St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1884-09-13
A FATEFUL STORM.

"A Transfer Boat Caught by the Storln
and Capsized, Carrying Fourteen Passen-
gers to Death-Other Casualties.
EVANSVILLE IND, August 3D.
When the storm ceased and view OF
the damage was obtained it presented
terrible sfEht The city had been raked
from one end to the other. Not man
ufactory In it entirely escaped inJury.i
The most seriously damaged are: Inei
Evansville Cotton Mills, loss $4,000;
Wooden Mills, $1,000; Plow Works.
$4,000, and the Armstrong Furniture
Company, $4,000.
A large school building in course or
construction, which needed but roof
for completion, collapsed totally. On
every street cellars are flooded. Tele-
phonic and Geographic communications
are almost entirely suspended. Hundreds
OF small dwellings and stables are RACED
to the ground, aud families left without
shelter. These will be cared for by the
authorities.
The scene on the river was aweinspir-
ing. Waves dashed themselves with I'M
speakable fury, dashing twenty and thir~
ty feet high. Small steamers and tugs
were broken from their moorings and
grounded or blown up the river to sand
bars, where they were hard agrouudj
The Louisville & Nashville transfer barge,
with six cars, was blown from the rail-
way dock and went hard aground on g.
bar two miles from where itstarted. The
steamers Josh v. Throop and Silver
Thorn were caught by the wind, CHM
neys blown overheard and the boats
otherwise badly riddled. The James
Blackman was blown out in the river
and sWamped.
But the most horrible and saddest
news of all is the sinking of the transfer
steamer Belmont, and the drowning Of
fourteen passengers who were on board3
The Belmont left here at 80 a. M, with
d southbound train on a barge. About
eight miles below here the storm came
up and part of the passengers, horror
stricken, fed from the cars to the steam
er for safety. The barge was torn from
the steamer and driven in shore hard
aground, while the cyclone seized the
steamer and capszed it, the boat going
down bottom upwards. The pilot, cook
and engineer jumped on the barge as the
steamer went down. All the others were
in the cabin and unable to escape. The
only officer of the boat lost was John II!
Smith, the captain. Those lost are as
follows:
Mrs. NJ. S. Lyon and two daughters.
Mrs. Sallie Bryan.
Miss. Laura Lyon.
Mr.. T. c. Roach and son of this city.
Mrs. Woodville, of Henderson.
Mrs. Addte Murray and child, OF
Brookville, Ala.
Captain John Smith.
Miss Alice Bell;
Two colored women, and an Old gentle.
man and wife-name unknown.
| Three bodies have been so far recovered.
They are Mrs. Murray and child and
Mrs. Woodville. Those who remained
in the cars on the barge were compelled
to sit with idle hands and watch the
death of their companions. After the
storm abated, the Houston Coombs came
up and towed the barge to Henderson.
In conversation with one OF Inc SUE
vivors last night, he said:
''1t was such scene as / shall never
forget. We were trying to get into the
bank. The women were huddled in the
cabin, some weeping, others sitting
quietly, fearing the worst, yet prepared
Tor the inevitable. Suddenly, without
warning, the boat careened on her side,
the guy ropes to the barge swapping.
jumped for the barge, and had just
reached it when heard a gsrgie, and
| looking about, saw that the boat had
| gone down head first, and there was
| nothing visible but the bottom"
The boat lies in fourteen feet of water,
and will be total loss. She was built
in 1881 and cost $22, assured Tor
| $4,000, She has beenrunning as q trans
| fer packet about year and a half, and
| has Weathered several gales. Boats are
now at the wreck and the bridge diver is
| at work getting out the bodies A listor
| survivors is not obtainable, as no reg
| lister was kept, and many went on 10.
| Nashville.
The round-house at the Louisville 6
| Nashville depot is O total wreck. The
roof was blown off and walls crushedin IN,
! covering four locomotives with brick,
| mortar and other debris. Several hum
| dred persons were more or less injured
| by falling tinlbers and trees.
"A negro laborer at Hartlett's railroad
camp, few miles below here, was struck
by. flying timbers ard Instantly killed.
1t was the most destructive storm that
ever visited this section. The loss in
the city and suburbs will be between
100000 and 100000. Wotkmen are
already engaged in rebuilding many of
the damaged places.
News has been received that Carmi,
Ill, is in ruins, but the report can not
be authenticated.
Died in thcWrecx.
UHRICHLvILLE, o., August3G
Thursday night about eleven o'clock
5000 .rair, Nc, -oz a., The lnra1ord