Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1881-03-18
BLOW UP.
Explosion of the Tow
boat John Means.
Four Lives Lost and Five
Others Injured.
Complete Wreck of the Vessel.

evening while passing Hollands store,
opposite Osceola, Arkansaw. The
vessel was under way at the time and
within fifty yards or less of the Ten
nessee shore.
Persons who witnessed, the ex'
plosion from the shore say
that men on board were thrown
above the tops of the trees, and
were seen among the scattered boards
and other parts of the wreck, flying
through the air. Several of them fell
into the river. Some were picked up
by skitfs from the shore, and four are
lost, or supposed to be, as nothing has
since been heard of them.
Among the lost is Mr.. John H.
Seals, one ofthe pilots, who has a wife
and four children living at Paducah,
Kentucky. Mr.. Seals was noticed
standing in the forward cabin door
way at the time Of the disaster, and he
was never seen after. Another of the
missing is a deck hand named Morris,
and the others we're two German fire.
men. Pilot Charles Pursell, who was
on duty when the boilers went of, was
blown high into the air and fell into
the river in an insensible condi-
ton. When he became conscious,
he found himself floating with the cur
rent, on a piece of the wreck, which
proved to be the floor of the pilot
house, He is of the opinion that
while in an unconscious state he in
stinctiyely caught at the floating OBJ
ject and crawled on it.
HIS LEG WAS BROKEN
and he was otherwise hurt. Bruises
are visible about his face, and as he
rested on a bed this forenoon at Gas
tons hotel he complained of a serious
pain in his chest. DR.. A. G..
D%unnavant, of 0sceola, went
to the wreck and dressed
the wounds Of the unfortunate.
Among the rest he set the fractured
leg of Mr.. Purcell. He is now under
the care of DR.. w. Il. Rogers, of this
city.
The Means was a four boiler boat,
and it is believed every boiler ex-
ploded, as she was blown into small
fragments. Nothing remains of the
boat but forty or fifty feet Of the for
ward part ofthe hull, which still floats
and is fastened to the barges by the
same hawsers which dashed them to-
gether before the accident.
The barges in tow OF the wrecked
boat went adrift Immediately after the
blow up and foated with the current
some forty miles to the head Of Fog
leman's chute. There the downward
bound steamer Belle Memphis came
up and endeayored to land them, but
being heavily laden was unequal to
the task. She left them still drifting,
but took off the wounded, also the
captain, bringing them to this city.
Among the injured are Mr.. VIM. R.
Woodbridge, of Cairo, the second cook,
who was badly scalded from head to
foot, by a vessel Of boiling water in the
kitchen being thrown upon him. He
was on the Belle Memphis up to noon
to-day and will perhaps return to his
home at Cairo by her this evening
Mr.. Thos. Cannon, one Of the deck
crew, was quite badly bruised. He
preferred to remain on the barges and
did not come to the city.
The crew of the John Means in
cluded thirty-two people, all of whom
are uninjured except the four lost and
four wounded, and Captain VIM. Nc.
C~lellan, the boats commander, who
is considerably bruised. The latter
was formerly an upper Mississippi
river pilot and master. Captain Nc
Clellan chartered the harbor tug Van
derburg and returned to the barges
early this morning. They had doubt
less lodged somewhere about the foot
of the chute, or they would have been
here before this time.
The John Means was
SEVENTEEN DAYS OUT
from New Orleans when she blew up.
She started with seven barges in tow,
left n at Arkansaw City, and had
six when the accident happened. Two
we're loaded with railway iron, destin-
ed to st. Louis, for a road in Colora-
do,and amounted to ten or twelve hun
dred tons. On the upward passage,
the boat stopped three times to clean
out the boilers. While here, on
Wednesday last, this was done and
some loose riyets were also repaired.
She resumed her voyage Wednesday
evening, and was about twenty-fou
hours out from here when she closed
her career so quickly. Mr.. Frank
Weaver, the chief engineer, and
on duty when the boilers let go, was
saved so was bis assistant.
The John Means was an old beat,
q