spread to the bales of cotton, which were stored improperly close to the stack. Previous, smaller fires that had occurred due to the design flaw had been extinguished; however, nothing had been done to correct the problem. The jury also found crewmen's mistakes and violation of safety regulations to be at fault. Hilliard testified that once crew members noticed the fire, they went below deck to check the engines before attempting to fight the blaze. The jury believed that the fire could have been extinguished if the crew had acted immediately. Also, not all of the ship's fire buckets could be found during the fire. Only about 20 of the passengers were able to locate life preservers. The crew members were also careless in launching the lifeboats, all of which sank. The sloop Improvement, which had been less than five miles from the burning ship, never came to the Lexington's aid. Captain William Tirrell of the Improvement explained that he was running on a schedule; he did not attempt a rescue because he didn’t want to miss the high tide. The public became furious at this excuse, and Tirrell was attacked by the press in the days following the disaster. Ultimately, no legislation was passed by the U.S. government in the wake of the tragedy, though critic John Neal issued a call for better construction and operation practices in the New York Evening Signal. It was not until the steamboat Henry Clay burned on the Hudson River 12 years later that new safety regulations were imposed. The Lexington fire remains Long Island Sound's worst steamboat disaster. One hundred thirty-nine of the 143 aboard perished. Salvage attempts An attempt was made to raise the Lexington in 1842. The ship was brought to the surface briefly, and a 30-pound (14 kg) mass of melted silver was recovered from the hull. The chains supporting the hull snapped, and the ship broke apart and sank back to the bottom of Long Island Sound. Today, the Lexington'' sits in 140 feet of water, broken into three sections. There is allegedly still gold and silver that has not been recovered. Adolphus S. Harnden of the Boston and New York Express Package Car Office had reportedly been carrying $18,000 in gold and silver coins and $80,000 in paper money at the time of the sinking. The silver recovered in 1842 would have accounted for about $500 of