Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-08-26
THE MISSISSIPPI HORROR.
An Engineer on Watch As Hours.
Fifteen Lives LOst-Seyen White and
Eight Black. e


| Eight Black.
| Thrilling Incidents-Rumored Es-
! cape OF the OherskOrked Engineer.
MEMPHIS. Aug. 24.-The steamer Julia
! arrived here about eleven O'Clock to-day,
| bringing most of the survivors Of the i'll
fated George Wolf.
| Ths Captains Statement.
Captain Carter states that short time
| before the explosion be had gone to his
| room to take rap, leaving the mate on
watch. The first be knew of the accident he
| felt hirnse lifted into the air with severe
shock, and fell with tie debris on the lower
deck. As soon as he could extricate him.
self, he glanced around and saw that the
| forward part of the cabin and texas had
been blown away aft the boilers, and that
some timbers had taken fire. His first
| thought was to extinguish the flames, which
with the aid of few others and the heavy
| rain which was falling at the time he SIC
| ceeded in doing. In the meantime enc
who had been but slightly injured, seeing
that the wreck had drifted near the shore,
| jumped out with headline and made her
| fast. when it was found that the boat had
| been but little injured, except as already
stated. AS soon as the fire was extinguish-
ed, everything possible was done to relieve
the sufferers. The captain states that be
had only ten or twelve cabin passengers
only one of whom was lest, Mr.. Nelson, q
piano tuner from New York, aged sixty.
| The Books Lost. sas sea
Owing TO the condition Of Capt. Widen,
| the clerk, who was severely burned about
the chest and throat, it was IMPOSSIBLE to
obtain list of the passengers from him,
and the books were all los,.
A Brave Girl.
Miss Rebecca Cohn, of JefersoD, Texas,
who was accompanied by her cousin, Sol
omnsky, of Paris, Texas, STATES that she
was on the forward guard Of the boat, and
owing to the severity of the storm which
was raging, remarked "Let's 60 into the
cabin" and just as she rose the explosion
occurred, and she was blown into the river.
Seeing a tlsn near her, she grasped him by
the neck, and he told her to catch his left
arm, or she would drown both, which she
did, and soon after spar came floating by,
which be seized, and they held to it, float
ing down the river for long distance, until
the barber of the boat came to their assist
ance with pole, which her preserver
caught, and still holding on to the spar they
were safely landed on shore. Miss Cohn
was considerably bruised. She could not
learn the name Of the man who saved her,
but be was one of party of four belong
ing to the trans Atlantic circus.
The Engineer.
The first engineer states that Helpler, the
second engineer on duty, was one Of the
most reliable and competent men he ever
saw, and can give no theory as to the cause
| of the explosion. The last seen of HELPER
| was by the carpenter, who saw him try the
gauge, and just as he put, down stick the
explosion occurred.
Special to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Owing TO the illness of the first engineer,
the second had been on duty forty-eight
hours, and undoubtedly fell asleep at his
post and permitei the explosion which cost
! him his life.
Nearly all of the cabin passengers, having
| finished dinner, were sitting on the port
boiler deck, fourteen souls, five ladies, six
men, and three children. While they were
talking a heavy rain storm came up, and
they were about to start for the cabin, when
With q terrific crash the Boilers exploded
simultaneously. The deck upon which
they were opened, and part OF them
were thrown sixty feet 10 tie air, coming
down in the debris and falling timb9rs from
| the wreck; while those in the aft cabin or
rear portion Of the boat were not injured If
| the least. Mrs. Frisbee's little daughter
was standing at the side of Miss Coin when
the accident occurred, and fell through the
break IN the floor to the lower deck unin'
jured.
Capt. Carter is badly bruised and scalded
some what, but paid no attention TO bis in
juries until twenty hours after the accident,
when he could hold out no longer, and was
compelled to place another in charge.
The bodies of Mrs. Dawson ard two
children, deck passengers, were found, but
the husband was not. The bodies of two
negro firemen were also found, literally
roasted in the wreck near the fire doors,
and another dead negro's body was found
aft the boilers.
A Heroic Negress.
Capt. Widen states that when the explO-
SIGN occurred he was in his bed room in
bed, and was blown sixty feet In the air
straight up, and fell upon tie forecsstle just
in front of the steps, where the burning air
from the exploded boilers had full play on
him, and was rescued from his perilous p
sition by the colored chsmbermaid, Lizzie
Thompson, who not only carried him from
the castle and burning air, but rescued and
perhaps saved the lives Of three other Off
GERS, Carter, Donohua, and Eddie Widen,
by extracting them one after another from
their position, and herself escaped unhurt.
Bowen, the frs pilot, was just going of
watch and had turned the wheel over to
Donohue and laid down on tie bench,
when the explosion occurred, and upon
waking found pile of debris covering him,
the texas having been lifted bodily and
carried into the air some distance and
landed with almost a complete summer
sault at the stern of the boat, with all the
cabin crew who were In il at tire time.
Fifteen Lives Lost.
As near as can be ascertained there were
seven whites and eight negroes lost; and
scarcely one of the boats passengers or
crew would have been left to tell the tale
had the boilers explodsd when full of steam.
As it was, each of them let go at the same
instant, and there is not piece of either
left that weighs over 800 pounds, so strong
was the pressure. But, strange TO say, no
one was injured by the flying fragments.
Water All Gone.
The mud-drum was also exploded, and
was torn to shreds, which proves beyond a
doubt that the water in the boilers had got
below the lower gauge-cock fully ten or
fifteen minutes before The collapse occurred.
In fact, the steward states that he tried the
kitchen hot-water cock before the explosion
and got nothing but steam, and the cham
bermaid the laundry faucet five minutes be-
fore the explosion, with the same result.
She started then to inform the captain Of
the fact, but changed her mind and did not
60. EE
| A Strange Story.
The second engineer, John Helrer, who
by his carelessness and neglect ushered SO
many souls into eternity, was seen to try
the gauges, and then run to the side of the
boat from where he jumped into the river
and was seen by parties on shore swim
ming down stream toward the shore before
the accident occurred, aud without doubt
escaped to the woods. He has q wife and
child it St. Louis; and up to the time of the
disaster was con idered very careful and
competent man.
Goodness of the Passengers.
The passengers and the officers state that
but for the GOODNESS of the passengers they
all would have been lost. Several instances