The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-05-01
TERRIBLE DISASTER.
Three Steamboats, Burned to the Wa
te2's Edge.-The Loss of Life.
List of the Lost and Saved.-State-
ment OF Survivors,.
Inc. 1lti nit.

i New Orleans Bulletin. OF me 2-1 'til.
Oar river front last evening was
( the scene of most hcartrcndin%
disaster, one that will be long re
! mem bercd by the hundreds who
were spectators and powcrlcss To
render the assistance necessary to
rescue from terrible death num-
beers of their fellow beings.
Near 1 O'Clock II fire broke out III
I the blacksmith shop of the steam
boat John Kyle, and in an incredi-
! bly-short time cnvelopcd the whole
( boat in flames.
Immediately upon the alarm be-
ing 81, en-, and rapidi,y with whichthe
fire WAS extending aSccrtained, the
danger to boats in the Immediate Vi
cinity was appreciated, and b. f.
/ Burch, mate OF the Lcssic Taylor,
which wus lying just above the
Kyle, cut the lines of the latter.
when the eddy carried her up for
about two hundred feet, until she
struck the Bodmann, which boat
quickly caught on fire.
This boat was cut loose, and The
! two foatcd directly against the
steamer Exporter, to which the
! flames were con municatcd, where
upon some one, who Is deserving
the scvercst ccnsnrc, to put the
matter in its very mildcst form,
severed the moorings of that boat,
and the three boats, all ab,azc from
stern to stern, were blown by the
high wind prevailing to the middle
OF the stream.
When the Kyle and Bodmann
were cut loose three persons on
them rushed to the Exporter rs soon
rs that boat was touched. hoping
to escape thence to the landing, but
some one, in the excitement of the
moment, cut her loose with about
one hundred people on board. who
drittod out into the stream on the
burning vessel.
In spite of every eXcrtion the
three boats continued TO burn, the
Bodmann and Exporter drifting
over to the Al giers side, and the
Kyle rapidly floating down the riv-
er about two miles, when she sank
The unfortunatcs on the burning
steamers were forcel by the flames
TO Jump into the river. and most
narrowing sight was presented to
the view of the thousands of specta-
tors who lined the Icvee. A NUM-
Der of men were seen clinging to
bows and stcrns of the Bodmann
and Exporter, while the surface of
the river was alive with human be-
ings struggling for existence.
There is no idea Of how many
persons were lost as the excitement
was so great that no definite infor-
nation could be obtained. The
whole river was covered with slSitfs,
which were trying to save those
who were overheard. Many stood
huddling on the bow of the Expor-
ter, thinking that relief would be
extended them by the tugs that
were playing in the immediate vi
cinlty, but when the middle of the
river was reached the fire became
so hot that the half-erazed creatures
had to take 10 the water and many
went down, while some few were
saved by the eXertions of the skiff..
On board the Exporter was Capt.
Reese, the owner, from Pittsburg,
who, with his family and a number
of friends from that city were here
on pleasure excursion. Fortu-
natcly, the ladies of the excursion
party on board of the Exporter,
were all ashore, except Mrs. Reese
and daughter and one other lady.
Mrs. Reese and the other lady were
taken off by skiff, but the daugh-
ter was probably drowned.
On the Bodmann there was an
excursion party from Cincinnati. a
great many of whom were in the
city visiting the sights
Capt. Shinkle, of the Bodmann,
was severely burned about the
hands and face.
When Capt. Hutchinson, OF the
Kyle, discovered the boat burning,
he rushed INTO the cabin and told
the people to rush ashore. lie
then ran to the texas in search of
his wife, but she had already gone
on shore. lie WAS then surrounded
by fire and was obliged to slide
down burning rope into the wa
ter; where he was rescued.
The passengers on board of the
Kyle were saved by the prompt
ness of Capt. Hutchinson in giving
the alarm.
The loss of life would not have
been half SO great had not mum
Der of persons boarded the steamer
Exporter for the purpose of view
ing the burning boats on the out
side,all of whom when the lines were
cut driftcd helplcssly into the stream
on the burning steamer.
1t is said by those who were pres
ent on the landing that the tug boats
Nellie and Tyler, which came prompt
ly to the front when the alarm was
given, could have rendered valua-
b!e assistance, but failed to do so,
although appealed TO by tho many
who stood upon the deck Of the
steamer
A gentleman who escaped from
the Exporter atiirms that he called
loudly upon one of the tugs, which
was but few yards removed land i'm
plorcd those on board to take the
ladies off the boat, if none others,
but his appeal was unheedcd, AMI
the ting remained at remarkably
safe distance.
LOST.
Granolin, Ellen Gray, chamber
maid of the Exporter; Mrs. Mus
grave, Chas. Kratz, Mary Collins,
Exporter, missing Jas. Case, first
engineer, and John Frivon, second
engineer, missing - Clark, porter
on the Bodmann, missing Miss AL
lie Brazicr.
Beyond this it is supposed that
twenty-five or thirty were lost.
Mrs. Musgravc, the daughter of
Mr.. Reese, on the Exporter, was
lost. The cabin boy states that