The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-12-27


Two terrible disasters have occurred on
the Mississippi river within the last few
days. Two fine steam boats have been de-
stroyed, and great deal of property and
many lives have been lost. On Sunday the
Kate Adams, a splendid passenger steam
boat, having an immense cargo of cotton,
and carrying a hundred or more passen-
gers, was burned to the waters edge near
Commerce, Miss. She was run ashore as
soon as the fire was discovered, but so swift
were the flames that she was enveloped by
them before her passengers and crew could
be landed. Some of her passengers and
crew were burned to death; others were
drowned. and those who reached the shore
were in pitiable condition. Many of them
were without sufficient clothing, and nearly
all of them were either scorched by the
flames or benumbed by the ice cold water.
On Monday night the steamer John II.
Hanna was burned near Plaquemine, La.
There were about 100 persons on board OF
her when the fire occurred, and nearly
score of lives were lost. AS in the case of
the Kate Adams, she was run ashore. but
the steep banks prevented her from making
u
terrible. Imprisoned between hundreds of
bales of burning cotton, the fire making
rapid progress in the inflanmable material,
the terror stricken people hardly knew
which way to run or what course to pursue
to save their lives Some lost control of
themselves and acted like madD1en, and
others, thinking there was no way of es-
cape, calmly prepared to meet death.
No tongue can tell and no pen describe
the scenes which follow the panic caused by
the announcement of fire upon cotton
laden Mississippi river steamboat in mid
stream. Everybody on boa I'd knows that
in few minutes the entire boat will be in
flames. so fast does the fire run through tn
cotton. There are on such occasions always
acts of heroism and instances OF rare cour-
age, but, as a rule, few have any other
thought than to save themselves. There is
barely time for fathers and mothers to think
of their children. 1t is an occasion when
there is seldom an opportunity to think of
rendering friendly services.
All who travel upon the cotton-ladsn
Mississippi steamers know how dangerous
they are. Hundreds of them have been
burned. There is scarcely a season that
some of them are not destroyed; and yet
people continue to travel in them as freely
as ever. The iunumerable disasters that
have occurred upon the great river has net
taught them caution.
The Mississippi river boats are built so
that they burn rapidly when they take fire.
Indeed, it is about impossible to stop fire
on them that gets a feir start. But when
they are SO loaded with cotton, as they fire.
quently are, that from the shore nothing
can be seen of them except their smoke
stacks, they are virtually huge finder
boxes.
Why these river steamboats, are not re-
quired to keep the cotton which they carry
covered with tarpaulin, or asbestos cloth,
in order to protect it against chance sparks
from the smoke stacks, or carelessly handled
lanterns, cigars, or cigarettes, is something
that has never been explained. Perhaps
the two terrible disasters or this week will
lead to reform in this matter, and that
before long efforts will be made to render
travel ON cotton laden Mississippi steam
boats less hazardous.