Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-17


Hf Senate bill which is the latest chap
ter in one Of the most horrible occur
ED RANGES that marked that period Of
horrors which extended from 1880 90
1865. The bill provides for placing on the
pension roll, at the rate Of s25 month. the
name Of any officer or enlisted man Who was on
the steamboat sultana when abe exploded her
boilers, April a, 1865, who has an honorable
discharge from the service.
One OF the few men who knows. by actual
experience, anything Of the scenes which fol-
lowed Immediately after the explosion OF the
Sultana, Is Mr.. W. II. Michael. editor OF the
Congressional Directory. He was an ensign on
the gunboat Tyler, then lying above Memphis.
Mr. MIcHAEL's NARRATIVE
To STAR reporter, who requested him TO
relate the story Mr.. Michael sad: II was officer
of the deck on the Tyler that morning OF April
screams coming apparently from up and across
the river. i at once went on deck and inquired
OF the quartermaster, who knew no more than
did, but who had seen q bright light upstream.
de thought some vessel was on fire.
AT that time there was q dense fog and this
combined with the darkness-dayhght was
more than an hour away-made IL impossible
10 distinguish any object more than few Yards
distant. Our boats were at once manned and
my cutter Was the first out The walls, cries
anu Pia fctr lOt nelp could be heard distinctly
Gil around us, but we could not see any one for
quite while. What an awful situation that
was. Hundreds OF dying men pleading for aid
snd We, ready and willing, unable to do a thing
BY and by the fog lifted 9 little. and then !,
did not take us long 70 fill the cutter with halt
drowned unfortunates We raced 20 the shore
with the sufferers and raced back 20 the middle
OF the stream until our one boat saved 65 per-
sons. OF this number not one was free from
severe bodily injuries or painful scalds.
HOW soMR WERE SAVED.
"Most Of them were nearly nude. One poor
boy clutched the limb Of q tree SO tightly that
we could not force him to let go his hold. We
took limb and man on board together and ID, n
discovered that the rescued one had lost has
reason. Another was SO badly scalded that the
nesh came of when we pulled him over the
gunwale OF the boat. One lad, who had been
reduced 70 skeleton by his confinement in
prison. had had his sight destroyed by steam.
He audibly thanked God he was saved aud
within q few moments breathed his last in the
arms OF one OF my sailors Tell mother -
were his dying words. How often have / wished
that some good angel would tell me where 20
md that poor berett mother that might con
vey to her the unfinished sentence. A woman
was rescued who held on TO a plank with one
hand while she kept her babe above water
with the other arm. The babe was
dead, but the almost lifeless mother did not
know the awful truth for several hours after
maniac and remained so for several DAYS. MANY
OF the scalded, chilled and borror-strick. "A
men died unnecessarily. When would slow
up to take them in the boat they would be so
overcome with Joy at the thought of being
saved that they threw up their hands and be-
fore We could seize them went down to rise 40
more until that day when the shall give lp
ITS dead The last man my boat picked up had
lost his reason and was supernaturally enor-
glzed. he came swimming down by us, swear
nd nd lane al.. 81 n
We had great difficulty in getting hold Of him
and greater difficulty in keeping him IN the
boat after we hauled HIM in. Within an hour
he was a corpse. When the roll was finally
called there were ], 235 corpses.
COMBINATION OF CIRCUMSTANCE.
"This awful loss OF life was due to a combIna-
ton of circumstances that seemed fateful. an
OF the Sultans's boilers Kploded simultaneous w.
The river more than ordinarily high: in
fact, II had overfowed it's banks in MANY places
and the current was very strong. The catas-
trophe occurred opposite Tagleman's Landing,
several miles above Memphis, and lust O. far
away from all hope OF imme date succor. The
sultana's boats and life preservers we're al de-
stoyed by the explosion. Most OF the people
were SO reduced In strength by disease and by
long confinement in rebel prisons that they were
wholly unprepared either to help themselves
or to render aid to others, If that had been
possible. Tho discharge Of steam and hot
water was OF such tremendous volume that
every part OF the vessel was deuged and over
whelmed in an instant, and every one was more
or less scalded- All tho conditions were I'M
favorable, except the one which, while il made
the water high, sprlnk led the river surface with
floating trees and other buoyant debris Many
lives were saved by these fraIl supports: in fact
there we're but few of the survivors who did
not owe their existence to these fragments OF
timber.
REscUISa THE SURVIVORS.
"The boats Of the Tyler and the Groesbeck
picked up $50 people Of the 2,O2l that we're on
board the Sultana when the explosion occur
red. One act of heroism should never be for
gotten. When Executive Officer Chas. Ackley,
who temporarily in command OF the Tyler
went out in his boat TO the rescue his wife ac-
companied him and worked as hard any one
dragging men on board until she was ex-
hausted. With q number Of the survivors she
was taken on shore ana there she recovered.
She administered stimulants TO the poor fell
lows and by her faithful devotion saved many
lives.
lis she still alive? Yes; she lives in Daven-
port, Iowa, and is existing on what little money
she can earn as a vest maker. That woman 10
a heroine and ought TO have a medal
THAT the Sultana was overloaded there can
be no doubt. Her registered capacity WAS only
$40. Brig. Gen. Hoffman, commissary general
of prisoners, IN a report 20 Secretary Stanton,
said: Upon careful consideration Of all the
submitted l am Of the opinion that the ship
ment OF so large number Of troops "a, $500 on
one boat was, under the circumstances unnec-
essary, uniustihable and a great outrage upon
the troops In addition to these ]. 500 soldiers
there we're on board 20 cabin passengers a
crew Of SIS men and a cargo of live stock con-
sisting OF about 20 horses and mules and more
than 100 hogs.
SMUGGLING A TORPEDO ABOARD.
"The reported connection Of a blockade
runner named Lowden alias Dales with the er-
plosiop was q secret for many years. and il was
never divulyed during his lifetime. VIZ. c.
Streeter OF &c. Louis says Dales told him after
the war wat over that be struggled large
lump Of loaded coal on board at Menlp
while the Sultana was coaling there. A. that
time il was generally believed that tie er-
plosion was caused by some such devlish work,
but proof was wanting. While the
Sultans taking on fuel, and with IL
the Internal torpedo, visited her and mingled
with the living skeletons who had been rotting
in southern prison pens for months, but Who
were then happy at the prospect of soon meet
ing the dear ones at home. Some of them were
too weak to move without assistance. Others
lay motionless on cots or blankets spread ON
the decks and in spite OF their sufferines were
were nearing home aud we're
beneath ths glorious red. white and blue How
few Of them ever reached their earthly homer
That Ended IL.
They are telling down east story respecting
the recent high links kicked nm NV . drpr,,,oa.