Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/186

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COLUMBIA AND M ONTOUR COUNTIES steam fo r a ten-horsepower engine, and sev­ enty p erso n s could be carried, thirty in the cabin and fo rty on deck. U n d er the command o f Capt. Jo h n E lg a r the boat made a success­ ful trip u p the Susquehanna from H arrisb urg in M arch and A p ril, 1826. up to Binghamton, New Y o rk. T h e success of the “ C odorus" caused the owners of the "S u ^ u e h a n n a ,” a larger boat, to attem pt the trip. T h e “ Susquehanna,” Captain C ollin s commanding, w as built in 1825 at B altim ore, w as eighty feet long, fo u r­ teen fe e t w ide, d rew tw enty inches when empty, had an iron wheel, nine feet in diam e­ ter, as w e ll a s an iron hull, w as operated by a ten-horsepow er engine, had tvs'O boilers, and accommodations fo r almost two hundred per­ sons. H e r speed w as ten m iles an hour. Fhe first trip w a s made in 1826, and on the a fte r­ noon ot M a y td o f that ye ar an attempt w as made to p a ss the N escopeck r ^ i d s, where the Berwick b rid ge now stands. T lic current be­ ing too s w ift, the captain allowed the boat to d n ft d o w n until she stranded on the rocks near the shore, about the center of the chan­ nel below the present bridM. T h is caused the stoppage of the wheel, and as one of the crew was h old in g down the sa fe ty valve, the strain became too much fo r the crude boilers, and one of them exploded. T h e boat w as not seri­ ously in ju re d, but tw o men were instantly killed and several scalded badly by the escap­ ing steam. A m ong Uie passengers who es­ caped w ith little in ju ry w as Col. Joseph P a x ­ ton, o f R u p e rt, who thus described the ac­ cident in an article printed in a D anville pa­ per: "W ith our pitch pine w c succeeded in raising a fu ll head o f steam, and set oft in fine style to ascend the rapids. T h e strength of the cu rren t soon checked our headw ay, and the boat, flanking tow ards the right hank of the riv e r, struck a rock. I stood on the fo r­ ward deck with a long ash pole in m y hand, and wa.s in the act o f placing it in the water hoping to steady her, when the explosion took place. T w o young men st.anding near were blown h igh into the a ir, and I w as hurled se v ­ eral yard s into the w ater. I thought a cannon had been fired, and shot my head o ff.” O ther fortunate passengers on the ill-fated boat were Christian Brobst o f C ataw issa. W illiam W oodside, W illiam Colt and S h e riff Underwooel o f Danville, and Jo h n Foster. W illiam G . H u r­ ley and Isaiah Barton o f nioom.sburg. T he injured w ere borne to a warehouse near Ute river bank and tenderly cared fo r by the peo­ ple o f B erw ick, the uninjured went to their homes o r continued their jou rn ey by other

w ays, while the dead w ere laid at rest in the cemetery near the present B erw ick Store. Som e of the victim s of the explosion were taken to the old brick building at the co m er o f Front and M ulberry streets, which w as at that time a public tavern. T h e ballroom on the second floor w as covered with bales o f cotton saturated with oil and in this the sufferers w ere rolled. T h e stains of the oil arc on the floor to this day. T h e house now owned by h frs. Anne Jackson w as also opened to the injured, who were given every attention by her p ^ p le. N ear the entrance gate of the ceme­ tery are the g rav e s of the two principal victim s of the explosion, the tombstones being o f sand­ stone, crudely carved with quaint lettering and ornamentation, the inscriptions being as fo l­ low s: CALEB

W H IT M A N S -A g e d

24 Y r «.

T h is dust and ru in that rem aio A r e presious in his eves. T h e s e ru ins shall b e ou ilt again A n d a ll that dust shall rise. J O H N T U R K — A g e d 23 Y r s. F a r e w e ll t o 'a l l m y dearest frien d s. I rest m e h ere fr o m pain I h ope w hen ch rist shall call m e hence T o see you a ll again.

T h e attempt of the “ Susguehanna” deterred other boats and the navigation of the riv e r w as abandonctl fo r all time. T h e agitation fo r the building of the canal w as taken up a fresh and by 1828 sufficient funds had been accumulated to make the project a success. N O X T ti B R A N C H C A N A L

T lie first w ork on the Pennsylvania canal sy.stcm in the central jiortion of the State w as inaugurated at Berw ick by the breaking o f ground. J u ly 4, 1828. T h e occasion w as made one o f imposing cerem onial. A procession o f all the societies and organizations of the town and the local an<l visiting officials, headed by Col. N. H urlbut o f W ilkes-B arre and W illiam G. H u rley o f Bloom sburg, as m arshals, parade<l the streets tow ards their destination, the f)oint near the river bank selected fo r the first operations o f d i ^ n g . F irst cam e D r. W hipp c. the ch ief engineer of the w ork, with two assistants. N e xt. Nathan Beach o f Beach G rove, holding the handles o f a plow, the oxen d ra j^ in g it being driven by Jo h n Lockhart o f Salem . Then followed J w s e Bowm an o f B riarcrcek and Jo h n I.. B u tler o f W ilkesB arre. pu.shing w heelbarrow s; A lexam lcr