The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1875-04-30
Three Steamboats, Burned.
FIFTY IfvEa ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
SCENES AMONG THE WOMEN AND
CHILDREN.


4. snecial TO the New York Herald OF
Saturday oiyes the following particulars OF
,ha burning of The steamers Kyle. Exporter
ord Podnana at New Orleans Friday at
teTBoon
This afternoon, at a quarter past four
o'clock. n time when the levee IS usually
rooss crowded. a fire broke out III the pIack-
smith shop of the steamboat john hyle,
then lying at the foot OF GraFier street.
along with the steamers Charles Bodmann
and Exporter in close juxtaposition. Al
most before an alarm could be given the
whole boat was in flames. Time was,
however afforded to rescue a lew LADY
passengers and others before she was
nulled ont into the stream. The fire al
most Immediately caught the Bedmann,
whose passengers and people on board near
ly all escaped 20 the Exporter. As soon IS
the fire was discovered the Ilies OF tne
boats were cast loose from the shore ana a
stean tno, nnlled them out into the stream.
The day was unusually clear, with a strong
north wind blowing. As soon as the D"ats
cleared the eddy, about 200 yartIs from the
shore they were struck with the full force
of the wind and were almost instantaneous
lv wrapped in flames, driving the helpless
passengers into the river. The scere from
the crowded levee was heartreDdlng IN the
extreme.
TEE SCENE on THE BoDMANN
From the Bodmann men, women and
children, shrielzing and crying for help,
were seen to jump into the river and drown,
while the spectators on sbore were power
less to help them. The Exporter did not
catch fire until out in the river, and her
forecastle was at the time crowded with
people, the number being estimated by
witnesses ofthc catastrophe at from 100 TO
$50. As the huge sheet Of flame swept
down upon them they were seen to jump
overheard like a startled flock OF sheep,
when a number were rescued by skis and
tugs. which had put out to their assist
ance; but the great majority were drowned.
THIRTY WOMEN AND CHILDREN LOST.
Albert Mynck. the watchman of the
Bodmann. vino was saved with its captain.
reports about twenty-five or thirty women
and children as lost upon that boat, and
the same proportion was estimated by
spectators to have been among the frantic
crowd upon the Exporters forecastle. In
thirty minutes after the fire broke out the
KYLE was floating down stream burned to
the waters edge, and the wrecks OF the
huls of the other two boats had drifted
over to the AIgiers shore, where they still
shoulder.
THE RESCUE.
About twenty OF the rescued, among
whom are several ladies, were provided for
upon the steamboat Louisville, and just as
your correspondent left the lcvec two more
ladies were landed from skiff. Some of
the rescued are badly burned. Both the
Bodmann and Exporter only arrived last
night, the latter with an excursion party
on board, among which was the family of
her owner, Captain Reese. Of Pittsburgh.
Fortunately most of the passengers were
up in town when the fire occurred. but
Mis-. Reese and her daughter, with another
lady, remained on board. of these two
were saved by a skifI, but Miss Reese is
supposed to have been lost. Captain Shin
kle, of the Bodmann, also lost his son,
fourteen years Of age.
THE LOST.
1t will be very difficult 70 ascertain the
names of all the lost. Among them were
many spectators from the shore, who went
aboard the burning boats To assist iii put
ting out the fire. Ere they could return
they found themselves out in the stream,
enveloped i'll flame. One case Of heroism
is reported. Two women who sprung over
board succeeded in grasping a ringbolt
upon the hull of the Exporter, where.
partly sheltered by the guards of the boat,
they clunC for about fifteen minutes in full
view of all on shore. In the mentime three
skiffs made repeated but Intellectual at
tempts to reach them, being each time
driven back by the intense heat of the
flames. Just as the hundreds of breath
less spectators were upon the point Of
abandoning hope, long lead colorcd skif'
with single rover approached and dashed
liz to their side. In a few minutes it
emerged in safety, having succeeded in
rescuing both from watery graves. This
gallant action was rewarded with a spon-
taneous cheer from the crowd lining the
river bank. The latest estimates reduce
the loss to about fifty souls. The burning
hull of the Exporter is now being towed
down the river by tugboat.
Captain Hutchinson of the Kyle. reports
all saved upon his boat, through himself,
the clerk and one or two others are some
what badly burned. He says that in less
than three minutes from the time of dis
covering the fire that his boat was one
sheet of flame from stem to stern. To
adopt an expression used by an old darkey
witness of the sad affair "They all burned
like broom corn
BURNING OF THREE BOATS.
1t now appears that all the three boats
were tied to the same riugbolt upon the
levee, and that on endeavoring to cut .he
kyle's moorings all three were unfortunate
iy severed at the same time. The river
makes rapid eddy at that spot and they
at once drifted out together, thus COM
municating the fire to each other. The
tugboats, Ella Wood, Nellie and Dome,
and another were in the immediate neigh
borhood. The two former, it is said, lost
both time and opportunity for saving life
IN vain endeavor to extinguish the ires
by throwing water upon the burning boats.
STORY OF AN EYEWITNESS
Another eyewitness to the catastrophe,
an old merchant, says he arrived on the
levee just as the boats drifted out. The
forecastles of the BoGmann and Exporter
were then crowded with people, who Just
at that momen. seemed for the time to
realize their danger and became panic
stricken. In short time, he said. he saw
over a hundred people struggling in the
water. Some jumped over with their
trunks, others with barrels and pieces of
freight. The skiffs, of which some half
dozen had been attracted to the spot. i'm
medlately dashed IN and commenced rescu-