Crystal River current., 1886-12-25
ARoRRIBLE HOLOCAUST.

a aVhRA0L6 mV1VCAO0Is
A Allssiss'pvl River Steamboat Buras with
a Large Number Of PasssngsrA
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Dec. IA.
The steamer, J. NJ. White, from Vicks-
burg, Mississippi, to New Orleans, burned
at 10 O'Clock last night at the Blue Store,
Point Coupee, thirty miles above Baton
Rouge. The boat had landed to take on q
pile of cotton seed and there were between
thirty-five and forty roustabouts engaged in
this work, when precisely at 10:15 O'Clock
everybody was startled by the loud ringing
of the bell by the watchman, Tom Miller.
Immediately after the cry of ''fire" was
taken up by twenty voices and in an in
slant the direst confusion reigned. Men
darted to and fro and the work of arousing
the sleeping passengess was begun. The
fire was discovered by Thomas Barry, the
second engineer, who with his partner,
Stephen Janney, was on watch at the
time. The first intimation he had Of the fire
was a small light on top of a row of cotton
bales amidships, which greatly resembled
the flame of lantern.
Barry left his post to investigate, and was
astonished to discover that the light was
caused by a bale of cotton briskly burning
Barry gave the alarm, and his voice rang
through the deck room of the vessel. Watch
man Miller took in the situation atonce and
rang the huge bell located on the second
deck. Miller stood at his post ringing the
bell until he was forced to retreat by the en-
croaching flames.
The noise of the changing bell aroused
William McGreevy, the Chief Engineer, who
was asleepin in the Texas" He sprang out
of bed and groped his way through the
smoke to wake up his partner, John Pal
lasier, the second assistant engineer, who
was asleep in the forward part of the
''Texas." About midway he met Pallasier,
who had also been aroused by the bell, and
was on his way to hunt for McGreevy.
The two men then looked as best they
could through the sitting smoke for the
others who slept in the Texas, but not see
ing anyone and believing that all but them
selves had left, they crawled out on the hur-
ricane deck and were compelled to climb
down one Of the stanchions to the right
side of the boat from which they got ashore.
In the meantime two streams of water
were brought to play on the fire, but the
heavy black volumes of smoke drove the
engineers back. They fought the flames step
by step, but were at last forced to drop the
hose and save themselves. The fire burned
with frightful rapidity and in less time than
it takes TO tell it the entire left side of the
boat was a mass of flames.
The fire soon caught the railings of the
cabin deck, and before any assistance was
to be had the boat looked as if she were en-
circled by stream of fire. The cracking
of the flames and the shrieks of the passen-
gers and crew caused the most intense ex-
citement.
While the passengers and crew We're es-
Gaping from the boat the steam pipe blew up
and was hurled three hundred yards in the
air. The force of the explosion caused over
twenty bales of burning cotton to be hurled
high in the air, where they revolved several
times and then fell into the river. Imme-
diately after the explosion shrieks were
heard coming from the stern of the vessel,
and for an instant two colored women were
seen standing on the galley just back of the
wheel-hOuse, and the next instant they were
hidden from view by the smoke and flames.
The first part of the boat to give way was
the wheel-house. 1t fell into the water,
and a draft being created, the flames swept
through the center Of the boat
Those who escaped were taken away from
the wreck by the steamboat Stella Wild,
which plies between the Bayou and Natchez,
which was backing out. Three kegs of gum
powder that were in the hold exploded, and
cotton and burning timbers were hurled in
all directions. This virtually put the fire
out, and what was once a palace steamer
was now as.blackened wreck.
Colonel S. l.. James was taken to his
home, No. 2T Prytania street, on his arri-
val, where he is in critical condition. He
states that the sight was horrifying and
could not be told. He positively declared
that there must have been sixty persons
lost, because out Of sixty-five in the cabin he
could only see himself and four others.
Pilots Stout and Smith say that from the
number of persons they saw around them in
the river fully forty must have perished.