The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1874-08-13
The Recent Steamboat Horror.

A CINCINNATI dispatch of the 9th
gives the following account of the burn
ing OF the steamboat Pat Rogers:
The operator ut 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 cnveloping the shore side of the
vessel. Passengers who jumped over on
that side were nearly all lost or badly
burned. None who used life-prescrvers
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. Heartlessncss and heroism
were displayed in awful contrast The
officers exerted themselves nobly to save
the passengers A man who claims to
the last object he saw was 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 rivcr-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 Il
woman came to him with Il child and
begged him to save them He threw Il
mattress into the river He told her to
Jump. Half dozen men seized the mat
tress and the woman rushed away half
frantic, bcwildercd. 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:
"It was just about six O'Clock, when
just opposite Laughery Creek, that flows
into the Ohio River a short distance be-
low Aurora, that noticed a 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
eXtinguishing it, / 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 unmanageablc.
The pilot stated that he could turn the
wheel, but the steamer would not answer
to her helm He thinks the tiller-ropc
had been cut From this fact it is
thought that the fire was the work of an
inccndiary. Another theory is that one
of the deck passengers, while smoking,
dropped sparks from his pipe into the
cotton. When the boat became unman-
agcable she drifted on IA sand-bar 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
ricd to the shore, but others, in their
fright, jumped into the water, and those
who were not drowned reached safe
landing-plac after drifting long time
with the current There were nearly 100
people on board, but what proportion 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.