The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1882-04-05
Thirty-Five Lives Supposed to be Lost.
List Ofthe Lost. the Injured and
the Saved.
Stoves Circus, With Tent, Wild
Animeis, Wagons and Horses
Destroyed.
Scenes and Incidents of the Disasts r
as Related by Those Who Wit
messed the Terrible
Calamity.
ANOTHER SOUTHERN DISASTER.

ANOTHER SOUTHERN DISASTER.
Burning of the steamer Golden city,
at Memphis - Thirty-hve Persons Lost
Mostly Women and Children.
First Dlsratch.I
MEMPHIs. Tenn, March 30-The Cincin-
natl and New Orleans packet Golden City,
en- route from New Orleans 10 Cincinnati,
burned at the wharf this morning, at 4:3C
o'clock. Between thirty aud fifty lives were
lost, principally women and children.
lsecOnd Dlspateh.l
MEMPHIS. March 30-The steamer Golden
City OF the Son thern Transportation Com
panys line. when approaching the wharf
this morning at 4:30 o'clock, WAS discovered
to be ON IRE By the second engineer, Robert
Kelly, Tho Immediately notified Captain
Bryce Purcell. Sr.. the pilot on watch. The
boats bow was al once headed for the shore.
and in four minutes afterward she touched
the wharf at the foot of Beale street, where
coal feet is moored. line was thrown
and made fast To one of the coal barges but
the current being swift 1t soon parted and
the burning steamer hoated on down the
river, mass OF flames, with many of her
passengers and crew aboard who were unable
TO reach the shore. and were lost.
The Golden City left New Orleans last Sat
urday en- route to Cincinnati. She carried a
crew OF about sixty. She had about forty
cabin passengers. fifteen of whom were ladies
and nine children. Her cargo consisted of
300 tons, among which was lot OF jrse-
The fire is said to have had its origin in this
embustible material.
STOVES CIRCUS AND ANIMALS LOST.
Stoves circus was taken aboard at Vida
lia La, and six cages of animals, birds, to-
gather with the ticket and band wagon. tents
, and horses were lost.
SPREAD OF THE FLAMES.
Marion Purcell, one of the pilots, was in
the clerk ; office when the alarm was sound
ed and rushed through the cabin, bursting
in the state room doors aud awakening
passengers. Bnt so rapidly did the flames
| spread that within five minutes after discov-
ering the fire, which broke out amidship,
the after part OF the steamer was all ablaze
Those that were saved had 20 flee in their
night clothes.
| THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE.
The fire was caused by a wstchman acci-
dentally setting fire TO lot OF jute which
was stored amidship the steamer. She had
| just whlstled to land, and the watchman
went among the deck passengers To potify
| them that Memphis was being approached,
and those that weA destined for here must
get ashore. The bottom OF hls lamp dropped
in some jute. and before the flames could he
extinguished, spread all over the deck of the
steamer. Bryce Purcell the pilot, made his
escape by climbing over the front of the pilot
house as the fire wss all in the rear OF him
when the steamer touched the wharf The
tug Oriole did not burn. as first reported
but was sunk by the burning steamer in
making the landing Several coal barges
and ice boats belonging to Bohlen, Huse &
Co. caught on fire and burned Billy
Hodge, pilot on the Dean Adams, saved the
cook, who jumped overheard, as be fioated
down stream. All the passengers and crew
were kindly cared for by C. b. Galloway, Of
the Peabody Hotel, who provided them
with breakfast
CORRECTED list or THE LosT-IArER PARTIc-
uLARS.
The following is a corrected list of the
lost by the burning of the Golden City at
the wharf this morning: DR.. Monahan and
wife, of Jackson, u: Mrs. Cary, of Fair
mount, near Cincinnati; Miss Luella Cary,
Morton Place, near Cincinnati; w. III. Stowe
and wife, o. l.. Lywood and wife, Hender-
son, Ky; Mrs. Anna Smith, of MaSsachu-
Setts; Miss Helen Percival, Hawesville, KY;
Mrs. l.. +. Kouns and three children. Miss
Campbell, relative of Mrs. kouns, Robert
Kelly, Second Engineer; Mary Boyd, Aman-
da Atchison, chambermaids; J. G. Crone.
owner of the side show TO Stoves circus
three of the deck crew (colored) and negro
boy servant, W. III. Stowe. Captain Mcln-
tyre was asleep az the time the fire origi-
mated. but heard the alarm and came hastily
down stairs. He tried TO get into the cabin.
but the fire and smGke drove him back.
Descending to tneNeck he and the second
mate John Hill, made burning boat fast
10 the coal fleet, and then, aided by the pas
sengers in getting off the steamer. He was
calm and did everything in his power to
save everybody. but all efforts proved fruit
less, as the line which held the boat either
burned or unloosed itself in some way, and
she began drifting into the stream.
John II. Trewalla, agent OF Stoves Circus
| was on The lower deck and seeing Mr.. A.
Butler of Donaldsonville, Ga, with his wife
| and four children on the boiler deck
shouted to him to throw his children. Mr.
Butler tossed him two which Mr.. Trewalla
caught and carried 10 a place of safety on
the coal barge. He then assisted Mrs
Buttlr wish her infant down from the upper
deck and helped off the steamer, while Mr..
Butler brought down stairs his remaining
child.
Willis Mckinley, a young man scven-
teen years old. gives graphic description
of the fire. lie was in his stateroom when
the first cry of fire was heard. He says it
was not three minutes after before he
saw flames coming up through
the floor of his siateroom. He ran back
i'm the ladies' cabin, where his grandmother,
Mrs Percival, and his aunt, Miss Ionia Mat
son, were bursting in their stateroonss. He
found both standing up. Telling them to
come ON, he grasped his aunt by the arm
and led the way through the binding
smoke to the front part of the boat They
had nat gone far before the flames began
bursting through the floor of the cabin.
He kept pressing forward, and finally
reached the front deck of the steamer with
his aunt. His grandmother was nowhere to