The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-12-29
Current Events.

The week has been quite prolific OF &C.
cidents by rail ana river and fire On
Sunday the large passenger and freieh,
river steamer Kate Adams was burned
about 80 miles below Memphis, VIII. lie on
her way from that city 10 New Orleans
About 200 souls were On board, besides
.ltil bales of cotton and large quantity
of cotton seed In bags and sacks, and sun
dries. The fire broke out In the cotton,
near the boilers, aud, AS usual In such
cases. spread with amazing rapidity. The
boat was Al once run ashore, but the list OF
causallties, by burning and drowning, Is
very large. Some 30 10 40 lives are kauwn
20 be losr, but II Is generally believed that
this number Is far below the actual facts.
The disaster had hardly been chrOnicled
when on Tuesday the telegraph reported
from New Orleans a similar horror In the
burning of the steamer John NJ. Hanna,
near Plaauemine, where 20 or more lives
we're lost. The particulars are almost
Identical In both cases. Both boats we're
large and elegant crafts and comparatively
new. The disasters were as serious as any
reported on the river for manv years
When the Il f. Lee burned in 1882 only
10 lives were lost but when the j. M
White burned In 1886 an explosion killed
90 persons. .,
At Marblehead, Mass. a fire destroyed
the buildings on three acres OF the city,
causing a loss Of half million dollars
On Sunday South Shore road express
train Jumped the track Is miles west OF
Rochester, aitching the entire train OF two
express cars and nine coaches. Fifteen
passengers were injured, two fatally On
the same day railway accident at Mclvers,
Ga, killed two men and Injured several
others.
On Wednesday the propeller Erickson
WAS burned on Puget Sound and SIX lives
were lost.
On Thursday the little town of Auburn,
Dakota, was wiped out by fire, causing a
loss of 100000
In Cincinnati fire on Wednesday
caused a loss of 100000, breaking out in
carriage factory.
On Wednesday water-pipe ditch al
Denver cavej In, burying number OF
men, six of whom we're taken out dead.
The white cap" craze seems to be
spreading. From Indiana they have spread
into Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, etc,
and now they appear In Pennsylvania. AS
eur correspondent "Beemus,' on our end
page says, they may be very mild set of
fellows, who are gentlemen In good stand
ing In their own neighborhood, who take a
prominent part In 'sas.iety's" doings and
all that sort of things; but their acts don't
look that way at all times. Indeed, they
remind one very much of the Ku Klux ter
rorism Of the reconstruction days, except
that the white caps" Of this day ana date
seem to be cowardly lot with no end In
view except 10 whip defenseless old men
and wOmen--feats which have been their
greatest successes. AS usual, too, when law
abiding men, as they claim to De, attempt
to correct the laws errors or delays by
banding together 10 constitute themselves
judges, jury and sheriff, the rascals some.
how came 10 the top, and many band OF
white caps" of Indiana are differed and
directed by as big a lot of scalawsgs AS the |
law has left unhung while the ranks are
painfully full Of some kind Of material. |
When they get into court, too, they seem
10 fall back on the same tactics |
they rebel against, according to "Beemus"
informant, and, az AT LeavenwOrtb, Ind, on
Wednesday, like any other common rascal, |
by an ain layit Of prejudice swear the judge I
who should try them off the bench As
censors of public morals, the white caps
are rot a success.