American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1878-03-16
The Burning of the Steamer City
of Chester.

Il O'Clock this morning the alarm of fir
was sounded ut the wharf, it being dis
covered that the Anchor Line packe
, City of Chester was in flames She ar
p, rived at the Anchor Line Elevator abou
4 u O'Clock, where she was to have dis
1 charged her freight, preparatory to re
: turning to st. Louis at > O'Clock thii
evening. Captain Ziegler, her com
mander, states that as soon as the boa
r was made fast, feeling a little unwell he
; retired to his bed, leaving the boat il
t charge of Tom Hill, the first mate
The fires in the furnaces were all extin
ygu,s5hed, and all was. apparently right
al. th.t hour, The watchman in the
elevator states that he visited The outer
guards of the elevator, against which
the Chester lay, about five minutes be
fore the alarm was sounded, and he saw
no signs of fire. Those who first discov-
cred the fire state that the flames burst
OUT from under the boiler deck
on the port side, nearly the
entire length of the boat, as if
she had been set on fire in number
of places, ot%by a coal oil train, and that
the upper works of the boat burned as
rapidly as if she had been built of paper.
Captain'Ziegler, who was awakened by
the alarm sounded by his own bell,
states that the flames spread so rapidly
that he saw no chance of saving anv
thing or any body, and he gathered his
clothing in his hands and made his es-
cape to the elevator, where he caused
the elevator pumps to be turned on the
burning boat, but they had no effect
whatever in checking the flames. Sec
ing the elevator which was crowded
with freight was in imminent danger of
destruction, he ordered her lines to be
cut, when the Chester foated away from
the elevator into mid stream, a solid
sheet of flames from stem to stern, pre-
senting picture of grandeur, yet horri-
BILE in the fact that at that time it was
not known whether any one but the
Captain had escaped. Rumors of the
widest character were circulating
among the crowd drawn to the scene,
and the excitement was intense Moth
ing reliable could be learned from any
body as to the number of passen-
gers on board when she landed.
Captain Ziegler himself not being
able to give a satisfactory answer The
harbor tug Oriole soon had steam up
and her commander, Capt Napoleon
McNeely, soon had a line fast to the
boat, towing her to the opposite shore,
where he hoped to beach her, so that
those who had not escaped could do so.
While tugging at the burning wreck,
however, he found out that many had
jumped into the water, and he set to
work rescuing them, succeeding in pick
ing up IL persons who were nearly dead
from exhaustion, and who would GER
tainly have found the watery grave they
preferred to the horrible death by burn
ing. The Chester was finally run ashore
at a point opposite Fort Pickering, |
where the transfer boat General Pierson |
lay along side of her throwing several |
streams of water into the burning hull, |
but without in the least abating the fire,
and the boat was entirely consumed to
the water-line. An explosion took place |
about two hours after the fire first broke |
out, which shook the buildings in the |
city with the force of a severe earth
quake. This was caused by the explo-
sion of two kegs of powder stored |
in the boats magazine. 1t is known
that three persons were lost by the
p. Herman, the mail |
agent, and son of Thomas Herman, the
passenger agent of this city; &. A. Eel
Ter, barber of Memphis, who was re-
turning from st. Louis, and Brown, the
colored barber of the boat-the latter
having saved one of the chamber-maids, |
and swan with her to skiff, on which the
woman was taken, but poor Brown was
Knocked back into the water by a negro |
rouster in the skiff, and he was drown
ed. Chief Clerk Dietrich barely es-
capped with his life. When aroused by |
the fire he secured the boat money
about $2,500-and jumped into the riv-
er, and, getting hold on the rudder
post, held on until nearly exhausted,
and being forced by the heat to take to |
the water he lost the money, and was
only able to keep from drowning by aid |
of float which he found in the water
He was on the float three quarters of an |
hour, when passing skiff took him
aboard. Two or three others of the |
boats crew came as near being drowned. |
The Chester had a cargo of about 800 |
tons, all consigned to Memphis mer-
chants, Messrs. Pierce, Suggs & Co.,
being the heaviest losers. She had also |
nineteen head of horses, four head of |
mules, and small drove of hogs, all of |
which were either burned or drowned
The City of Chester was about six
years old, and valued at $45, 900, with |
no insurance, and was officered by Cap |
tain Alexander Ziegler; clerks, Deitrick,
Simpson and Fisher; pilots, Sneed,
Strong and Wilburn; engineers, Stag
and Mcnamara. She was of 900 tons |
burthen. This is the first accident by |
fire or otherwise of serious character
that has befallen the Anchor Line Packet !
COmpany.-,S Louis Times.
A CONTRACT has been made by an
American firm with the Russian Gov
ernment for the construction of canal
from st. Petersburg to Cronstadt, a I
distance OF 10 miles. The canal will be
280 feet in width and 20 feet in depth,