The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-05-07

THE INVESTIGATION
OF the Late Steamboat Disaster.

Yesterday morning Capts. Flanders and
Moffett resumed their examination OF wit
nesses of the steamboat fire Of the 23d.
James Rees, .yr., says-I was first clerk oil
the steamer Exporter at the time of her burn
ing at the levee in this city. Was sitting on
the boiler deck of the steamer Louisville at
the tune the alarm of fire was given and i'm.
mediately ran down and got on board the Ex-
porter.
At the time I arrived on her the crew was
about to drop the stages off our guards on to
| the wharf. I assisted to slack up the line of
our steamer and after paying out about
| twenty-five or thirty feet, made the line fast
and at this time crowd Of men ashore was
pulling the boat up the eddy by her spring
line. / walked over to the port side and had
my attention called ashore by some one say
ing that our head line was loose.
ran to it, but it was rendering out so fast
that could not take q turn with it. At that
time, on looking below, saw that the John
Kyle was also loose and floating up the eddy.
1 then ran up stairs into the cabin, found my
mother sister and Mrs. Ives, took them down
them through the cook-house, on the after
stairway, to the main deck on the port side,
and at the time we reached there the boat Ty-
Ter was lying with her stern about ten feet
from our port guard, head out into the
stream.
There was a man standing. on the deck of
the tug aft with line in his hand and the
man at the wheel Of the tug was looking out
of the pilot-house window at me- 1 took him
to be captain of the tug. From the position
OF the tug one revolution back on the tug
would have brought her back to our stern, at
which time there was no fire on this part Of
the Exporter.
He paid no attention to my call. The man
on the stern made an attempt to throw us
line. The tug then started to move away.
Seeing this, looked around and found my
sister standing alongside of me; asked her
where mother had gone to. She replied she
did not know. 1t then occurred to me that
she had returned to the cabin, SO immedi-
ately ran up stairs into the cabin and broke
in all the doors in the ladies cabin on the port
side, the starboard side of the cabin being all
adre, and not finding my mother there, I
started for the Captain room, which she was
occupying.
When got out on the boiler-deck, saw q
skiff going ashore with some ladies in it, and
felt satisfied that the ladies were my mother
and sister and Mrs. Ives.
l then ran down on the forecastle, and |
found many people there all of whom were in |
great confusion; helped to launch one of our |
small stages overheard, and saw at least forty |
to fifty people jump on to it off from our
bow, at which time we were fully one hun
dred yards from the wharf and out into the
current.
A great many people shortly afterwards
jumped overheard without anything by which
to save themselves. At this time l discov-
cred my sister ON the forecastle when I sup
posed she had got ashore previously. went
to her side and remarked that we would be
compelled to jump overheard, at the same
time taking off my sleeves and coat.
towards the matches, and finding one threw
it overheard, but before doing SO saw my
sister jump overheard. then jumped over
board myself and the hatch was Immediately
seized by different people in the water and
turned over and over. Never saw my sister
after got into the water.