, 1886-12-15

A VESSEL BURNED.
The Mississippi Steamer j. M.
White
Totally Destroyed by Fire
Yesterday.
Forty Passengers Reported
Perished.
Loss of q Steamer.

j. Nj. White, from ' icksburg. Miss. T.
New Orleans, burned at 10 O'Clock las
night at Blue Point, Store Coupee, thirt.
miles above Baton Rouge. She had quit,
a number OF passengers ON board, III
bales OF cotton and GS, 900 sacks of seed
Several lives are reported lost, but Capt
James +. Muse who was in command ,'tele
graphs that only one life, the porter of tn
boat, is known to be lost. The boat anC
cargo were totally lost. The j. NJ. Whit,
was built in 1878 at Il cost Of 1925, 90,
and was regarded by many as the fines
and fastest boat ever run ON the Missis
sippi river. The boat was owned b,
Capt. John W. Toban. She was valued
at 800, 600; cargo 800, 900 The insur
ance on The boat is 500, 900: on cargo
doubtless fully covered.
When the White took fire she was
! lying at Point Coupee taking ON cotton.
She had on board $1,000 bales of cotton
and 5000 sacks of seed. This makes a
cargo valued at $4,000 Thomas Barry,
second engineer of the White was on duty
when the fire broke out in the cotton
amidship. For time he thought he
had the fire under control, but it finally
gained such Roadway that nothing could
be done with it. Barry states that the
fire then spread so rapidly that the boat
was wrapped in flames in a short time.
He thinks there are ten or twelve lives
lost, including the colored fireman and
two colored chambcrmaids. Barry also
reports the loss OF Capt Bird Floyd and
the superintendent OF the Nidalia railroad
with his wife and daughter. Barry knows
nothing as to the number of passengers
that were on board, but thinks there were
moi very many. He believes there were
some women and children on the deck.
Evidences accumulates that there were
many lives lost. Some people place the
number at fifty.
The States has the following account of
the loss Of the j. VI. White, gathered
from officers and crew.
The boat had landed to take on a pile
OF cotton seed, and there were between
thirty five and forty roustabouts engaged
in this work, when precisely at l0:l5
o clock everybody was startled by the loud
ringing of a bell by Waterman Tom Mil
Ter. Immediately after the cry of fire
was taken up by twenty voices. In an
instant the direst confusion reigned. Men
darted to and fro and the work of arous-
ing the sleeping passengers was begun.
The fire was discovered by Thomas Barry,
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 the top of a row
of cotton bales amidships, which greatly
resembled the flame of a lantern. Barry
left his post to investigate and was aston
ished 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. Watchman
rang n huge bell located on the second
deck. Miller stood at his post ringing
the bell until he was forced to retreat by
the encroaching flames. The noise of the
changing bell aroused VIM. McGreevy,
chief engineer, who was asleep in the
Texas. He sprang out of bed and
CROPPED his way through the smoke to
wake up his partner, John Pallasier. see
ond 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 seeing
anyone, and believing that all but them
selves had left, they crawled out on the
hurricane deck and were compelled to
climb down on 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 fright
full rapidity, and in less time than it takes
to tell it, the entire left side of the boat
was n mass of flames. The fire soon
caught the railing of the cabin deck and
before any assistance was to be had, the
boat looked rs if she were encircled by a
stream of fire. The cracking of the
flames and the shrieks Of the passengers
and crew caused the most intense excite
ment.
When the alarm first sounded, Alex
McNay, head cook, was seated at a stove
in his cabin. The first peal of the bell
caused him to rush outside, and seeing
tie flames leap high in the air. he ran
back to the cabin and endeavorcd to get
the books and money. The fire gained
rapidly on him and he was compelled to
leave the office, but not before he had
secured a sum of money from the safe.
MIR. McNay then turned his attention to
saving the cabin passengers. of whom
there were about fifteen or eighteen, in.
GLIDING eight ladies. He first awokC
Second Cook John Callahan, who ran out
of his room in his undershirt and trousers.
| callahan and N.Nay ,,.apt o., naa1 room
and awoke the inmates. The terrified
passengers quickly got out, nearly all o
them in their night garments. Amonl
them was a gentleman, name unknown
but recognized as the superintendent o
the Nidalia railroad. He had his wifi,
and two children, girls of 9 and - years
He called them around him and bad
them follow him. BY this tim,
the flames had reached the cabin
through which thick smoke was rolling
The panic stricken passengers quick.
made for an entrance, some to the steri
and others to the front. The gentleman
referred to was among those who went t.
the stern. Upon reaching the deck h
grasped his two children, one at a time
and threw them into the river. Befor
he and his wife could follow, the fame
had reached them and they were burnc'
to death.
The two pilots on watch, John Stou
and Bob Smith, were in the pilot hous'
and were compelled to Jump into tn
river, where they were picked up. The
had a narrow escape from death. The fir
burned so quickly that it was %impossibl
to see who was saved and who was lost
The deck was crowded with roustabout