The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1888-12-30
THE KATE ADAMS REPORT.
THE U. s. INSPECTORS ESTIMATE THE
Loss OF LIFE AT FOURTEEN.
The Data Upon Which Their Estimate Ia
Based-How the Fire Originated
How to Prevent Such Accidents In
Future.

For the past four days United States In.
spectoS of steam vessels j. S. Darraugh
and &. +. Huls, stationed at this point,
have been engaged in the investigation OF
the Kate Adams disaster. They have
taken the testimony of fifteen witnesses,
embracing four engineers, two pilots, three
clerks, one carpenter, one captain and two
iiremen, all OF whom were employed on
the boat at the time of its burning. Tho
testimony OF one more witness is necessary
before the inspectors will be ready TO ~.
port His name is William Norcy, and
is one OF the two fremen who were on
watch when the boat caught fire. The
official report will not be ready before the
Sd or lth of January, 1889, but TINS
ArrEAL is in possession of facts de.
velopcd by the testimony which enable
him to anticipate all the salient points Of
the committees report.
The Investigation establishes two things
beyond the possibility of doubt
|. The loss OF life is limited to four.
teen.
2. The fire caught from the furnace
under tho battery of five boilers with
which the boat was equipped and not as
was at first supposed from passengers
carelessness in dropping the remnant OF
lighted cigar or cigarette amid the boats
intlammable cargo of cotton and cotton
seed. just how the accident occurred has
not been positively asccrtained. The in
spectors are themselves in doubt. One
version Is that spark from the furnace
Tell into a pile OF cotton seed and ignited
one OF the sacks and its contents from
which the fire rapidly spread 10 the cot
ton stored in close proximity 10 il. Fire
man Norey, negro, when he caught sight
oil the burning sack of cotton seed tried
to extinguish the flame with his hands and
sustained severe burns in the effort. Ills
partner Gilbert Christs, also colored.
ran for the fire hose and soon had thom
playing on the burning heap, but without
avail. The cotton burned like powder
and spread like prairie fire. Another
version Is that someone had carelessly
slowed away sack OF cotton. seed SO that
It's end Overhung the top OF the coal box
about u foot. One OF the iiremen, after
poklng the fire down, drew the long iron
poker from the fire red hot and carelessy
dumped Il into the coal box near enough
TO the sack OF seed 10 ignite It, either bv
actual contact or by the action OF the IN
tense heat II radiated. Both u these the.
ones have many supporters. aud the
inspectors themselves are no, oil one mind
upon the question OF origiu, except TO the
extent that they are certain The fire caught
from the furnace. When the fact Is thor |
oughly understood that il IL the custom
on all cotton.carrying steamboats, 10 nile |
up cotton-sced aud cotton bales, covered |
with highly inilammable bagging, and some. |
times only half covered with that. with |
in from six TO ten feet OF the |
boilers. and when II is known that al The |
foot OF the boilers are open ash pans, into |
which drop hot ashes and cinders from the |
furnaces, exposed 10 every wind that |
blows aud the draft caused by the vessels |
own swift motion, the wonder will be that |
wholesale destruction OF life and property |
on cotton steamboats, IL not more frequent |
than II is.
As TO the number Of lives lost thcre IA
no conflict u opinion. The inspcctop |
have placed the number. aud they arrive |
at this result by a careful computation |
from data furnished by the boats oiIiccrs
The chief clerk Of the Kate Adams, Can't.
W. Z. Banker, one of the most reliable OF
men, with memory remarkable for re-
lcniiyeness and accuracy, testified that
lust before arriving at Wcsiovcr. Ark.
about sixty miles below Memphis ON the
Mississippi River, lac counted up the num-
Der oil deck passengers aboard and made
I III. OF these twenty-five pot off nj
WestOvor, ten at Friars Point and thirty nj
Helena, leaving scvcnty.sx deck passen.
,crs aboard.
In addition 10 these there were twcnty
'abin Passengers, and six ia tho upper
'abin known ~ TaxaA Tho crew con.
listed OF lorly-fve colofcd roustcrs and
ieck hands, twenty-six cabin and kitchen
iands, four hrcmcn, four clerks, four
Engineers, two pilots, two mates, one car
'enicr, one master, two white deck hands. |
me snilorman and three barkccpcr.. |
making lgf souls aboard when the boat |
anght fire. OF these lG7 came M 10
Memphis on the train from Roblnsonvillc
IN the afternoon Of tho burning. twelve ,
ook the train In an opposite direction and ,
our were picked up by passing steamboats,
itcr they had gained the shore, making a
Oial number saved Of lSi out Of lD7. lcay.
ng fourteen dead or unaccountcd for
hose known 30 be dead are George Cor {
clt, third clerk: Samuel Robinson. saloon.
ccper, OF triars Point, Miss; An.
rev Reese (oolorrdl. cabin watch.
nan; Monroe jackson (colorcd), cabin
10y, Senator Coleman (cOlOrcd), second {
Andrew NAYS lcolOrcdl. third :
aniryman; billiard Horton lcolorcd),
arber; joe Porter, Lee Finley aud Frank q
Wells lcolorcd), roustabouia This leaves
Iur unaccounicd for including w. A. Gov. +,
lgton, planter OF Bolivar County, Miss. o
ilE ArrEAL IL convinced the mort. iity
Ill exceed that number, ~ there are al
'ast two known cases whore colorcd
omen, with children clingibg 10 them,
ere seen 10 drown, but il il probably safe
say that not over twenty or twenty-five /
ime 10 their deaths.
The Kate Adams was probably the best
luippcd boat for life saving that ever
dated on the Mississippi. She had two
fetal life-boats one wooden life. boat 1872
lrk life prcscryeu, sixiy.nino life floats,
10 feet l-inch hose. two hand fire
jumps, fifty fire buckets and five extin.
iishing. eight water barrels. ten axes aud
Tree fire pumps The trouble appear 10
ave been that the fra caught forward OF
10 deck room, making escape from tho
)w impossible b. those on the lower deck
nj forcing them 10 look 10 the stern for
! avenue Of escape. There hung yawl,
10 which some twelve or fifteen persons
DIVIDED. Somebody cut the Tickle, and
Ie boat fell into the river bottom 40 and
owning most Of its human freight. OF
e others WHO died. at least three irozo 10 4
iaih after being pulled ashore.
MEASURES ~ SAFETY.
Sieamboatmen are already beginning 10
scuss plans for the prevention ~ Tar ne
'ssible of fires similar 10 those which do
roycd the Kate Adame and tho Johu n