Laidlaw, George

RUN AGROUND.

On Thursday of last week the steamer Coboconk left Fenelon Falls with several parties of ladies and children, numbering altogether upwards of twenty, as she frequently does in fine weather, and as she did not return that night no little anxiety was suffered by the relatives of the excursionists, as there was no knowing what might have happened. The first report next morning was that she had been detained by sawlogs, as she often had been before ; but by about 10 o'clock parties from Rosedale brought the correct news, which was to the effect that several of the members of Mr. George Laidlaw's family had been taken on board at his summer residence at West Bay, that one of his sons, wishing to steer, had been permitted to do so, and had proved his proficiency in the art of running the Coboconk aground close to Hog Island, and that all efforts to get her afloat had proved unsuccessful. As five carriages had left the Falls for Coboconk with the Montreal deputation just before the news of the Coboconk's mishap had arrived, Mr. Cunningham, who had several relatives on board, harnessed a horse and drove to Rosedale,--within about two miles of which village the steamer lay--with the intention of bringing off the entire party in small boats and putting them into the carriages on their return from Coboconk; but by the time he reached his destination she had been got into deep water, and arrived at Fenelon Falls early in the afternoon. She was aground from 4 p. m. on Thursday until noon the next day, during the whole of which time all the excursionists remained on board except a few of the ladies, who were taken to a farm house by some young men who were camping out and gallantly went to the rescue, but who in the darkness managed to spill one previous boat-load into the lake, though the mishap fortunately happened so near shore that there was no difficulty in saving them. In the morning hunger stared those left on board in the face, as their provisions had given out ; but after the steamer got afloat and reached West Bay with the Laidlaw party all sorts of eatables were sent from the house, so that the adults escaped the dreadful necessity of eating the children, all of whom behaved admirably, considering the discomforts they were unavoidably subjected to. Captain McFadden, who had to be in Toronto on Thursday, rowed out from Rosedale to the steamer on Friday morning whole she was aground, and his internal emotions may be more easily imagined than described, as the boat had been chartered by the Fenelon Falls council to convey the Montreal deputation over the portion of the Trent Valley Canal which lies between this village and Coboconk, and of course he could not fulfil the contract and lost the amount he was to have received.