Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1874-08-13
The Steamboat Disaster on the Ohio
River.

CINcINNATI, Aug. 5, 1874.
The operator at Aurora, Ind, reports
that the steamer Pat Rogers was burned
this morning on the Ohio River, one
mile below Aurora, and about twenty
lives were lost, principally ladies.
The boat burned near the shore, the
flames enveloping the shore side OF the
vessel Passengers who jumped over On
that side were nearly all lost or badly
{ burned None who used life-preservers
are known to be lost and two ladies
| were saved without the use of preserv-
ers. Many sank by clinging to each
other in the water.
The scene of the wreck is thirty miles
from here by river and was above
| Laughery Creek and short distance
below Aurora, Ind. The fire was
discovered about twenty minutes before
five O'clock All the passengers were
asleep. The crew don't know much
about it, Heartlessness and heroism
were displayed in awful contrast. The
officers cXerted themselves nobly to save
the passengers. A man who claims to
| have been the last to leave the boat says
the last object he saw was a child three
years old, beyond his reach, alone,
naked, dancing with pain, crying and
shouting The flames burned it. Not
one of six small children aboard was
saved Two were brought ashore dead.
Four women, who were afterward saved,
stood on the hurricane deck and
shouted till hoarse, imploring the river
pirate on the Kentucky shore to come
over and help, but he refused. A brave
man came down the river later barely in
time to save them at his own great
peril One young man, Robert j. Moore,
SAYS woman came to him with child
| and begged him to save them He threw
a mattress into the river He told her to
Jump. Half a dozen men seized the
mattress and the woman rushed away
half frantic, bewildered. They lost sight
of her She is thought to be burned
with her baby.
Capt. Davis says the officers were
wakened promptly and ran at once to the
rooms of the passengers.
| Mr.. Holmes, the engineer of the steam
er arrived in Cincinnati on the noon
train and was interviewed by a Cincin-
natl reporter He gives the following
account of the burning of the steamer:
at was just about six o'clock, when
Just opposite Laughery Greek, that flows
into the Ohio River short distance below
| Aurora, that ! noticed bright light
| among some bales of cotton in the after
part of the boat. ! fastened to the spot,
and found it to be burning rapidly and
beyond any possibility of Immediately
| eytinguishing it. l fastened to the hur-
ricane deck and gave the alarm to the
| pilot that the boat was burning, and told
him to run her ashore. The pilot at once
turned the boats head to the shore,
and Immediately she became unmanage
able The pilot stated that he could
| turn the Wheel but the steamer would
not answer to her helm. He thinks the
| tiller-rope had been cut From this fact
| it is thought that the fire was the work
of an incendary. Another theory is that
one of the deck passengers, while smok-
ing, dropped sparks from his pipe into the
cotton When the boat became unman-
ageable she drifted on sand-ba and
there grounded. The flames, instead OF
spreading along the lower deck, at once
shot up to the cabin and pilot-house, and
then swept across the hurricane deck.
The passengers were all aroused, and the
boats were lowered, and many were car
ried to the shore, but others, in their
fright, jumped into the water, and those
who were not drowned reached a. safe
landing place after drifting long time
with the current. There were nearly
100 people on board, but what proper
ton of this number were actually lost is
not known at this time, as many reported
missing have been seen by some on
shore since the disaster"
The boat and cargo, consisting of cat
tie, sheep and hogs, are total loss.
The passenger register and all the
| books were lost.
| YcorracropJopt cf Epr1i n