The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-01-18
THE SINKING OF THE STAR,
Full Particulars.
TWO PERSONS REPORTED MISSING
MRS. ALEXANDER KILLED

could In regard to the tow boat star on
Sunday night.
The towboat Star left Pittsburgh on
Saturday with nine barges of coal in
tow, bound for Louisville. She passed
Wheeling about dark on Sunday night,
and was uch bothered in her steering
by her pilots being blinded by the smoke
from a steamtr-either the Tigress or
the Fearless-which was but a short
distance in front of the Star. Holding
in too far. she struck the bank on the
Virginia side, below the Washington
mill, and was then held over
too far, and hit the lower end
of Bogs's Island. This humping
from shore to shore interfered with her
speed, and by the time she got straight
ened up she had hardly Roadway enough
on her TO make her steer well. The
engineer was ordered to "crack it to
her," and she was escaping SO hard that
Capt. Snyder of the VIM. II. Harrison,
the B. s. o. transfer boat, rad his atten-
ton attracted to her. She was then
headed for the pier and about 300 yards
from it, On each of the piers in the
channel were three lanterns, sixteen
inches square, displayed, but the smoke
from tho boat in front still bothered the
pilots, and the first thing they knew
they struck the pier, head on, crushing
up the barges like egg shells.
There was still time to have saved
the boat. A cool man with an Ak could
have done it. All that was necessary
was to cut the barges loose and the
steamer would have had u chance, at
least, to swing around the pier. As it
was, the barges were crushed under the
boat and she was split wide open on
the stonework.
As soon as she struck Captain Juette,
his son Augustus, John Scaggs, and Rod
ney Allabach, Edward Merriman and
George Grey, ofPittsburgh, John Jones,
cook, and Mrs. Alexander, the chamber
maid, and her little daughter Ella,
child about twelve years old, got out on
the pier.
As the steamer swung round, a piece
of the gunwale of sunken barge get.
ting clear sprang from the water and
emptied great macs of coal and rub
bish on Mrs. Alexander, burying her be-
meath the debris, crushing her ribs and
limbs, and giving her terrible cuts on
the head. None of the others were in
jured. The steamer Harrison was taken
out by Captain Snyder, though the SER
vice was one of greatest danger, and all |
those on the pier were saved. Mrs. AL. |
exander was taken to the National Ho. |
tel, whose doors were opened to the un.
fortunates by the whole-souled proprie. |
tor, Mr.. Houser, and she lived about |
half an hour after being taken to the
hotel, in the greatest misery. Her body |
was taken to Pittsburgh yesterday. She |
was widow and leaves, we are told, |
four homeless, friendless Orphans. Can
not a subscription be made to relieve |
these children7 What say our noble
hearted rivermeni
There were twenty-three persons on
board the Star when she struck the pier.
Besides the nine saved above by Capt.
Snyder, there were five saved by the |
one by Sam Cochran,
two by the steamer Laura, and two are
known to have reached the Virginia
shore by swimming. The captain of
the Star told US that he believed all |
his crew were saved but Dan Kerr, the
mate, and Andrew Huff, the Waterman.
They may have got ashore below and |
were saved. We hope it may prove to
be so.
A csraner's inquest was held OH the
body of Mrs. Alexander on Sunday |
night. The jury found the following |
verdict:
We, the jury, find that the deceased,
Mrs. Alexander, came to her death by |
an unavoidable accident caused by the |
sinking of the steamer Star striking the |
pier opposite Bellaire city in the Ohio
river, erected by the b. q o. railroad |
company, and upon investigation ofthe
case we find that there were suitable
signal lights on all the piers but by the
cause of fog OF smoke the pilot could
not discover them in time to avoid
striking the pier, and we further find
that the captain, pilots, engineers and
all tho hands were at their proper posts
and done all they could to save the de.
ceased and also to save the steamboat
aud barges. George Criswell, coroner,
James McHighleyman, J. w, King, Bal
ser StIoble, Price Yost, James B. OAR
rah aud Lycurgus Austin-Jurors.
Some of the men at Bellaire think
that the wreck lies across the pier, but
we hear that the i'll fated vessel was
passed, bottom up, near the Empire
coal bank, this side of Moupdsville, on
Sunday night.
One of her sunken barges lies in a
bad position on the west side of the
channel and three or four hundred
yards below the pier. Steamboatmen
will have to look out for it or it will
punch a hole in some Of their vessels
before long.
From what we saw we are satisfied
that the accident came from two causes,
and those causes can be Temedied by
river men themselves. In the first
place, they attempt to take as large a
tow now as when the river was unob-
structed, and thus by having more boats
than they can back with, they are un-
manageable in such river as we now
have. Second, they come down all in
bunch, one so close to the other that the
smoke from the foremost boats blinds
the pilots of the boats behind, as in the
case of the Star. 1t may be oil right
that the river never should have been
INSTRUCTED by bridge piers, but steam.
boatmen must keep in mind the fact
that 1t is so, and so load and run their
boats as to have them under complete
control. 1t is better to 60 twice after
ten barges than to lose barges and
steamboat all at once.