Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-12-25
CAPTAIN CHEEKS STORY.
Statement OF the Commander OF the De-
stroysd Vessel.

Statement oil the TOM OA hhO TX
stroysd Vessel.
MEMPHIS, TENN, December 2l.-The
following liss of los. by the Adams disas-
ter is as correct as is obtainsble at present:
George COrbett, third clerk; Hilliard Hor-
ton (colored), barber; Monroe Jackson
Ccolored), bureau" boz; Andrew Reese
(cOlored), cabin watchmau; Senator Cole
man (colore1), second pantrymsn; An
drew Mass (colOred), third pantryman;
Jim Nelson (colOrei), Texas" tender;
W. A. CoviDgtOp, planter, Bolivar county,
Mississippi; also ten colored deck-hands
and ten or fifteen white levse labOrers,
who got aboard at Rosedale, Miss.
Capt. Mark R. Cheek, the commander
Of the Kate Adams, yesterday mads the
following statement:
at was a few minutes before eight
O'Clock yesterday morning, when the boat
was about two miles below Commerce
Landing, Miss, that the fire broke out. l
WAS in my stateroom, which Is in the tex
as. near the hurricsn deck. had got out
of bsd and was dressing to go down to
breakfast when the alarm Of fire was given.
I threw on the remainder of nay clothes
and rushed out, passing around the smoke
stack and down the stairway 10 the cabin
flor.
The boat was about three hundred yards
from tie bank. The passengers, number
of whom were ladies, had ust sat down to
breakfast, and hsd jumped from their
seats and were running back and forth on
the boat, crying ani begging to be saved.
I tried TO quiet them, assuring them that
the boat was making for land as fast as she
eopld. aud all Of them would be saved.
ran 10 the forward deck, and was almost
stiflsd by the dense smoke which arose
from the burning material on the boiler
deck. The cotton was rapidly catching
ire. and l saw that the situation Wal q
perilous one. l could see, however, that
the boat was being rushed TO the bank with
ell possible speed, and FASTENED back
slong by the cabins to see that every body
was ready to land. All the cabin passen-
gers save one or two we're up and dressed
The time it took for the boat to run ashore
was about two or three minutes, but they
were the most momentous of my lite. The
frat care was the ladies and children, Of
which there were quite number. l COM
msnded the men to take the children IN
their arms, and just then the boat struck
the shore. No time was lost In lowering
the stage-plank, and we rushed the
ladies and children off first. As near
as l can rscolleck, the cabin passengers
were Captain Tom McLemoTe, wife and
two children, from Nebbetts Landing,
Miss. Mrs. John Kuehn and five children,
Rosedsle, Miss Mrs. Harry FieldaE,
Memphis; DIR. J. D. Harris and wife and
Mrs. johnson, LscOnia, Miss.; Colonel
Thomas Kloster, o government engineer,
who had been down the river looking after
leyees; Captain John w. HaIriS, Memphis,
and Sam Robinson, of Frisr's Point, Mics
Besides these there were about fifteen
colored cabin passengers. | did not
know any of their names. am quite
sure that all of the cabin passengers got to
land safely except Mrs Harris, who hsd
her ankle sprained in Jumping from bale
of cotton. There were about fifty deck
Messengers, aud nearly all Of them were
negroes. think that between twelve and
twenty of them were drowned by jumping
overheard, The crew of the beat consist
ed of fifty deck hands, twenty-five cabin
seryapta, four engineers, two pilots, four
clerks. two mates, fonr iremen, two watch
men. two chambermsids, one sailormsn
and one steward.
"The officers of the boat were: Mark b
Cheek, captain; W. O. Blanker, first CLERK
Harry Best, second clerk; George Corbett
third, and VIM. Donohue, fourth clerk,
The chief engineer was Louis Bstto; Rich
ard Young, first assistant, with Joseph
Rivers and Ed -- II forget his last
name) as strikers. The pilots we're james
Barton and VIM. Hodger; mates, Thomas
Allen. first, and Frank Brsdy second. The
names of the firemen l cannot remember.
Charley Mckinley (?) was captain Of the
watch but don't know the meme OF hit
assistant. The cargo Of the boat consisted
of 1,l61 bales Of cotton, all consigned tC
Memphis merchants: 81 bags OF seed cotton
and 900 sacks of seed, which were also
consiened to Memphis. There was about
s 600 cash in the safe, which, with all th'
books, was lost"
"Do YOU know the origin Of the fire
Captain OheekH" nj,
IT do not; nor could any one tell. Th'
frat that was known of the fire was wher
IL was discovered about Didship on tb'
lsbosrd side Of the lower deck, few Zee
the fire-doors. As soon ss the cap
watch saw the fire he seized
I'D to put it out, but th'