The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-05-07
THE LOSS OF THE SULTANA
The Cause of the Horrible Mississippi
Disaster Explained at Last.
Charlie Dale, Former st. Louis Painter,
Placed Torpedo in the Coal Bin on the
Boat-The Steamer Just Before the Wreck.

the war of the rebellion. The generally
accepted theories of the explosion are faulty
condition and bad management of the boilers.
Mr.. William G. Streetor. painter Of this city,
who now has q shop at 3l4 Locust street, was .
resident of st. Louis during the war. and was
employed as clerk in the Gratiot and Myrtle
street prisons. The facts in his possession re-
garding the cause of the Sultana explosion. as
removes this much-diseussed subject from che
field of speculation. fixes the fearful catastro-
phe as the result Of no accident, but OF hendish
design, and locates with much particularly the
boss dynamiter and murderer of the age.
''Yes. know something about the Sultana
disaster said Mr.. Streetor in reply to an in
quiry. II can give the cause of explosion. A
torpedo inclosed in lump of coal was carried
aboard the steamer at Memphis and deposited
in the coal pile in front of the boilers for the
express purpose of causing her destruction. The
man who placed the torpedo on the boat 10 my
authority. for had the statement from his own
lips. Hel was a notorious confederate mail
carrier and blockade runner. was captured some
five or six times, and once, At least. was SEN
fenced TO death by military commission in this
city. Toward the close of the war. 1t will be
remembered, President Lincoln issued an order
that no one should be executed under military
laws until the sentence had been confirmed by
the President 1t was while awaiting conirma-
ton of the sentence that he escaped from the
military prison in this city and made bis
or the close of the war. His
friends obtained pardon for
him from President johnson. and. armed with
that, he returned to his home in st Louis. Ii
was after his return home that he told me the
story of how he smuggled the torpedo on board
the Sultana His real name was Robert Low
den, but he was always known IL this city by
his alias, Charlie Dale. He was a painter by
4 - ~. 49, - a.
for William III. Gray. some three years after
the close of the Dale was at that time
young vigorous daredevil He possessed
bravery Of certain kind. think, equal to that
OF any man who ever lived. He was cool and
calculating ip his disposition, but at times he
drank heavily. and when in his cups was dis
posed to talk little too much for q man with
record like he had. 1t was while be was drink
ing one day that he and got to talking about
the war, and the burning of so many boats by
the confederate agents came up in the course
of the conversation. He told me that he had
fired no less than half dozen steamboats, on
the Mississippi. l asked him in an of-hand
way what he knew about the Sultana 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 job to set boat afre
and get away from her.
Out of hundred other of Dales daring ex-
PLOTS during the war one in particular impressed
me forcibly as showing the character of this re-
markable man. It was accomplished while the
Federal feet was lying between Memphis and
Vicksburg. 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 plan and it was successful He
cot 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
government eunboats at night, and two or three
times when the current of the stream drifted the
coffin mp against the bulls 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 q member of the
old Liberty volunteer fire company in this city
and was we'll known to great many people liv-
ing here now. He died in New Orleans during
the yellow fever epidemic along in the latter
part Of the Cos. But to return to the Sultana
explosion. have read carefully all the inform
alton could find about it. and from the charac-
ter of the explosion have been led to believe
that Charley Dale's story of the torpedo is true
twelve hours preceding the explosion and burn
ing of the Sultsns, photograph Of the ill-fated
steamer, was taken while the vessel vas lying
at the wharf at Helena, Ark. 1t serves to give
fair idea OF the overcrowded condition OF the
steamer and the consequent loss of life at the
time Of the accident This picture was pur-
chased soon after 1t was taken by Lieut. E. B.
Emerson. of Company g., Eighty seventh. Illi-
nOl8 luIdQtry anu Is now carefully pIeSeIvou ny
him as q souvenir OF the most fatal and most
terrible of all steamboat disasters. II Twas taken
by the artist TO be placed on sale as . curiosity.
on account Of the crowded appearance of the
boat, unprecedented even In war times, and
with little thought of the impetus to be given
his enterprise by the melancholy disaster that
soon afterward startled and Mortified the
whole world.
Capt Ross Graham, now resident of Carmi
ILL.,. who was on leave of absence from his
slx~ L .-lx .k>
toned at Helena, Ark, was In Memphis at tho
time of the Sultana disaster He tells the fol-
lowing story of what he saw on that memorable
day:
The explosion occurred about o'clock in the
morning. April /, 1865, though it must have
been several hours later when first known at
Memphis. The first intimation that anything
unusual had occurred was an alarm given by q
sentinel stationed at the rope-walk in the up
river suburbs Of the city, and whose attention
was attracted by the cries Of distress from the
shipwrecked passengers. who. clinginR to
barrels trunks, shutters and other fragments o:
the wreck. had foated with the current to the
vicinity OF his beat, some seven miles below.
The steamer. having assembled the river lar
enough to turn the point and place one or moro
of the small islands in that vicinity between
herself and the city, the light Of the burning
wreck attracted no particular attention at the
immediate time of tho burning, but on hearing
the cries, and remembering having seen light
situation and gave the alarm TO some gunboats
anchored of the shore. In very short time
afterwards the ron-clads, tugs and other small
steamers, with their skiffs and yawls, were on
their way to the rescue. Soon after the
wounded and dying were being carried through
the streets to the hospitals, and
halfclad ssd-faced soldiers aud others
who had escaped with their lives were srrolling
aImlessly along the levee or through the streets,
many of them presenting a dazed appearance,
if not yet fully assured of their safety from
lurking danger. Pathetic, however. as were
these circumstances. they did not compare with
the scene at the wharf boat. to which had been
transferred the unclaimed dead just recovered
from the waves-About thirty only Of tho 1900
known to have persisted, and most Of these were
burned ecaided or otherwise mutilated beyond
recognition. Quite number of the passengers
and crew lived At Memphis or had friends there.
and the wharf boat was crowded all day with
women and children. bowed with grief and
blinded with tears. intertiy searching for some
shred or other token by which they might
identity some one of the disfgured corpses
Many touching and some humorous incidents
we're related by the rescuing parties. A mother
was found reaching her arms over . barrel
holding her child, only o few months old, on the
other side. In this manner sho lad succeeded
in floating in the chilling waters for hours. She
was almost speeches. from cold and exhaus-
tion- Her grief was aeonzing when she learned
that the babe had persisted from the cold while
in her own hands
A little girl around whom some friendly hands
had fastened q life preserver, in her efforts TO
get away from the cold waters had placed her