The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1888-12-21
THE CAMP FIRE.
A Mexican War Relic-The Eighth
Iowa Infantry-An Interesting
Incident, etc.
The sultan. Expio.ion-A New Glory


The awful explosion on the steamer
Sultana near Memphis twenty-three
years ago, in which nearly 1900 Union
soldiers lost their lives, has always been
a mystery. The survivors have recently
made a number of statements regarding
the affair, but the most sensational
story was recently told by William G.
Streeter, of st. Louis.
Eyes, l know something about the
Sultana disaster" said Mr.. Streeter, in
reply to an inquiry. 81 can give the
cause of the explosion. A torpedo in.
closed in a lump of coal wa carried
aboard the steamer at Memphis and de-
posted on the coal pile in front of the
boilers for the express purpose OF caus-
ing her destruction. The man who
placed the torpedo on the boat is my
authority, for had the statement from
his own lips.
"He was q notorious Confederate
mail carrier and blockade-runner. He
was captured some five or six times, and
once, at least, was sentenced to death
by a military commission in this city.
Toward the close of the war, it will be
remembered, President Lincoln issued
an order that no one should be executed
under military laws until the sentence
had peer confirmed by the President.
"It was while awaiting confirmation
of the sentence that he escaped from
the military prisonin this city and made
his way South, where he remained until
after the close of the war. His friends
obtained a pardon for him from Presi-
dent johnson, and armed with that, he
returned to his home in st. Louis. 1t
was after his return home that he told
me the story of how he struggled the
torpedo on board the Sultana.
ellis real name was Robert Lowden,
but he was always known in this city by
his alias, Charlie Dale. He was a paint
er, and he worked in the same shop with
me for William II. Gray some three
veal after the close of the a Dale
was at that time a young, vigorous
daredevil. He possessed bravery of a
certain kind, 1 think, equal to that of
any man who ever lived. He told me
that he had fired no less than half a
dozen steamboats, on the Mississippi. l
asked him what he knew about the Sui
tana explosion. Then he told me the
story of the torpedo in the coal, and,
using his own expression, 1T had got to
be too ticklish a job to set a boat afire
and get away from her.
"Out of a hundred other of Dale's
daring exploits during the wal one in
particular impressed me forcibly as
showing the character of this remark
able man.
SIT was accomplished while the
Federal feet was lying between Mem
phis and V~icksburg. Dale had escaped
from prison in this city and was On his
way South. He was in a %quandary for
several days as to how he was going to
get through the Federal lines. Finally
he hit upon a plan and it was successful.
He got a coffin at Memphis, calked it up
with white lead, and launched it on the
Mississippi. Then he laid himself out in
the ghastly-looking boat and floated
down the stream. He passed the Gov
eminent %gunboats at night, and two or
three times when the current of the
stream drifted the coffin up against the
hulls of the boats he reached out with
his hands, pushed his craft clear, and
landed in the morning safe within the
Confederate lines.
"Before the war Dale was a member
of the old Liberty Volunteer Fire Com
pany in this city, and vas well known
to a great many people living here now.
"He died in New Orleans during the
yellow-fever epidemic along in the latter
part of the Cos"