Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-12-26
A ReyeIry Of Flame.
Another Steamer Holocaust on
the Mississippi.
THIRTY PEOPLE BURN AND DROWN
Agonizng Death Of Several Of the Vic
tins, Who Are Slowly
Roasted.
Cotton Again the Cause of the Catastrophe
How the Captain Met An
Awful Fate.

Propeller Burned OF ,he Pacific Coast and
Seven OF Its Passengers Drowned Great
conhagration at MarbIehead, Mass. En-
failing Halt Million Loss in Money and
Probable Want Among Workmen Cincin-
natl Visited by a $500 600 Blaze Other
Christmas Disasters.
PLAQUEMINE, La, Dec 26 The steamer
John II Hanna, loaded with cotton, from
Onachita, burned here late Monday night
The boat and cargo are a total loss The
disaster was one Of the most awful that ever
occurred in southern waters T'he loss of life
was heavy. nearly thirty persons perishing
in the flames and in the river At the time
the fire was discovered the crew were at
their posts Capt JolleS was at the wheel,
aud in the pilot house with him was Bob
Smith, famous Mississippi river pilot, who
was one Of the men on the Robert T. Lee
when she burned to tho waters edge some
years ago, Second Engineer Merrimau was
in the engine-ronm on duty. and Capt j. s
Holmes, one of tho finest steamboat men on
the river, was in command of the steamer
The boat had left Monroe Sunday morning.
well laden with cotton She picked up
freight all along, AMI when she got out of
the Ouachita and into the Mississippi she had
over =, 300 bales of cotton.
TWAS JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS
was ushered in, when the fine st amer was
coming down the river, and several passen-
gers gentlemen on tha boat, were seated in
the cabin making merry, with no thought
| of the impending catastrophe, Many OF the
crew and passengers were asleep. There were
| deck hands on tue boat, busy with freight,
and the frenen and others were noar the
boilers The boat was booked to land near
| Plaquemine.
She had reached point Just short dis
tance above the town. when a negro roust-
about near the boilers ran out TO the after
| end and cried out that the boat was all atire.
| John Cullen, stokar, was near the place at
| the time, and seeing
| TIRE FLAMES BURST FORTH
| from the big tiers of cotton near the boiler,
| ran hastily TO the engine room and gave the
alarm at once Enginser Norman took in
the situation at a glance and at once sounded
the alarm by blowing the steam whistle and
ringing the bells In an instant-certainly
| in much shorter tims than it takes to ex-
| plain-tha flames shot through the cabin aud
| over the sides OF the cotton, wrapping the
| entire boat in fire.
FIRST Clerk Powell was upstairs at the
time aud when ne saw the flames he hero
| ically ran through the smoke filed cabin
| and tried
To AROUSE THE SLEEPING PEOPLE.
He kicked at the doors and in a short
| wbi1a evarvbndv slmost was swska The,
| tbsro ,vas ,o,frs,o, ,orso ,,oof,nda5. tha
fro,ti, ,,,,,,a NJ, rho ro,, "a, 70 tha J;F,r
ant exits TO make their ascsna hut tha hoat
was ni,lsd bi,-h with cotton and the MASSAGE
| was blinded with smoke MANY dronn4d be-
| fora thav wera shla ~ gat to the forward
mart Of the boat and were dead when the
stsspsr went down
| A. soon 40 tba fire v..s dtsco,ara5 E,,,;n
aa t,. .,aar,, ,,,,,,,,s ,,,o,i7i,1e
and triad to hsttla win the asmss I'M, ,bs
| fro svart ,brou,b the boat 6l,a hIaya an
tic ,rairia ard Tho a,oi,a-rnor, ,,s coon
- e., IT,, ~, IA f,,-.l,,. =, ~
..or.,,ari,,, .hs' ,.aaro ,,ira n, al fma5
Tho oIaca ,,,Tb s,aI,r;ne, steam aJarrimar
vas forcod 70 .bapa,, hi, Mt onI ho an
the stokars and others ran TO the sides aDd
| climbed under the pit.nan in order to save
their lives.
As soon as the smoke and flames began Il
shoot over the sides Of tbs boat, Capt. Jolle
swung the wheel al ound and
HEADED THE BoAT FOR SHORE.
full head of STAIN was on at the tim,
and the boat was soon run into the bank
Rafors she struck however. she was doomed
and thara was scsrcely hit Of tinphar tina
was moi furiousiv burning When the Ham,
struck the bank she bounded away agail
and swung around, drifting down as sh
hurnad Then Can't. Jolles Jumped out owe
J the cotton and Swinging into the river
swan ashore
} The SIGHT was weird one viewed fror
the bank Floating cotton. charred timber
and other debris filed the river, and man
. people were struggling desperately in th
| water for their lives. Some of them wer
able TO swim ashore, but most OF them wer
! badly burned or so exhausted that the
/ struggled but a few moments, and
r SANK TO RISE NO MORE
4 As the burning boat struck the bank {
! the river the crew and passengers who ha
q been able to reach the forward end OF ii
q hoet srraIy ashore some of them wit
/ scorcbed faces and bruised limbs. and man
Is of ,hsm with scsrraly any covering.
Among those who managed 10 get O
r wara Can't Holmes and Bob Smith, tt
y ,nfortpn.ra niIot of the Inflated Lee. VIII
n was passenger on his way down to the cit
8 Roth men vera burned nearly to death an
l. the story Of the way thay perished is mo
heartrendihg "hen tne captain Juhpe
= ashore ne was no'' 'oty oui" e'' a'u III
. irahCic uea''e ~ I've so' u '"o pam
l., 80
,,,,,,,,,-,,' ,,.,.,- ,,rr,o,,s,,,
,e To- 81 hi,, SnitI, ,vos in
a. hab;,I al lo,, an, bo,i3a 20 dri,o a.
tai, N,,hi,,, oo,,,l ba dono for tho sntF
;n, n,an and th. yo d;ed ,orathsr On +,
ia hant Cant rolnas, hodr v,.s Mac
TO-, 40 tl,.,,, ~ Na,. C,-iaans
E. pI.l,,,,..,, not sI,,,t,rine, ,,,o,, r,
1t q ~ -; 49,, a.. lia'o---s, :.
le a.. ,h1 - -; a., IT.;
as nlH'1 S"or ~" 80 a,",'s ~ l .hp 80 ha
Of t ,,'rot,a ,,,, ,',s,I h. Tha strn,,,;r
e; r,ns,.,,,,a,os yr,,, ra,cbad tho sbors wa
OF tai,ar c,r,' - and doctors and otb,rs pa ,
or ~ tha;,. ss..st,,ca and tr;ad m slavia
" their sufF,.rtnps The City and Central
ir taIs and nriyata I,o,lses threw oman tbs
~ door IN the i'll fotad neon,a and fad a,
as clothed them until Yesterday morning Til
DO Taxos g. Pacific train passed Plsousmi
and most of the crew boarded it. The &C
n ductor OF the train refused to bring any