The Cairo evening bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1868-1870, 1869-10-29
in attemptingto save the baggage which


scene beggared all description.
The mind cannot imagine, much less the
pen describe what followed there. HUI.
mans carried their souls In their coun-
tenances Every feeling Of horror, fear,
pity, surprise, woe and agony,were clear.
ly depicted in their features, as II traced
there by tho pencil Of . master. There
was nothing of the heroic about the
whole affair. As the detailed incidents
will show, nature, stronger than any con-
sideration, forgot all ties, was deaf to all
appeals, sunk everything 10 battle for its
own existence. Women duplicated men
and men beseeched each other, In vain
for help; and what's rare, even where the
struggle IL greatest for self, mothers
deserted their children. This fact alone,
80 unnatural and fearful, serves to give an
idea, under such circumstances, 81 the
strength Of the ruling passion. These
scenes were being enacted within the few
minutes which elapsed from the cry OF
FIRE TO that stage In the conflagration
when the existence of animate nature on
the boat was impossible. OF the number
who persisted In the flames, 1t IL notpos'
slble to estimate with any degree OF ac-
curacy. 1t Is known however, that
large number OF the deck passengers,
wounded by the stampeded horses, and
in other ways, never left the boat and
IL is certain, that number Of the cabin
passengers, male as we'll as female, who
had succumbed under the intense excite.
ment and beca me oblivious Of every thing
transporting about them. were also des-
troyed by the flames. Between inevi-
table destruction by fire, and the forlorD
hope which the cold waters Of the Mis-.
sissippi offered, there was no choice. Like
rats deserving a sinking ship, they leoped,
and tum bled and fell into the river, from
all parts Of the boat, and there the s'rug'
gle for selfcon,nued. From gentleman
who was among the last TO desert the
boat, and the first TO reach the shore,
about three hundred yards distant we
learn the following incident.
THE FATAL EDDY.
He was on the boiler deck ~ the time
OF the fire, and upon hearing the alarm,
assembled 10 the hurrican roof. He OBJ.
served one OF the pilots emerge from his
stateroom, and jerking door from It's
hinges i'm the texas cabin, flung IL into
the river. The pilot instantly followed.
| In few minutes steamboat captain, u
guest OF Capt. Shaw's, also emerged from
the texas, and seizing . ladder threw 1t
overheard. He also jumped into the
river. In the meantime the flames had
made such fearful progress that 1t was
no longer safe to remain on any part oil
the boat, and our informant, unable TO
procure anything which would serve as
\ . preserver, Invested himself OF his boots
and overdress, and plunged In. Fortu'
nately he reached . bale Of hay, thrown
over from the burning boat, and succeed.
ed In mounting IL. by padding and steer
! ing he managed IN reach the bank, some
elk hundeed yards from the point where
/ he jumped froE, the boat. The moon had
not yet risen, but the night was clear aud
and starlit. Just short distance below
him, was one Of the numerous eddies re
ferred to above. The current ran direct
~ to this eddy. within . few yards Of
the bank and continuing, shot angularly
from 1t toward the center Of the river.
He could plainly discern the mass Of
struggling humanity, floating with the
current ON bales of hay, plank, state
room doors, stancheons, and whatever
else, toward the eddy. Roughly calcu-
| lated, he thinks there must have been no
less than one hundred persons floating
about In this way. The eddy reached,
| they were shot out with the current from
| near the bank to the center OF the river,
and went down with their last hope
! Not one OF those who drifted TO the eddy
were saved. Those who escaped the
! flames, aud sustained life while In the
freezing waters, were carried within
sight OF their haven only to be forever
| deprived of touching II.
| THE MOTHER AND men CHILDREN.
The details of this incident are sick
enng. A mother, not yet advanced tC
middle age, and her two gic children
aged respectively about eight and five
were cabin passengers, en- route fo
Cairo. They had no male escort u
| the excitement which followed III,
alarm of fire, the children who wer,
romping about in the cabin naturally,
sought out their mother. She was fran
tic with fright. Her shrieks could
| be beard distinctly above the tumult and
din everywhere prevailing. She rushed
hither and lhither, entreating first one
aud then another TO save herself and
! children. No one noticed her. When