New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-12-31
ANOTHER DEAIH-TRAP CONSOMED'
THE BURNING OF THE BRADlsH JOHNSON.

DETAILS OF THE DISASTER on THE ToMBidBEE
p,vrn-A CHOICE BETWEEN FIRE AND WATER.
Mon,IE. Ala. Dec 3O-Furthcr details have been
received here of the burning OF the steamer nradsn
Johnson used as boarding house at jackson, on 'ne
Tombgbes River eleven miles above Mobile on "eo-
pesday night There is telegraph line to that point
The johnson was lying with her nose In the bank ana
gang plank out A. c. Yeall one OF the oosseS' RA'o
the following description OF the fire
had iust gone TO bed when heard the cry OF hre.
7 rot into nv trousers somehow and seized my other
effects and rushed into the cabin Iheic nad oeoh
party OF out there playing CARDS ana 'ney gu"
smoke rising. When l came into the caoih tue hre
seemed TO be in the stateroom aft of the pantry on the
mort side and the men who had been piay'ng catds
were standing there at the uoor looking In at the hre
They seemed like they we,e dazed and did not know
what TO do. They had shouted Fire y but there they
stood staring at it. l followed; For GOD sshu, ,'
what you standing there Tor wax IN ,d" ma , p %
and let us get OF here. There was an Ola man. an
Alabamian, in the room next to mine. doht KNOW
his name. He asleep when wenr 10 pea 10.
heard snoring. Whether l got him awake or not
don't know | hammered and pounded az ay With all
nv might but don't know whether got nn a"sho f
or not You the smoke was already niiinE '"9
cabiu and the men running 1round IKE mao. i
hardly know what happened. / an forward through
the cabin and eyes and mouth got so Iuii Oh sTso
that did not know where was gong OF now Thav
negroes were mostly lodged in the lower deck. Ihey
ali came running forward abo1t the same time we got
there. The vessel burned very fast and was SOTO %
mass of flames in Loment. When reached tue
bank | turned around and saw the pllot-house anu
Texas fall In with the negroes: They fed up the
bank in moi. and rushed to the woods wnere Ihey
huddled like sheep and could not be persuaded 10
ONE down TO the boat. They knew that some OF ther
number were lost in the burning boat and they were
seemingly superstitious about it. Ihey did hot wan.
to 20 near the place, the boat became mass oi
flames aud burned for about hour, when -ne SANK
nothing bat the iacksaf remaining ont OF water. AS
soon as | got ashore there was a report th I there
were men in the water the other SIDE OF tue
steamer. Skis manned and sent 10 tner rescue
They picked up Mr.. DAILY. one OF the carson meT'
William Neal. an Englishman, in one OF the skihs
had two negroes right him. but they SANK ou. oI
sight. lam bowling, tho cook. who receiver snen.
burns the face and hands, found Whie h"u 'yi"s
a. Dan; Hillhouse came up and the two dragged the
man. " hose is supposed to be McElroy out On
the boiler deck. The man was unconscious iron, .
the etects of smoke Just then the flames ontSt OUT
on the side aud Downg jumped over the raiilng 10
save his life. HilhOuse however said he heard nan
eroaning Just inside and went back into the caon 10
rescue this man. He never came out again ana was
yer alive after that, and 1t is believed ne wee
sacrificed in the noble attempt TO save anoner man
lite Hillbouse was from New-York. and was con-
sdered the Oldest pressure man ,n the casscn pas
ness, and was employed in tmiding lne piG"oe i",.
Bridge There s telling just now many lost tne'r
lives the fire and in the river. Some say tnat yen
others missing, but all that know oil are tne TWO
negroes Lewis Adams and BENJAMIN Bush, who we're
drowned. ard two white men missing tnnk TWO
other white burned with the boat, ana there
must have been Others for | don't think tne, nad
could do with the snIartest kind OF running TO get
out alive. had the fire broken out one hour iater
when all the would have been in bed none OF us
would have escaped, for there would have been
nobody in the cabin discover the smoke ana Tue
whole place would have been sufocaied AS 10 tne
origin of the fire know nothing. The COOK was s'cs
ana knows nothing about it. He says the boys toio
him before he went sleep that the fires III the galley
were all out and everything was safe The watchman
deck below did not see the hire until Tue alarm
was given"
The Brad sh Johnson was built in the West tor what
is called the Louisiana lower coast traie, tnat 70
sippi She was named after Bradish johnson, repued
20 lie of the richest sugar planters IN Louisiana,
in 1874. Captain j. Stone brought her here rom
New-Oreans and her on the Alabama ana ts
tributaries several years until she got IN litigation
chaser was Captain II. c. Baldwin. who kept her In
the SAM trade After his death she passed to Kitten
house Moore. who has owned her ever since. Two
wears ago she was condemned and went out OF COM
mission She was not insured ana her value was
nominal.