The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-24
Loss or rHE sULT1XA.
River Tragedy That DarIeened the
Approach of Peace.


From the Pittsburg Dispatcn.
The recent wreck of the passenecr
steamer Elbe ON the North Sea. involv-
ing loss of upwards Of 800 lives re-
calls other similar eatastrophes. that az
ways have tragic interest The most
notable event Of this kind thar has oc-
CURED within the century ana which
was accompanied. with the greatest less
of life. was on enc OF the leland water
ways Of the united States lust al the
close OF the civil war. :. mas in il more
OF the moumtliiy patheti' the darkly
tragic and damnably cui2Ahle. than any
thing OF the kind In modern times.
Some time during tho latter part OF
April 1865, the rJt amer Sulrana left New
Orleans for ST. Louis wi 80 cabin pas
sengers and. as was aft sfward developed
with go hogsheads Of susar billed. for
Memphis At Nicksburg, the steamer
took n a contingent of 2.lf soldiers. AMI
80 officers, making q total Of 2S93 souls
exclusive Of ihe crew. This was more
than five times her legal carrying capac-
ity and the men We're huddled together
Oh her decks like so many cattle. These
soldiers were nearly all veterans. had
seen years of hard service and the war
IoM nNii4k over AtOktQ Forward WIN In
tense eagerness to the meeting of wives,
children, friends and sweethearts Yet,
though they had escaped the fatal mis-
siles OF war. and while they stood on
the very threshold of the long-delayed
peace, eternity was to stand between
them ami the loved ones at home.
Protest was made by Mai j. NJ. Nc
Gown, in command of the soldiers to Gen.
Wood, who was at the time in command
of the department. and the fact was con-
veyed to him that the Lady Guy. another
north bound steamer, was at the wharf
and that her captain was ready to take
1000 troops at government rates But
Gea. Wood refused TO act and il then de-
Veloped that the acting adjutant general.
Capt Speed Peay, had a contract with the
captain of the Sultana for the carrying Of
all the troops or none, and this contract
Wood was unwilling TO break.
The heavy laden steamer reached Mem
phis on the night of the 26th of April at
about 1880 O'Clock. and the captain OF the
Sultana then requested of Mai w. w.
Fidler of the Sixth Kentucky veteran
cavalry, detail of men to unload the 2Jo
hogsheads of sugar, adding in the gen
erosity of his heart that for such service
he would give the men their breakfast
Owing to the crowded condition of the
vessel, no cooking could be done and the
men had TO eat their rations raw. eN-
in the cabin. The soldiers detailed. unload
ed the sugar and the steamer went on her
fatal way.
On leaving the landing at Memphis. the
Sultana bore wen 10 the Tennessee side
of the river Till a point was reached
known as the hen and chickens" be
known as the Hen and Chickens" be
ing a group of small islands Here she
was headed diagonally across the cur
rent in order to strike calmer water on
the Arkansas side. The sugar, which had
acted as ballast. being gone, the boat
was now top-heavy, and rocked like a
vessel in a gale. This rocking motion
agitated the water in the boilers, which
were carrying a pressure entirely be-
You'd the limit of safety
AT this point the levees, which had
fallen into neglect during the war were
broken on both sides and the water was
fifteen miles wide. The shore lines were
only distinguishable by fringe of trees.
The night was exceptionally dark Low.
murky and water-laden clouds hung in
the sky and frequent and vivid flashes
Of lightning Illuminated the horizon, mo-
mentarily lighting Up the wide expanse Of