The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1882-07-13
DISASTER ON THE OHIO.
'oIIIsion OF Two Excursion Steamers-Dfs-
tressinE Scenes at the Wreck-Nanes oi
the Dead and Missing.

tressins scene. at the Wreck-Nanaes Of
the Dead and Missing.
The excursion steamer Scioto, from
East Liverpool, Ohio, for Moundsvilie,
having on board between 500 and 600 pas
sengers on the Fourth of July, collided
near Mingo Junction with the excursion
steamer John Lomas sinking the former
almost Immediately in fifteen feet OF
water.
An officer of the Scioto tells the story of
the accident as follows: "We were COM
ing up the river under full head of steam.
Our boat whistled for the channel, and the
other boat whistled to give the Scioto the
channel. The pilot said that there was
misunderstanding The John Lomas
struck us with full head of steam. The
Scioto sank in about three minutes after
being struck, in about fifteen feet of water.
About half of the Scioto's cabin lis aeutsof'
water.
There are from fifteen to twenty-five
persons missing. The number missing
! from Wellsville is about six, as far as we
can find out-Court Ewings son and Mike
Connors' son, Joe Leith, the drummer boy
in the band, and Willie Booth and John
Prosser. 1t was bright moonlight night
| which accounts for so small loss of life
| The men from the wreck now say that no
more than six or ten are missing"
One of the survivors says: " The Scioto
was coming up the river under a full head
of steam. and when about half a mile from
Mingo Junction the John Lomas was
sighted coming down. The pilot of the
Scioto whistled for channel, but owing to
misunderstanding both boats took the
same side, the Lomas striking the Scloto
and sinking her in fifteen feet of water, in
three minutes from the time of the col
lision. The scenes on the Scioto were
heartrending, and the struggles for life
were frightful to behold. The Lomas was
only slightly disabled, and went to work
at once to save those on board the unfor-
tunate Scioto. This task was rendered
easier by the bright moonlight, and no
| doubt many lives were saved from this
reason. 1t is now believed that the first
reports were exaggerated and that the loss
of life will not exceed twenty persons.
Arthur McNully, who lives at Cross
Creek, was an eye witness to the whole
matter. He was standing in his door i'm
mediately opposite where the collisi on oc-
CURED:
at was about o'clock. The Loomis, in
| passing the island chute, whistled for the
preference of sides, and as near as can be
| Judged it was three minutes before the
Scioto answered, and neither of them ap
peared to sheer off and almost immedi,
ately the collision occurred. General con
fusion followed, and saw people jumping
from the hurricane deck and all parts Of
the steamer. AS far as could be seen the
Lomas struck the Scioto forward, for the
water flew over the bow of the Scioto. The
Sciote sank almost instantly, an6
the Lomas backed up as soon as pos
sible. The Lomas ran to the Ohic
shore and landed her passengers
and then returned to the wreck. The
crew and officers of the Lomas theI
exercised every effort to rescue the unfor
tunate passengers, and succeeded in land
ing over 400, making several trips, and con
tinued to work as long as there was any
who desired to leave. As soon as saw thu
accident jumped into my ski iff and started
for the wreck. When 1 got there l go
five persons within distance of twenty
five feet, and there we're two other skiff
know how many they got. They were bal
looing all over now and then, and appeared
to be great many in the wreck, butt wa
too dark for me to tell the number. thel
took the parties L rescued to the Ohio side
and by that time the Lomas had lande,
their party and returned to the wreck.
had Just come from work as the boat cam
past, and couldn't see how many were OF
board, but from what the parties who ha
landed told me there were from sixty-fv
to seventy on the boat. From the run @
the conversation of those who had bee
| L
were landed. Three women were carrie
ashore and died after they had been res
cued."
STEUBENvILLE, OHIO, July 5.-The seen
of last nights wreck of the Scioto
visited by hundreds to-day. Ten dea
bodies have been recovered on this sid
and two bodies of boys are reported g
Wellsville. Captain Thomas, Of tn
Scioto, was taken to Wheeling this morr
ing on the Abner O'Neal. He was almos
crazed over the loss of his son. His SON
body was recovered at Brilliant, thre
miles below.
The bodies of David Fogo, Stewar
Pipes, of Wellsville, r. E. Boardman,
East Liverpool, boy named Smith, {
Steubenville, have been recovered, and
young girl from this city is missing
Lewis Harper, Willie Boalt, Charles D.
wilson and Joe Connors, residence III
known, are missing, and two deck hand
and perhaps four members of the Well
Vile band.
Two boys who swan ashore about mil
and half below the disaster, say fifty pc
sons, were with them on the lower deck
No one can approximate the number
lost. 1t is not more than fifty nor lie.
than twenty.
There are more than twenty known |
be missing, and all chances for escape al
heard from. Hundred of persons frol
Wellsville and East Liverpool went dow
to the disaster this morning.
The list of missing is as follows:
Wellsville = John Stevenson, age
: twenty-five years; David Fago, age
: twenty-one years Belle Bratton; Sail
, Kiddy; E. p Smith and wife and tW
children; Willie Ewing Charles Davidson
twelve years; Joseph Conner, twenty-or
years; Iren Farmer, Cit. Thompson, min
, teen years; Lincoln Thompson, twent,
) NJ. e. Estline and wife, Willie Purel
/ John Christy, John Tomlinson, Jacob Gil
son and wife, DIR. Stevenson and three me
named respectively Kennett. Woods an
: Burke. Lew Harper, of Wellsville, W;
: fatally hurt. This list is more likely to
: swelled than diminished.
, WHEELING, w. Va, July 5.-The seer
at the wreck of the Scioto to-day almo
beggars description. To the anguish
, those looking for lost ones is added Il
, walls and sobs of those bending over Il
inanimate forms of dead loved ones receive
, from the water. Both banks of the riv
). of perhaps 1000 persons. The work
e dragging in the vicinity for bodies is sti
' going on. William Mulholland, of Well
vile, Ohio, under whose auspices the e
. cursion on the ill-fated Scioto was give
I said that the boat took on about 200 pa
4 sengers at East Liverpool, and $50
WellsVille. The boat was very mut
. crowded, and refused to stop at 9th
points where tickets had been sold. Takil
his statement with others, it is safe to s.
q that 500 souls were on board at the time
= the collision.
y M1NGo JUNCTION, O., July 5-3 2. M.
= The bodies of the following persons ha,
been recovered: C. E. Sprage, of Har
mondsville; Miss Bella Brandon, Dav
/ Fago, Sarah Keddy, Stewart Pipes, Edwa
e Smith and Joe Conner, Welfsville; Mi
/ Mollie Shields, E. P. Burke, R. E. Bear
= more, of East Liverpool, and Ed. Thoms
| son of Captain Thomas of the Scioto.
> The names of the known missing a
e Willie Booth, John Prosser, Charles Davi
a SON, Lewis Harper and Charley Lett
e Charles Swearengen, John Stevenson; al
: about twenty-five missing The missil
n will consist of parties taking the boat b
4 tween East Liverpool and Wheeling, al
= it is said few from Wheeling took Il
- boat up.