The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1889-01-02
HORROR ON THE RIVER.



Not Again secn-Thriliing Account of
tho Burning or tho John III. Hanna.
lPlscquemins G.a) spsciall
The river boat John III. Hanna was
burned to the waters edge near this city,
causing the death of at least twenty
five persons. Some persisted on the boat,
others were drowned, and many in at
tempting to reach the shore stuck
in the mud and were literally
roasted alive. Scores sustained in
juries by being burned or scalded by
escaping steam. Among the dead are:
Captain j. s. Holmes, Samuel Powell,
Bob Smith, Mike O'Neill, Joe Crane,
Monroe Diggs, Jack Duff, Joe Harvey,
Jim Watson, John Grafton, John Barlow.
Jim Blank tcolored), Dick Blank (colored),
child of Priscilla White (colored). Among
those who were badly burned are: Dan
Carroll, Jim O'Neill, John Gibbons, Louis
Welch, John Jackson, and Thomas Gar
row. The details of the suffering and
death OF the passengers are narrowing in
the extreme.
Many of the crew and passengers were
asleep when the fire broke out, and it
spread with indescribable rapidity. The
details of the sufferings and death Of some
of the passengers are narrowing in the ex-
treme. The boat had reached a point
roustabout near the boiler room ran out to
the deck and shouted that the boat was on
fire. John Cullen, a stolSer, ran hastily to
the engine room and gave the alarm En-
gineer Merriman at once sounded the
alarm by blowing the steam whistle and
ringing the bells. Almost in an instant
the flames shot TIN ough the cabin and over
the sides OF the cotton, enveloping the en-
tire boat. Clerk Powell was upstairs, and
when he saw the flames he heroically
ran through the smoke which filed the
cabin and tried to arouse the sleeping peo-
pie. He kicked at the doors and in short
time almost everybody was awake. Fran
tic people ran to different exits TO make
their escape, but the boat was piled high
with cotton and the passage-ways were
filled with smoke. Many dropped before
they were able to get to the forward part
of the boat, and were dead when the boat
went down. AS soon as the fire was dis
covered Engineer Merriman sent the steam
pumps working and tried to battle with
the flames, but the fire went through the
boat like blaze on prairie, and the en-
CINE room was soon in flames. Then to add
further to the CONSERVATION, q steam-pipe
burst and filled the place with scalding
steam. Engineer Merriman was forced to
abandon his post, and he and the stollers
and Others ran to the sides of the boat in
order to save their lives.
AS soon as the smoke and flares began to
start up the sides of the boat Capt. Jolles,
the pilot, swung the wheel around and
headed the boat for the shore. A full head
of steam was on at the time and the boat
was soon run into the bank. Before she
was, however, she was doomed. All of her
timber was then furiously burning. When
she struck the bank she bounded away
again and swung around, drifting down as
she burned Then Capt. Jolles jumped
out over the cotton bales into the river and
swan ashore.
The sight was weird one, viewed from
the bank and the town was aroused
Floating cotton, charred timber, and other
debris filled the river, and many people
were struggling desperately in the water
for their lives. Some of them were so
badly burned or so thoroughly exhausted
that they struggled but few moments
and sunk to rise no more. AS the burning
boat struck the bank OF the river the crew
and passengers who had been able to reach
the forward end of the boat sprung ashore,
some of them with scorched faces and
bruised limbs and many of them with
scarcely any covering.
No one saw Clerk Powell, who displayed
much heroism in waking up the passengers,
after he had raped at the doors, and it is
quite positive that he was burned to death
and went down with the steamer. Nc at
tempt was made to save any of the steamers
books or papers, and everything, including
the clothes OF the crew and passengers, was
lost. The boat burned rapidly, and i'm a
short time after the alarm was given she
had burned to the waters edge. The hull
etfpk md potbiu vas laft of tho Hanna hut
floating timber and burning cotton.
Comingssdown on the boat rs passengers
were a number of the crew of the steamer
Josie W., oil of whom were saved. None
of the men could say what was the origin
of the fire. The general impression, how
ever, is that some careless smoker threw :.
cigarette among the cotton bales and there
by caused the disaster.
The death of John Grafton carpenter,
was sad one. He was in the upper por-
ton of the boat, trying to get near the
bow. The flames were twisting and sweep
ing all about him. He tried nobly, but he
dropped and burned to death before the
eyes Of the people, who were not able to
render him any help. The second bar
keeper of the boat said Mr. Powell was
standing near him when they both jumped
into the water. Powell, who could not
SWIM, climbed on noatlng cotton Dale,
but two deck hands jumped on the bale,
turning it over and throwing Powell into
the water, and he disappeared. The boat
was about fifteen yards from the shore
when number Of people plunged into the
river and several who reached the bank in
safety became stuck in the soft mud, and
so intense was the heat of the burning craft
that they were burned to death before they
could climb up the steep bank to the levees.
The fire was so rapid that before the
pilot had finished sounding three alarm
whistles the entire boat from stem to stern
was a roaring mass of flames, and the
scene that ensued was terrible in the ex-
treme. Men yelled and ran about the
decks of the burning steamer like maniacs,
and others, screaming at the top of their
voices threw themselves into the dark
waters and were lost to sight. The second
barkeeper said that several persons near
him struggled i'm 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 A cabin boy
said that the crew who were in the texas
were aroused from their slumbers by the