Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-08-11
|H AID A SCARY TIME.
Panic Struck on ST. Lawrence
River Boat.
WILD RIDE THROUGH THE RAPIDS.

Grand Army Men and Their w1vss In
and Keep Cooi-A Tangled Rudder
Chain Causes the Trouble and the
Steamer Goes Dumping Among the
Rocks, Finally Reaching smooth Water
Right Side Up with Care.
MONTREAL, Aug. 1l.-Twenty-five hun
bred Grand Army men with their wives
and children left Chicago for Boston via
Niagara falls, the St Lawrence river and
Montreal on Friday, Most of them were
from posts in cities outside of Chicago,
and many came from Iowa, Minnesota,
Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Wiscon-
sim There was a very large number, too,
who had split from Posts 5 and 2s in Chi
cago, one faction going by way of New
York and one taking the st. lawrence
route. They were four hours late at Mag
ara Falls, which they "saw" in twenty
minutes.
Storm Clouds Gathering.
They got to Kingston at midnight and
ate cold suppers, and at o'clock Satur
day morning five big steamers loaded left
there to go through the rapids of the ST.
Lawrence All the boats were packed
lies. The Bohemian, the largest of the
boats. was the last She had between 600
and 700 passengers aboard. The long
Sault rapid WAS passed safely and the ex-
cursionists began to congratulate them
selves that the discomforts of the trip had
ended. The entire day was very pleas
antly spent, albeit that the boat was fear
fully overcrowded. About o'clock great
thunder clouds began to gather in the
west and the sky to derken. The wind
freshened considerably, too, and a big
storm was predicted
Commencement of the Trouble.
There was yet one series of rapids to go
through, the Cretan, as dangerous as any
on the river, and the captain of the b.
hemian thought he could reach there be-
fore darkness set in. The upper deck for
ward OF the boat was packed with people
watching the first plunge of the steamer,
when brilliant flash of lightning ran
across the steamers bow. Then thunder
pealed and rain began to fall in sheets.
The people made rush for the cabin and
shelter and the steamer entered the rap
ids. She rolled fearfully, and the people
surged from side TO side. Suddenly the
sound of cracking timbers was heard, and
women shrieked and tainted.
A Wild Panic Breaks Out.
Then there were heard several hoarse
commands from the pilot house to the
crew to clear the tiller chains. The upper
deck beams had cracked and the floor in
sinking had jammed the tiller chains
leading from the pilot house aft and the
steamer, in the midst of the broiling
rapids, was entirely beyond control When
it became known that the boat was I'M
| manageable close to the awful rocks an
indescribable panic ensued. Women
rushed here and there those that hadn' t
tainted, and, worse than all, the crew and
| walters on board made a rush for the pile
of life preservers in the center of the
cabin and on the after deck, and began
strapping them on.
The Steamer Strikes a Rock.
The war veterans aboard kept their wits
| about them and fought the towards away
from the fe-preservers. while as quickly
| as possible they strapped as many as they
could find on the women and children.
| There were not enough to half go round.
| The boat in the meantime had turned en-
tirely around and was now going down
| terrible jar and verybody's heart stood
still. The steamer had struck a rock, and
| from the peculiar grating sound that fol-
| lowed the shock she apparently slid off
| The captain yelled that there was no dan
ger and everybody expected the next min
| ute to be their last
Three More Bumps to Safety.
The steamer slowly began to turn
| round again and then came another
shock, followed by another, each of them
| heavier than the first. Again the captain
| shouted: Keep cool, there is no dangerl"
| and the passengers snxiously peered
| through the pouring rain over the foam
| crested rapids, vainly trying to see the
| shore Another shock came The fourth
and the steamer gave mighty heave and
| plunge for all the world as if she was 90
| ing down head first, and then slowly
| tGrned her head to the rapids. The shock
| was another rock she had touched, and
the plunge was the last jump through the
rapids out into the open, clear waters.
Everything Lovely Again.
| The captain yelled, I'VE are all right
| now,p and a sigh of relief went ND that
almost put to shame the tempest that was
| bowling over the river The crew had
got over their panic, and were working
hard clearing the tiller chains, during the
| most critical time, and by the time they
cleared the rapids the steamer was under
| control again, her head was turned shore
ward, and within twenty minutes the
| party were disembarking in the Bean
harnais canal pier. An examination OF
the steamer showed that she was making
| very little water.
She Was Built That WAY.
The vessels bottom was especially built
for just such an emergency. The upper
deck, which started the panic, had sunk
two feet, and it is miracle that it didn't
fall entirely. IL it had there would have
been n horrible tale to tell. The passing
through the rapids with no worse result
than it was, was miracle. The 600 on
more people did not reach Montreal I'M