The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-02-18
SUNK BY A BRIDGE PIER.
SEVERAL LIVES LOST IN THE
RIVER AT CINCINNATI.

petween Eighty and One Hundred
People On Board the Luckless
Steamer, But the Exsct Number
Drowned Not Known Yet-She Seems
to Have Become Unmanageable.
Story of an Eye Witness.
CINCINNATI, Feb. 17.-It was after z
o'clock tonight when the steamer Sherlock,
of the Cincinnati and New Orleans line,
under command of Capt. Mcintyre, backed
ont from her wharf and started down the
river on her last trip. She had aboard
from thirty to thlrty-five passengers and
crew of fifty or sixty men. The river was
high. the wind was strong, and
as the steamer approached the Chesa-
peake and Ohio railroad bridge,
nearly all the passengers were curious to see
how near the boats chimney would come to
the bridge Their curiosity was soon
changed to terror as they saw the boat ap-
parently at the mercy of the wind and cur
rent, and in a moment, with terrible crash
in the darkness, the boat struck the stone
pier OF the bridge and was utterly helpless.
STORY OF AN EYEWITNESS.
At this writing no account Of the accident
from any one on the boat has been given, but
james Pickett of the Kenton County Boat
Club was on the Kentucky shore and oh
served something unusual in the boats move
ments. Instead of going toward the
wide center span, she moved toward
the Kentucky span, where the current
is. He saw that she seemed TO be unman-
ageable and thai she was too close to the
pier To his horror he saw her strike about
the wheelhouse oD the Kentucky side of the
pier. She clung there for a short time and
gave distress signals. Pickett manned
boats with whatever help he could COM
mand and went to the help of the distressed
passengers.
SAVED SEVERAL LIVES.
He succe eded in picking up six women
and several men by following the floating
vessel as she lett the pier and foated down
the angry river. He says he saw some of
the crew of the vessel swimming ashore.
He saw two on a raft of three boards, and
he thinks he saw many struggling in the
water. When the steamer reached the Fifth
street wharf, after narrowly missing the
Southern railroad bridge pier on the way,
the hull sank, leaving the cabin with the
passengers afoat. Here some of the people
managed to get ashore. The harbor steamer
A. u. Martin was hastily sent after the
floating cabin, and caught it at Riverside,
several miles below the city. As many as
were left were hastily taken aboard, and
returned to the city.
BRAVERY OF THE WOMEN.
1t is said that the passengers were re-
markably brave during their season of
peril, and that with few exceptions the
women were more courageous than the
men, even when death seemed certain.
Mrs. Mclean of Pittsburg was instantly
killed by falling freight at the time of the
cdlsion.
Fhe Sherlock was IS years old, valued at
$4,000 and insured for $12, 600.
She had 400 tons of freight, consisting of
nails, paper, bottled beer, glassware and
miscellaneous freight. There were twenty
one registered passengers and nine not reg
istered.
1t is known that Mrs Mclean of Pitts
burg, aud her grand daughter, little Mar
gerry Brown, Of Pittsburg, were the only
ones of the twenty-one registered passen.
gers lost. Of the nine unregistered
passengers, whether ell are safe
is not known. It is believed
that every one of the Office crew was saved.
In regard to the cabin and deck crew there
lspainful uncertainty. Passengers escaped
10 shore for quite distance along the river.
In Covington many believe that several are
lost,