Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1889-01-02
BURNED ON THE MISSISSIP.
sssnger Steamer Destroyed
Number of Lives Lost.

Number of Lives Lost.
The elegant passenger steamer (
Adams, running as q sem1-we J
packet between Memphis and A q
sas City, burned on the morning II
23d near Commerce, Miss, forty el
south of Memphis, and about tw y
five of her passengers and crew RI
drowned.
She was en- route to Memph; nc
had about 200 people aboard, incl ms
her deck and cabin crew of eight ut
twenty five cabin and sixty deck p IN
gers, and twenty-five eolored blr
passengers. The fire. which eau II
some cotton near the forward 10
the boiler was discovered at
o'clock. The passengers were at eak
fast and whenthe alarm was Civ they
all made rush for the forward ieck
At the time the steamer was alb 30
yards from the Mississippi side t The
river and her bow was at once ades
for the shore. Pilot Joe Barron as OF
watch and he remained at his ps unit
she was safely landed. Hars Best
the second clerk, who was seaSed a
the table when the alarm wals given
brought all the ladies and child reh Tor
ward and assisted them ashore.
Capt. Mark r. Cheek, Who was pn thu
hurricane deck, remained there, YIyIne
his commands until the stage plank wa
safely lowered. The fire by thus tim'
had spread all through the foFWare
cabin, and he was compelled I'd. r4trea
to the stern and climbed overt the rail
and descended to the alter cabifl. Here
he found Chief Clerk w. CT Blanker
who had made an effort to sage ths
money and papers of the stfamer
which were in the safe. He mhnaget
to grab the money, but was CT : 3H from
the bow and forced back into 6hR cabin
AS he was cropping his w iaft, h'
stumbled and fell over SC mel chair
and lost all the valuable be hat
secured, and it was with grea difficult.
that he succeeded in reaching The sterl
through the binding smoke and flame
which filled the cabin. C&pt1 Cheel
seized life-preserver, and,i placing
on Chief Clerk Banker, helned hin
overheard into the water. He hoate,
down ABOUT three miles before he wa
rescued by parties who had wake,
ashore and followed him d Town th,
river. Capt. Cheek assisted severa
others in securing lite-preservers, and
when it was no longer possibl9 for hin
to remain without being buried, be
too. jumped into the river and swan
There were about twenty-five colo-e,
cabin passengers who were saved alOn,
with the white passengers On tE'
lower deck, however, Fearful pani
seized the crew and deck palssenge RS
Those who were cut off fgoIn escap,
from the bow, were compelled to juml
overheard to save their lives. TIL,
stern of the burning steameriha swun,
out into the river and In the 4ffort mad,
~ ok 4,
the crowd which filled it and many o
its occupants drowned. They wer,
mostly colored men, but there wer,
three or four women in the crowd.
The lost,so far as can be learned, are a
follows: George Corbett, third clerk
aged SO years, who had lauEched tn
yawl, and was trying to save the womel
on the lower deck. He leaves a wifi
who resides in st. Louis. yye Porter
billiard Horton (colorede. Monroe
jackson, Lee Finley (colored Sim Mel
son, Frank Wells (olored5. Senate
Coleman. In addition about ffteel
deck passengers, four of whom wer
white men, were also drowned. In thi
lot of unknown were three colored wo
men and two children. They wer
coming to Memphis to spend the holi
DAYS. The whites had been working OF
the levees and their names and desti
nations are unknown.
The burning steamer drifted ava
after laying at the bank for twent
minutes ana f1oated down the river, he
hull sinking at the head of Peter
Island, four miles below Commerce.
The Kate Adams was owned by tn
Memphis and Vicksburg Packet Com
pany. She was built by James Rees .
Sons, of Pittsburg, in 1882, and cos
SlO2, 600. She was the best and tastes
steamer of her type, and her owner
this summer spent $4,000 in repairin
her at Paducah. She was insured fo
$33, $50 in st. Louis, Cincinnati an
foreign Offices. This would hav
been the completion of her 6O2nd trip i
the Memphis and Arkansas City trade
Her cargo consisted of ISL bales O
cotton, 1900 sacks cottonseed, 81 bag
seed and good list of sundries. Tn
cotton was consigned to Memphis mer
chants and fully insured in their opel
policies. Fader, Frank & Co., Hill
Fontaine & Co., and Thomas FL. Allel
& Co., were the largest codsignees.