The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-07-07
SEEKING THE DEED.
Details OF the Melancholy Dis'"er ~
Mingo Junction.
Terrible Scenes Dcscribed-Ihe '',o'o '"
Fire When She Began to sink-No Hso"p'
but the River Hundreds OF Frantic E.eur.
sioni.ts Battling for Their Lives-De"" """
Nrissfuu.


fIly Telegraph 10 the hcfhi"j
MySGo JUNCTION, o., July ARRIVING
nj this place---about fifty miles below Pitts-
b,frpb. on the Ohio riyer-eary TINS morn
inr. / obtained the following particulars
about the collision between the steamboats,
Scioto. Captain Thaddels Thomas, and
John Tomas, Captain Engclbright, causing
the death OF many persona. The steamer
Scioto is q little packet that during the past
wear has been running II, he local trade
between Wheeling and .Nlatamoras under
The ownership and management OF Captain
William Dillon, OF wheeling. Last spring
she was sold To the Wheeling an1 Parkers-
burg Transportation Company, who put
her in thorough repair, furnishing her with
new steel boilers. River-men considered
her in sound condition. Her carrying ca
pacity was in the neighborhood OF 200 tons,
and under the law she would have been
emit ed to carry sixty to seyenty-ilve pas
sengers. The steamer John Lomas is an
outgrowth of the Della, a little low-water
packet that has served in the trade around
here for nine years past. The latter was
purchased by Engelbright Il Co., OF Mar
tins Ferry, about two months ago, her
machinery and cabin being placed on a new
hull, thus constituting the Lomas. since
her completion she has been running In
the passenger trade between Wheeling and
Martins Ferry. Her capacity is about
fifty tons, and she was fitted to carry about
forty passengers.
The Welsyille Cornet Band chartered
the Scioto for an excursion from Wellsvillc
and East Liverpool to Wheeling, and took
on about 800 people. The Lomas brought
ont party from Martins Ferry to Browns
Island.
TIE COLLISION.
The boats ran all right until evening.
The Lomas left Steubcnvile at, fifteen min
utes after 8. going down, and met the
Scioto coming up at MingO. The most au-
thentic account as to the cause OF the COLI
sion seems TO he that the LOmaS whisted
for preference OF sides, and that the SciotO's
pilot did not understand properly or an
swer promptly. At any rate. the Lomas
went into the scioto's quarter, striking her
fifteen feet back from the bow, tearing a
hole in the Scioto's hull and crushing half
way through the cabin. The LOmas backed
off unnjurcd. The SciotO began to fill,
and sank in five minutes. On board the
Scioto were fully four hundred persons. \
panic broke out, and the people threw
themselves into the water. The Lomas
and small boats picked up the greater por-
ton. but many are missing and thought to
be drowned. The SciotO lies about fifty
feet from the Ohio shore, with the water
covering the cabin floor about two feet
MISUNDERSTOOD SIGNALS.
David Keller, pilot OF the Scioto, is said
to be keeping saloon in Wheeling, and, it
is thought. has grown rusty. Captain
Thomas, OF the Scioto. is crazed from the
collision, and can give no information.
Keller LETT for Wheeling on the Tomas.
CYRUS Higgs, first engineer OF the SciotO,
saws Keller is licensed, but did not run
regularly on the SciOtO. The second engi-
ncer. Wilson Hubbard, thinks the signals
OF the Scioto were given wrong. There is
no doubt that the Scioto was overloaded.
A hundred persons lett her at Wcll,yille
Yesterday morning. afraid to 20 further.
None of the SciotO'S company are hurt. and
all the deaths are from drowning. No one
on the LOmas suffered. Judging from the
reports and the appearance OF the crowd
after the accident there had been considers
bic drinking on board. The officers OF The
Scioto say that only Il few passengers were
drunk. and the crew were all right. The
Scioto's machinery was working all right.
DANGER FROM FIRE.
The wreck OF the SciotO promises to be
more disastrous and TO cost more lives than
was anticipated BY even the most low-spir-
tied passengers on the floating coffin. 1t was
only hv the merest chance that the disaster
was not more overwhelming. The hun
dreds Of panic-stricken unfortunatcs who
" ere aboard last night no doubt realized
their danger in its fullest extent. and proba-
bly, thought that the extent OF the danger
could not be increased. In this they were
mistaken. Death for every soul on board
was threatened from the opposite elements
fire and watcr-and il seemed almost mi
raculOuS that any one escaped after the col
lision occurred. When the LOmls went
ploughing into the SciOtO she tore through
between the coal-boXes and the furnace
throwing the Goals all over the lower deck.
In an instant the boat was in flames, the dry
and infammable material Offering every fl
cility for the spread OF the fire. From the
shore il looked as though tine SciOtO was
doomed TO be an immense funeral pyle.
Her wheels made but one revolution. she
swung slowly around, ani began to sink.
As the boat went down ard the water
seemed TO ascend The fire gave way, and
the fear Of "A grand cremation scene went
with if. II was then that thoughts Of an
other danger flashed across persons familiar
with the Ohio river 1T this point. The wa
ter is very deep, and where the SciotO was
going down there was enough OF it to
cover her from her keel TO the top OF her
pilOt-hOusc. Down she went, the water
washing over her lower deck, hiding the
boilers. touching the boiler deck, and then
rushing toward the hurricane deck. 1t
looked as ii 4 was all'up when the down.
ward motion ceased. The SciOto had
struck on Wits bar. Had she fsundcred
above or below or on either side Of this
spot she would have been completely sub
merged, and her passengers would have
died like rats in Il trap or persisted by the
score after a struggle In the water. On the
other hand, had She not sunk no power on
earth could have prevented her from burn
ing to the waters edge. In either case
death was inevitable had il not been for
the fortunate circumstance OF striking lust
where she did.
ON THE WRECK
This morning at ii O'Clock, before the
boat had been visited by any one, the
Herald correspondent explored her as far
a. possible. \ more sickening picture OF
desOlation than that presented by the boat
would he hard to imagine. The skifT used
to reach her passed over the rail on the
boiler deck until the bow struck and forced
open one Of the doors leading TO the cabin.
The water washed TO and fro, tossing about
Il lot OF odds and ends, principally of fc-
male apparel, while teacup went sailing