The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-12-26

| maids; James Handley and Charles Thomp-
| son, firemen; John Rucker and Thomas
| Cullen, stokers.
SOME OF THE LOST.
"Among those who are lost are:
"Capt. Holmes, master Of the boat.
"Samuel Powell, chief clerk.
Robert Smith, pilot from Smith
| land, La.
Michael O'Neill, night watchman.
s'Joseph Crane, a cabin watchman.
Monroe Deck, first cook.
'Jack Duff, second cook.
"Joseph Harvey, cabin boy.
James Watson, second baker.
''John Grafton, carpenter.
BADLY BURNED.
"Among those who were lost are:
"Dan Carroll, steward.
Jimmy O'Nelll, deck hand.
John Gibbon, sailorman.
"Louis Welch, a roustabout, and q num-
! ber of others.n
Coming down Oh the boat as passengers
were a number of the crew of the steamer
Josie W., all of whom were saved.
PRAISE FOR PLAoUEMINE.
'The survivors were all warm in their
| praise of the humane people of Plaquemine,
who spared no pains and no money to fur
| nish them with clothes and shelter after
their terrible experience. w. l.. Brule,
mayor of the city, was especially kind to
the survivors.
''None of the men could say what was the
origin Of the fire. The general impression,
however, is that some careless smoker threw
cigarette among the cotton bales and
| thereby caused the disaster.
"The death of John Grafton, the carpen-
| ter, was a sad one He was in the upper
portion of the boat, struggling to get near
| the front end. The flames were twisting
and sweeping all about him. He tried
| nobly to reach the bow, but he dropped aud
| and burned to death before the eyes of the
people, who were not able to render him
any help.
CLERK POwELL'S DROWNING.
'sThe second barkeeper Of the boat said
| that Clerk Powell was sta nding near him
when they both jumped into the water.
Powell, who could not swim, climbed on
| floating cotton bale, but two deckhands
also jumped on the bail, turning it over
| and throwing Powell into the water and he
| disappeared. The boat was about fifteen
| yards from shore when a great many peo-
| pie plunged into the river and several who
reached the bank in safety became begged
| in the soft mud, and so intense was the
beat of the burning boat that they were
bur ed to death before they could climb up
| the steep bank to the levee.
MEN MADE MANIACAL.
'tThe spread of the fire was so rapid that
before the pilot had finished sounding the
| three alarm whistles the entire boat, from
| stem to stern, was roaring mass of flames,
and the scene that ensued was terrible in
the extreme. Men yelled and ran about
| the decks like maniacS, and Others scream
| ing at the top of their voices, threw them
| selves into the dark waters and were lost
| to sight in the twinkling of an eye.
ba hor cnid hat ra1
persons near him struggled in the water
| and begged pitifully for help, but he could
| not render them any assistance because the
water chilled him to the marrow and his
| clothing clogged his every movement
1.-THE cabin boy who was an assistant of
| the steward said that the crew who were in
| the Texas were aroused from their slumbers
| by the flames which roared over them, and
| they were compelled to dive headlong from
| the roof of the boat into the river and many
| of them were burned to death while in the
| water.
1.-THE impression now is that the mum ber
| of lives lost will not exceed thirty"
THE JOSIE WIS CREW.
''The steamboat Josie W., of the same
| line, was laid up at Monroe and her crew
were discharged and sent home on the
Hanna. This will explain the reference to
the persons belonging to the Josie w.
| There were on the Hanna tnirty-three
roustabouts and eleven belonging to the
| Josie w. OF these, thirty are known
| to be saved, leaving eleven unaccounted for
"At an INCEST held at Plaquemine on the
body of Clerk Powell, $1,000 was found in
| his pockets"
CAPT. HOLMES HORRIBLE FATE.
A special TO the Times Democrat from
| Plaquemine, gives the following account
| of the death of Capt. Holmes: The brave
captain, a resident of New Orleans, met
| with q most awful death. He remained at
his post Of duty till every chance to save
the lives OF his passengers was gone. Then
lie leaped into the water to swim for
shore. but it happened to be boggy and
he was seen to make frantic endeavors to
extricate himself without avail. The burn
ing boat was fast nearing him, and while no
was on his knees in the mud he put his
hands up to protect his back from the in
tense heat 1t was an awful moment for
those on the shore, who were making every
endeavor to relieve him with sSiffs and
with ropes from the bank. One man went
out TO him and placed a box between him
and the flames to protect him from the In
creasing heat.
DIED LIKE A HERO.
"He said: Never mind me. I'll be dead
In a few minutes anyway He was finally
freed from his terrible situation by tying a
rope aroung is body and dragging him on
shore. but alas, too late. He died in about
half an hour after being rescued.
The body OF Chief Clerk Powell was in a
perfect state Of preservation. There were
no marks Of any kind upon it. He had on a
life preserver which was partly burned. 1t
is supposed that he died OF suffocation.
A short time previous to the alarm OF fire
Clerk Powell was conversing with Willie
Higgins, the barkeeper, about the burning
OF the Kate Adams, an account OF which
Higgins had Just hnished reading. On being
told that fifty lives were lost, Powell said;
Il can't understand how 20 many lives can
be lost when land n SO near Half an hour
latar cruel fate made him corpse floating
down . river
A later Plaquemino special places the
nurnbor known " be lost by the Hanna dis