Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1889-01-02
s S cosT..I


BIS BIS Water's Ed Es g Twenty-One Persons
III Perish 20 ssen gers Reach the Shore
ss Only 10 Stick Fast lin the soft Mud.
81 Where. Unable 70 Isxrtlcate Them
81 selvess They Are Roas' ed TO Death by
8 the Heat from the Raging Flames
8 L,ss a the Steamer Lief Erlcksor, III
W,sslaip Eton Territory, with SIX or
& Seven Lives. s5 5Ez ~ 81 vi
$.s NEwf ORLEAss, Dec. 90 The steam boat
John 81 Hanna, from the Onach ia river
with 9 large number OF passengers and d
cargo sc u 5000 bales Of cotton on board.
f6'w.,s burned Manday night near PLAQUE.
mine, La Conflicting reports have been
received reg riding the loss Of life The
first accounts said that only fourteen of
the 100 persons on board were known to
have been saved. The latest report from
the IfcdHitAa's correspondent, however,
places the loss ut Ave whites and sixteen
5colorede s5 vt }ss5@ {g
CAPITA n ]. s. Holmes, master OF the boat;
Samuel Powell, chief clerk Bob Smith, o pilot
from smithland, La; Nike O'Neill night
Waterman; Joc Crane. cabin watchmaN; Mon
roe Dogs, first cook; Jack Duff, second cook;
Joe Harve3, CABIN boy; Jim Watson, second
baker; John Grafton, carpent ter: Johr, Barlow,
5roust ABOUT; Jim Blank (colored) roustapout:
p OK Blank tcolored), mess-room tender; child
OF Prise LA White (colorea,. 5. f.
Anong those who were badly injured
areE 4tsS '&3 ss%y5s38 s5$
Dan Carroll. steward Jim O'NeilL deck
hand; John Gibbons, saiorman; LOUIS Welch,
roustapout; John Jackson, Thomas GarroW .
Many Of the crew and passengers were
asleep when the fire broke cut, end it
spread with understandable rapidity. The
details OF the sufferings and death of
some Of the passengers are narrowing in
the extreme. The boat had reached a
point ashort distance above the town when
negro rou5tabout near the boiler-roon
ran out: to TIC deck and shouted that the
boat N1s on fire. John Cul.en stoker,
ran hastily to the engine-room are gave
the allrm. Engineer Merriman ut once
sounded the alarm by blowing the steam
Whis tie and ringing the bells. In
IN instant, certainly in much
shorter time than 1t takes to explain
1t. the flames shot through tbs cabin and
over tho sides of the cotton, enveloping
the entire boat in fire. Clerk Powell was
upstairs at the time, and when he saw the
flames he heroically ran through the smoke
which filed the cabin and tried to arouse
the sleeping people. He Kicked at the
doors, and in a short time almost
every body was awake. Frantic people
",
but the boat was piled high with cotton
aud the lassago ways were filed with
smoke. Many dropped before they were
able to get to the forward part Of the boat,
and were dead when tue steamer went
down. As soon as the fire was discovered
Engineer Merriran set the steam pumps
w>rk.ng and tried to battle with the
hames, but the. fire swept through the boat,
like q tlaze on q prairie, and the engine
room was soon In flames. Then, to add
furlher to the CONSERVATION, steam pipe
burst and filled the place with scalding
steam Engineer Mer. imam was forced to
abandon his post and be and the stokers
and others ran to the sides OF the boat in
order to save their lives.
AS soon as the smoke and flames began
TO start up the sides OF the boat Captain
Jolles, the pilot ssrnRg the wheel around
and headsds the, boat for the shore. A
full head Of sts,am was on at the
: me nUt4the boat was soon run into the
bank. Before she was, however, she was
doom ed. All OF her timber was then furi-
:ously burning When she struck the bank
she bounded away agA:n and swung
around. drifting down as she burned.
Then Captain Jolles jumped ont over the
cotton bales and spring.ng into the river
swan ashore. ~
The sight was wierd one, viewed from
the bank, and the town vas arouse !.
Floating cotton, charred timber anil other
debris filled the river, and many
people were struggling desperately in
tho water for their lives. Some Of them
were SO badly burned or SO thoroughly
exhausted that they struggled but>a few
and sunk to rise no nj, re. AS
the Turning 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
scorchcd fuces and bruised limbs, and
many Of them with scarcely any covering.
L Brave Captain Holmes, a resident of
New Orleans, met with a Almost awful
death. He remained at his post Of duty,
till every chance to save the lives of his
passengers was gone. Then he attempted
to SWIM ashore, but it happened to be
boggy, and he was secn to make frantic,
en- eavors to extricats himself without
avail The burning boat was fast nearing
him and while he was on his kuees in the
mud he put his hands up to protect his
back from the intense heat. It was an
awful moment for those on shore,
who were making every endeavor to
relieve him with skiffs and with ropes
from r bNS Oauk. EOuc man aWGHO Oub
to him and placed a box between him
and he ;laEes to protect him from the in
screasing heat. He said Never mind
me. I'll be- dead Ia few minutes, any
way lie was finally freed from his ter
rEble situation by tying u rope around his
cody and dragging him ON shore, but alas,
too late. He died about half an hour after
beng rescued 53 A &, 9%
\ The body Chief Clerk Powell was in a
perfect state Of preservation, There were
IN MARKS Of any kind upon. it. He had on
sa life-preserver which was partly turned.
II is supposed he d ed Of suffocation, IA
short time previous to the alarm Of fire
Powell yras conyersing with Willie. Fl e..
gins, bar-keeper, about the burning Of the
] kate Adams, an account Of which Higgins
hal iust finished reading.
8$ The death Of John Grafton, carpenter,
was q sad one He was In tho upper por-
gtton Of the boat, strugg ing to get near the
bow Tho 0ataesS Were TWISTING and sweep
ing all about him. He tried nohly, but
he drnpped and burned to death before
Il ii eyes Of the people, who were not able
to render him any help. s 888s It s3 :35s 81
ga The second bar-keeper OF the boat said
Mr.. Powell was standing near him when
] they bbt iii jumped into the Water. Powell,
who could NOT swim, climbed on q float
ing cotton bale, but two deck
hands jjumied on ahe bale, turn