The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1884-09-05
BIZ WATER AND FIRE.


Day of Frightful Disasters-An Ohio
River Steamer Capsized by a Cyclone at
Evansville, Ind, and Fourteen Lives
Lost-Ten Men Meet = Horrible Fate,
and Many Receive Terrible Injuries by
the burning of Circus Train in Col
orado-Other Casualties.
AWFUL WORK OF A CYCLONE.
EVANSVILLE. Ind, Aug. SO.-At an
early hour yesterday morning the weather
was unusually sultry, every one complaint
ing OF intense heat. There was something
IN the atmosphere that seemed to fore
shadow some unusual barometrical phenom-
enon. At about $50 O'Clock heavy black
clouds began to form in the west, while oc-
casonal livid streaks of lightning lighted
up the dark and angry sky. Soon the
wind began to blow, and dust on the streets
Tor few minutes Whrled In clouds
that obscured the vision farther
than block or two. Then the thun-
der pealed, lightning flashed, and rain
began, accompanied by wind that seemed
almost irresistible. People on the streets
rushed to places of shelter The water
descended in sheets, and in a few minutes
the streets were flooded. The wind in
=
more than half an hour, during which time
most widespread destruction took place.
The damage to properly all over the city is
enormous. Hundreds Of house S, mills. fac
tories. warehouses, stores, etc., were UNI
rooted, and in many instances whole houses
were blown down.
Communication with outside towns was
cut off for several hours SO that the first
news OF a terrible accident which happened
TO the steamer Belmont about three miles
above Henderson was not received here till
about one o'clock. The Belmont is trans
fer steamer for the Louisville & Nashville
Railway between this point and Henderson.
She left here at eight o'clock yesterday
morning, towing transfer barge with the
passenger train for Nashville, with about
sixty passengers She also had about twenty
or thirty of a crew on board. The storm
was terrific on the river, and the boat
and harges were separated. The former
sunk almost Immediately in the deepest
water IN the river between this point and
Henderson. From the survivors 1t is learned
that the cables holding the boat and barge
together broke away. The hold of the
boat filled with water, and she became
unmanageable, the chimneys going over
board and the cabin TOPPING over on the
barge. AT this time several persons
escaped from the boat onto the barge and
were saved, but Immediately afterward the
boat sunk and fourteen persons are known
to have been lost. Following are the
names:
| E. C. Roach and SOP, Mrs. M. S. Lyon, Miss
Laura Lyon, Mrs. Sallie Bryan, of this city
Mrs Adde Murray and child. of Brookvilie,
Captain John H. Smith, Alice Bell (coloredi
and two other colored women; an old gentle
man and wife, names unknown.
It is impossible to give complete list of
the survivors.
A newsboy named Spang jumped over
hoard and swan to shore, walked to Hen
derson, and gave the first information OF the
disaster
The Belmont was insured for SIS, 600,
$1,000 being i'll the Underwriters, OF Louis
vile. Other boats were damaged at the
wharf, where the scene was terrific. White
caps lashed to fury by the storm, dashed
high up, and threatened to swallow every
thing in their frenzy. The Keith was com
ing up the river, but wisely dropped back
to the elevator. The storm seized the Josh
Y. Throop, and tore her chimney Off and
riddled her badly All of her crew deserted
her except Captain Throop, Jim Larue, Bill
Meyers and Dallas Webster. The Silver
Thorn also lost her chimneys.
Altogether the damage in the city will
amount to several hundred thousand dollars,
none of which could be covered by in.
i53i BURNED IN THEIR BEDS.
GREELEY. Col, Aug. 30.--About eleven
o'clock Thursday night a train of seventeen
cars belonging to Orton's Anglo-American
circus left Fort Collins for Golden on the
CoIt 1cIx g. aasE Dr.
| When the train, running about twenty-five
miles an hour, was nearing Windsor, a
small station few miles from here, the en-
gineer discovered that the car next to the
engine was ON fire. He at once re-
versed the engine and sounded the alarm
whistle. In the burning car there were
sixty men arranged in three tiers of
berths On either side. The forward side
door was closed and the men in the bnnkS
were sleeping against it. The rear side
door was also closed, and the men, when
! they aWoke, discovered that the lower un-
occupied berth next to it, containing rub
bish, was on fire, filling the car with smoke
and cutting off escape in that direction.
The only means of egress was through
small window between the car and the en-
CINE.
Owing to the suffocating gases it was
difficult to arouse the sIeepers Some were
kicked and bruised in shocking manner
and pitched out Of the window. The
screams Of those unable to get through
the blocked aperture were terrifying The
wild glare of the flames and the screams
of the burning victims outside, who lay
writing in agony on the cactus-beds
caused the wild beasts in the adjoining
car to become frantic with terror, MAX
ing the scene truly appalling. The per-
formers who occupied the rear cars gazed
with white faces on the awful spectacle. In
the midst of the confusion two or three
heroic fellows bravely cut their way to
their companions to find them already in
the agony Of death. Albert Lake, in charge
of the animals, with his friend Kent
walked over the cactus in his bare feet,
pouring buckets of oil on the blistered I'M
| forttnates, and wrapped them in blankets.
The heartrendng cries of the men on the
prairie the smothered appeals of the dying
within the car, the roar of the flames, and
the bowling of animals made the scene ter
| rible beyond description. The odor of
roasting flesh and the distant cry of the
coyotes added to the general horror of the
scene. The voices Of tile dying grew
fainter and soon ceased.
Meantime an engine had gone to Greedy
for assistance. returning with DR.. Jesse
Halves, President of the State Medical AS
sociation. Many of the rescued, in being
pulled through the small window, had
ribs broken and joints dislocated. The
hands and feet of some were burned off.
Roasted trunks of bodies were found in one
place, legs in another, and piles of roasted
and shriveled carcaSes were pulled out Of
the ruins.
1t is impossible to get a complete list of
the dead, as many were engaged but a day
or two, and their names are unknown. The
names Of the dead, so far as known, are as
follows:
Alexander Mcleod. Marinette, Wis; Thorn
as Mccarthy, Independence, Ia: John Kelly,
| New York City. The others we're known al
Siverthorn, Andy. Frenchy, Frank, George,
Smithie. and one unknown.
A number of the rescued agree that in
the car there were two barrels of gasoline,
which were exploded either by sparks from
the engine or from a naked torch with
which the men were accustomed to light
themselves to bed.
LAKE SCHOONER AND HER CREW LOST.
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