Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-12-26
A RIVER HORROR.
The Burning of the Mississippi
Steamboat Kate Adams.
CAPT. CHEEKS STATEMENT.
He Says There Were from Twelve to
Twenty Lives Lost-He Don't Know
How the Fire originated-He
Did Everything Possible.

MEMPHIS, Dec 24-Capt Cheek, who
commanded the steamboat Kate Adams, has
made the following statement:
sit was a few minutes before 8 o'clock
Sunday, when the boat was about two miles
below Commerce Landing, Miss, that fire
broke out / was in my stateroom, which is
near the hurricane deck. had gotten out of
bed, and was dressing to go down to break
fast when the alarm of fire was given !
rushed down to the cabin floor The boat
was about 80 yards from the bank.
"The passengers, a number of whom wero
ladies, had just sat down TO breakfast, ana
had jumped from their seats and were run
ming back and forth on the boat, crying and
begging to be saved l tried to quiet them,
assuring them that the boat was making for
land as fast as she could and all of them
would be saved.
''I ran to the forward deck and was almost
stifed by the dense smoke which arose from
the burning material on the boiler deck.
"The cotton was rapidly catching fire and
/ saw that the situation was a perilous one.
could see, however, that the boat was being
rushed to the bank with all possible speed
and hastened back along by the cabins to see
that everybody was ready to land. All the
cabin passengers save one or two were up
and dressed
"The time it took for the boat to run ashore
was about two or three minutes but they
were the most momentous of my life My
first care was the ladies and children, of
which there were quite number l COM
manded the men to take their children in
their arms, and just then the boat struck
the shore
81 cannot explain the origin of the fire.
The first that was known of it was when it
was discovered about midships on the lar
board side of the lower deck, a foot from the
fire doors.
'As soon as the captain of the watch saw
the fire he seized the hose and attempted to
put it out, but the fire spread so rapidly that
it drove him back. He fought the flames
vigorously, at the same time giving the
alarm.
"By the time the boat landed it was al
most a sheet of fire, and so hot were the
flames in front that a number of passengers
were cut off from the stage plank and were
forced back to the rear / stayed with them
and handed each one a life preserver.
II had yawl lowered, but as it struck
the water a large number of the frightened
passengers leaped from the guard into it and
it was capsized. / suppose most of the pas
sengers who jumped into the yawl werc
saved, but cannot say definitely.
"George Corbett, the third clerk. in lower
ing the yawl from the lower deck in order to
save some negro women and children, went
overheard and was drowned
mo time was lost in lowering the stage
plank, and we rushed the ladies and children
off first / am quite sure that all the cabin
passengers got to land safely except Mrs.
Harris, who had an ankle sprained in jump
ing from a bale of cotton
There were about fifty deck passengers,
and nearly all of them were negroes. think
that between twelve and twenty of them
were drowned by jumping overheard"