. Hole their position was more endurable, as they ■were less crumped and for the present quite safe, us the sea hud gone down, and the spur they were upoii was made fast lo the. vessel. They Strained their eyes lu every direction for the appearance of a light, for tlie burning .vessel could be seen a long distance off, and there hud been time for one of the lifeboats to return to them.' The bouts did notio- ttiru, although they reached the shore safely uud the captain hud given u solemn promise tocomoback. Ilefoie long two llguts were Seen u short distance off and bearing.down upon them, it was a joyful slghu but came near causing the men to lose their hold on thespur to which they were clinging. The thilli of excitement which bounded througii them at the ho| e of lescue was almost too much for their overstrained nerves. Bui they wero not long kept lu suspense. A bout soon, came alongside and they weic saved. More dead than alive they were ta¬ ken on board the propeller Delawaie, [hut hud been wlndboiiiiil hi Sheboygan, and had seen the glare ol the burning stciinier and put out to the rescue. Alter the lire had burned out the wreck of the once beautiful bout wns towed ashore, where she lay upon the beach for a number of years. Tlie engines'were aftciward taken out and sold, but no attempt to rebuild Iter hull Was made. The two lifeboats succeeded lu making the beach with their passengers, und no reason was ever given lor their fail¬ ure to return to the burning vessel. The l'hconlx was built hi 1815 at Cleve¬ land by Captain Jones, who commanded her. lor tlio tlrst season. She was Ml feet in IcngihriilL feet beam and 11 feet depth of hold. HerViibln extended the full length of her niiiln deck, the forward portion being devoted to socond-olaBS passengers, and all. abaft of the engines to first-class pussengers. Slio was of light draft and lurnlshcd witli j two wheels, being the fastest OS well as the largest boat of her time. | STORING THE POWEROF THE WIND. From the ScteHtiJlc^lmcrtctm. Ticullng recently of the possibility of utilizing the wind power which now bo constantly g&erlp waste everywhere about us, mention was made ot two means for accomplishing the object—electrical storage batteries and re-ervolrs for compressed air. It Is worth while to stale that ihe urtlclo wns written with the full convlctiqn. and for the purpose of bringing presently to fair undemanding the fact that neither of these will do tlie work, ami to urge inventors and active minds lo work out the problem by . which something better may become avail¬ able. What storage batteries may eventually be*1 brought to do, is entirely uncertain.' The w hole subject of the actual management of electricity, so that It shall he an intent for mechanical uses, sale, trustworthy, and cheap, Is yet so Utile understood that, tlicugh wo have great hopes for the future, our use of it at the p.esent Is subject to much diffi¬ culty. As to storage butteries In nny of tlie various forms id which they have been made, and bearing tlie names ol different Inventors, It U but Mr.to remember that the accounts wliluh have been published have been chiefly those put forth.by interested parties, those »holiud*peeiininrv interests involved;and without imputing any intention, It is easy to understand Hint such statements may go further than practical working will war- ' run. Tlie batteries are lu triilh of small real val-. ue. No man would dure to depend un them as a menus of carrying on work w.liose success requited a steady and even power, lu the tlrst place, they are very wasteful, for the jlalnm made for die great percentage of power recovered from them are certainly not borue out, when they are subjected lo fair InvestlgaUyirby those who have no object In proving their great excellence. It hi not too/much to say. In general terms, that very nearly half tlie power transmitted' to them Is not recovered. Thou, again, trials sunn to Indicate that their lite Is short. The constant frcheinlcal net Ion d bin tegrates tlie plates so rapidly that very Irequeut renewal is necessary. This, It Is true, niuv not be very expensive, but It is very troublesome. And it Is evident that un¬ til, or unless, they can be greatly changed and Improved they will not do what we need in this, ease. , The other mode suggested was the use of reservoirs. The only difficulty here Is the expense of the plant; expense involving also bulk. To Illustrate the mutter we wlfi Hsciime the case of a manufacturer employing for his dally work a twenty horso powor engine. This he uses leu hours dally for six days, and It would bo 'disastrous to bis business lo have this power tail him for even un hour. The wind power Is so tur unsteady that unless he could retain In Ills reservoir the means of running his engine two consecutive days ut least, it would not be prudent tor him to depend upon It; he might llnd his works lying Idle tor luck ot lamer. The amount of advanced sturngu would, it is true, seldom be necessary. For a laige part of the jeai he would not need ten, or live, or perhaps even two hours In advance; still he must be sale, uud In order to be so he must meet the extreme vvaut. A resorvolr to contain a store of air uouipi eased to such un extent as would be practicable to run his engine twenty hours mu6t measure at least 30,000 cubic feet. Five, cylinders of sixteen feet diameter and an, equal lougth would approximately make It. Willi these reservoirs ids lactory could go on In this future without cxpt!usu lor power; there would be the Interest on the original outlay, and the cost ol wear and tear; nothing more. The plant and the bulk lire, as Indicated, the dllllcully. lu some cu>es It may not stand in tho way, but generally and especially for heavy power they amount to u real prohibition. Wo need something better, and wo return to the original ques¬ tion i Who will devise the menus of slorlu'g wind power?