Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-07-19
From the st. Paul Dispatch.

Gen. Mark D. Flower, for several
years Adjutant General Of Minnesota,
but latterly owner and master of the
| the steamboat OsceOla, which was badly
| wrecked in storm on the Yellowstone
June %, arrived in this city with his
wife yesterday morning. His boat left
the Memphis and ST. Francis river
trade in April, and went up the Missou-
ri river on a contract for transporting
government freight from Bismark to
the military posts on the Yellowstone.
He was getting along well with his work
when the storm struck him, and dashed
his hopes. A representative of The
with Gen. Flower to-day statement, as
| follows:
''The tornado struck us at o'clock
P. NJ, June %, and in the twinkling of
an eye reduced the staunch little steam
er to a helpless wreck, threw us into the
river, and damaged or destroyed a
great part of our cargo. The boat was
proceeding up the Yellowstone, at a
point two hundred and twenty-five
miles above its mouth, and six hundred
miles above Bismark We were near
| the mouth of Powder river, and not
very far from the scene of the Custer
massacre last year. The banks of the
river are low at this point. We had
no timber for shelter or even to tie the
boat to. In all my experience [ never
witnessed anything so terrible. The
tremendous wind, accompanied by hail
and rain, came down on us with only q
moments warning, catching us on our
starboard quarter and carrying as over
to an angle of about forty-tive degrees,
when our entire upper works, cabin,
smoke stacks, steam pipes, and all
were swept into the boiling, surging cur
rent of the Yellowstone Relieved of
the upper works the boat righted up,
and by this means our lives were saved.
Many were blown overheard, but saved
themselves with the assistance of the
floating wreck and their companions
who were lucky enough to hold on to
the hull. The cabin and upper works
were split into kindling-wood and float
ed away. After the storm had some
what abated, by strenuous effort the
hull or what may be more properly
termed the remains of the wreck, was
fastened to the shore, and we proceeded
to save what we could of
the government freight, amounting to
some $4,000, which, of course, was
greatly damaged. Much of the cargo
went into the river and floated away.
We also had several thousand dollars
worth of freight belonging to A r. Min
niger, of St. Paul His loss will doubt
less be about % per cent of the original
valuation.
''Iwas blown sixty feet from the hurri-
cane roof and fell in the river, striking
a spar and injuring my side and back
seriously. Mrs. Flower, who was the
only lady on the boat, went over
board with the cabin but was rescued.
She lost her entire wardrobe, however,
except the clothing she wore Capt.
Haycock and his son Abner Haycock
of st. Paul were my pilots, and both
stood to the wheel until blown with the
pilot-house into the water. The entire
force of officers, crew, and carpenters
did their duty faithfully. John Jones,
fireman, and Bob Small, second cook,
both of Memphis, Tenn, were drowned.
My safe, containing books and papers
and several hundred dollars in money
went to the bottom irretrievably lost
Eve remained near the wreck until
we saved all we could of the freight,
and until passing boats took
it away and rescued us. The wreck
of the boat might have been got out,
had we given our first attention to her,
but before We got the freight rescued,
the water had fallen SO as to leave her