The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-05-21
EXCURSIONISTS DROWNED,
Terrible Accident on the Ohio
Near Wheeling, w. Va.
A Naphtha Launch Capsized With
Fatal Results.

A dispatch from Wheeling, W. Va, says:
The naphtha yacht Gertrude, built to carry
ten persons and used as ferry between
Wheeling and the island where the baseball
park is located, was crowded with eighteen
people besides the two men in charge
of the boat during the afternoon.
The game had just closed and the pier
was crowded with people, who rushed
pell NELL into the boat, loading her
70 the waters edge. Among the passengers
weretw women. They had seats alongside,
and when the boat neared the wharf, where
the water is deep, one of the tiller ropes
pulled part of one of the won ems dresses
into the pulley, thus clogging the pulley
wheel and rendering the steering apparatus
useless.
About the same time the naphtha tank
containing the fluid by which power for the
engine is generated began to leak, small
wooden plug having slipped out. The fuel
ran down into the generating cylinder, caus-
ing the engineer to become alarmed and lose
control of his machinery. The increased
amount of fuel caused the speed of the
yacht to increase, and almost in the twink
ling of ali eye the bow struck under the
sloping bow of sand-barge and turned over
All of the eighteen passengers and the
operators were thrown into the water, and
the current being very strong and the
ly all of them went under its fiat
bottom. The few who clung to the
yacht were little better off, for the
little boat was drawn under the barge
almost like feather. There were several
other boats and skiffs near by at the time,
but they could not overtake the people float
ing in the swift current until several had
sunk to rise no more.
Mrs. John Mendel, one of the women in the
Yacht, caught William Scheele by the coat
collar, and he in turn caught line thrown
by workmen on the sand barge. Both
were pulled from tho water. Although
Mrs Mendel is in sericns condition on ac-
count of the nervous shock and severe chill,
she will probably recover. Mrs. Charles
Hornbrook, the other woman in the boat,
passed entirely under the full length OF
The barge and was caught by the tips of her
gloved hands as she was sinking from sight
She eremained unconscious nearly an hour.
E. Wells, one of the leading architects in
the city and member of the firm of Khves,
Kraft g. Co., caught a graphing hook, but
it cut through his hand, staining the water
with his blood. He was drowned In sight
Of his friends. He leaves wife ana three
children. One of the boats operators was
caught by nail under the 6arge ana
drowned. His body was rescued by passing
q cable under the barge.
Michael Mclaughlin, President of the tn
Baseball Association, passed under the
barge and was caught 800 yards below, he
was rolled on a barrel and was brought to
with difficulty. He is very sick man man ana IN
ficial scorer for the Baseball Club and Secre-
tary of the A. E. Smith Brewing Company,
passed under the barge and cut cash
spike in the bottom of the barge. He was in
a critical condition at midnight. Policeman
Joe Daum anda companion and Joe White
one of the Wheeling ball players, were saved.
All the others in the boat were drowned,
and their friends have not called for
them. They are supposed to be members %
of a gang Of carpenters who were work
ing on the island. They came here
from Cambridge, Ohio, only on the day be-
fore the tragedy, so it may be some time TS Pc
fore they are missed by their relatives. The
ticket-taker has tickets for the eighteen pas
sengers on the boat.