San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-10-19
RIVER HORROR.
,.ftb. n. T.. Lee-Twenty-One Passengers
DaInlnns ~ i.h Refore the Boat Reaches Shore.

rho famous steamer r. Z. Lee was
,,rned ON the Mississippi river, thirty
p south of Vicksburg, causing the
,nsS Of twenty-one lives and the total
i 1V"St,uction of the boat and freight
%hs Lee was valued at $187 900. and
.arr;ed insurance amounting to $780,.
SOO, Many acts of daring and hero.
S ;sm were performed by employees Of
t%e fatal boat in warning and assisting
passengers to places of safety. The
r ftory of the disaster is thus told by
tbe captain, William Campbell
ave left VicksbuIg about 6 o'clock
on Friday evening with about AGO
Iales of cotton on board, about 30
passengers, and crew of about 80 OF
fOO including officers. We first dis
covered the fire just below Brooks
Landing, Miss, about So miles below
Vicksburg. The fire was first seen in
tbe kitchen a little after 8 o'clock Sat-
urday morning. Pilot Stout, Engineer
Stout, Engineer Perkins, the second
mate, Fitzpatrick, Clerks Hall, Wells
and Bell and myself were on watch at
tbe time. I shouted to the pilot to
Land the boat as quick as he could,
which he did. We ran line out,
made the boat fast, and lowered the
stage. ALI persons forward got ashore
safely. Those aft were cut off from
the stage by the fire and smoke, and
went to the stern of the boat to save
themselves. Some were saved and
some were lost. The yawl was low
cred and picked up many persons in
the river who sprang overheard to es-
cape the flames. All my men did
their duty as long as the flames al
lowed them to. One lady from Pitts
burg, going to Natchez, saved herself
and seven children. She displayed
great presence of mind, and was cooler
than many man would have been
under such trying circumstances. Our
sailor man, a Greek, and two of the
fremen behaved splendidly with the
yawl. Pilot Stout, a brother of Mrs.
Mannon, one of the owners of the
boat, and Engineer Perkins behaved
nobly. Second Mate Mike Fitzpatrick
ran the lines out and lowered the
stage, showing GOODNESS and heroism.
All the cabin boys who were lost gave
up their lives in trying to save those of
others, Ovid Bell woke up all the
persons on the texas deck, not trying
to save himself until all we're awake.
Mate Hines was everywhere, display
Ing great energy. We worked the en-
gines just as long as the fire would let
us, and they did a great deal of service
in holding the boat to the bank. The
hose was worked, but all to no pur-
pose. Our outfit was complete. We
had 700 feet of hose, and the inspect
ors had been very particular in seeing
that we had full outfit the day before
we left New Orleans-last Tuesday.
The flames spread quicker than l can
tell. When we reached the shore the
flames had already wrapped some por-
tons of the boat. In an hour the
boat was burned to the waters edge.
We gathered up all we could and
waited for the dawn of day We saved
nothing but little money out of the
office. The books, papers, United
States mail, cargo and all were lost.
At the time of Wlse fire our cargo con-
sisted of 512 bales of cotton, 20, 600
feet of lumber, sundry freight and ex-
press packages. The cargo, think,
was valued at about $4,000. The
boat was worth 100000, and was in
sured FOR $4,000. At about 6 o'clock
in the morning the J. M. White came
along and took the whole crew on
board. I left the second mate and two
men in yawl to gather up floating
cotton and take care of the wreck I'M
til received further advices from the
insurance companies. Preached Vicks-
burg about 8 o'clock. The lady and
her children from Pittsburg l placed
on tug and sent to Natchez. My
mate was also instructed to hunt up
the bodies of any of the lost and offer
rewards for their recovery. The new
Robert E. Lee was built in 1876 by
the Towards, of Jeffersonville, Ind.
She was considered one of the best
boats on the river. She never met
with any accident except the breaking
of shaft last year. )"