The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1895-01-24
VESSEL SINKS.
Over Thirty.Five Of Her Passengers
and Grew L ost.
The Disaster Occurred Mt Wolf Creek, Thi r.
ty-Five Miles Above Hawesville, KY
After Sinking the Boat Broke in Two
and the Top Part FlOated Away.

After Sinking the Boat Broke in Two
and the Top Part Floated Away.
HAwEsvILLE, Jan. 21.-The great
Cincinnati and New Orleans steamer
State Of Missouri went to the bottom
of the Ohio at Wolf Creek, P. O., thirty
five miles above this city, at 6 o'clock
Saturday night and forty people met
death. The post Office at Wolf Creek,
is twenty five miles from the railroad,
and it was with great difficulty that
your correspondent secured the facts
that follow. There was no telegraphic
connection to the scene of the disaster
and no way could be found to reach
there.
At o'clock Sunday morning the rear
end of the hull of the steamer was
caught at Troy, Ind, seven miles be-
low here, and thirty drowned mules
securely tied to the guards, were found.
At Cloversport, KY, c. c. White
head, an old fat-boat pilot, who was
on the ill-fated Missouri. was seen by
a reporter. Capt. Whitehead was in
jured and almost exhausted. but he
undoubtedly was the hero of the dis
aster. and the following interview
with him will prove interesting to
thousands of people who had friends
or relatives aboard. Capt. Whitehead.
said:
I'VE were coming down the river and
having good time. was in the pilot
house and was just starting down to
supper. When / reached the cabin
deck ! noticed the boat heading too
much toward the shore, as l thought,
and / stopped to see what the matter
was At this time Mr.. Garland, of
Cave-in-Rocks, ILL.,, came up, and I told
him the situation. He said: 4 can't
swim, how can I be saved?' l told him
to catch plank and jump when the
boat struck
"At that moment the pilot seemed
to realize where he was and the steam
er's bow began to turn about. He was
about half second too late. The bow
missed the rock, but the stern struck
and was completely torn off from the
other part. Garland jumped and was
the first man off the boat.
"When the shock came brave Ne
gro jumped ashore with line and tied
it, but the headway of the boat parted
the line and she swung into the river.
l saw the boat was sinking, and as
there seemed to be no one in command,
| l helped lower the boats and helped
all the lady passengers in. and all of
| them were saved. The steamer was
then rocking and went to the upper
deck, expecting to stay there until help
| came.
'In less than four minutes the boat
had gone down over her upper decks,
| and when was knee deep in water I
jumped and began swimming in the
dark.
/ "A Negro who was frightened and
fighting for life. caught me by the hair
for support, and had q terrible strug-
gle in the water, but finally fought
him away and saw him go down to rise
no more. p ..
"Just as reached shore l heard a
loud report. saw great flame and the
cabin of the boat rose high in the air
and then knew that the boiler had
burst. When l looked around saw a
yawl with people who had boarded it
before ! left the boat go down, and
none of them were saved"
'.Mr. Bush. from Barres Point, Ark,
was my roommate. He had thirty-five
mules on board which he was taking
to his plantation. He was drowned.
and SO were all his mules, Second
Clerk Charles Howard, of Paducah,
Ky, was saved. Capt. Coppler was
saved, but the passengers scored him
bitterly for not attempting to save the
boat. There was a passenger en- route
to Cairo who was injured.
'.Pell and son, of Newport, Ky, were
the pilots, aud both were saved. The
young man was at the wheel, and it is
said that his carelessness caused the
trouble One of the engineers wa:
saved.
1.-The mate of the steamer, by fight
ing drowning men with an oar, man
aged to save every woman in the boat
and when he was found he was wais
deep in mud and almost dead. The
boat was only eight minutes in sinking
out of sight from the time she strucl
the rock.
IF there was command given by
anybody did not hear it.
Zone lady named Ong, of Philadel
phia, got ashore by swimming on Ne
gro's back. found when got ashore
Negro hanging to willow bush b,
his teeth dead. He had struggled Ions
in the water, and died just when IN
was about saved.
The first clerk of the boat is now
at Alton. Ind, insane. He was one o
the few in the boat who seemed to tr,
to do anything. and he was found hal
buried in the mud on the Indiana shor,
below the wreck. He had swan clea
across the river, and it is thought, hi
reason will never return"
A woman named Thompson, of Mari
eta, O.. was found at Kentuck.
farmhouse unconscious, but she will
recover.
Out of twenty-five passengers onl.
nine were saved. There was youn!
married couple from Louisville who's
names could not be learned The hus