The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1895-01-24
New Orleans Packet State Of
Missouri Goes Down.
BOAT STRIKES \ ROCK
Thirty Of the Passengers and
Crew Are Drowned.
Panic-StriVkcn People Trarnrlc Zach
other to Death lit Their Frantic
Efforts to E~Capc-unc of the fawls
OvCrcrowdcd ana Sunk.
Die in Sisht Of Shore.

The great Cincinnati ANA New Orleans
steamer State of Missouri Went Ia the hot-
tom al the Obi" ki,rr II Wolf tr""k. SOY
cuty miles below Louisville. ky.. ~ q
"'eiuck Saturday night and il y reported
;hH; thirty people met death. III" steam
beat MAS one ri the lar-r~: steamers be
longing /" the Cincinnati and Memphis
Packet Company. ANA WAS Il nrW boat
worth S,nnon. She left Louisville. Ky.
1T IL o'clock Saturday mnrninG. hounl for
New i!r!.an>. with tveuty-thr"r p;S~>"n-
gers ami y crew. making seventy eight
people. she had about half Il c;!r-t "f
furniture, nails. acids etc. and ran
smoothly until her dreadful ac,ilru, that
sent many souls I" eternity.
The trip waS uneycnttul until tlir irra.l-
ed int known as the horseshoe ht'l'f.
near Alton. Ind, WAS reached. Here the
pilot slowed down. as III" current WAS
very swift. ana turned his wheel So ~ I"
avoid an distraction known as Bullock
rock. The rudler> failed ~ respond -
the wheel and there WAS Il grinding.
crashing sound. The boat soon filled and
sunk.
The shock was terrific and the boat
trrMhlru from bow Ia stern. tunStcrna-
ton seized upon the paSSrn:,crs and in a
moment they We're frantic. Without re-
gard To consequences they rushed I" the
upper decks III the hope of delaying the III
cvitahle. as the boat was rapidly sinking.
| Women am! children were tramrlcd upon.
but il is believed all got out of the cabin.
Then the scramble for seats in the .awls
began. 1t WAS a ii;h, for life. in which
many comhatants are believed 10 have
gone to their death. The first yawl
launched was sunk within twenty feet Of
where it struck the water. 1t is believed
! everyone III it was drowned in sight of the
anrGhtcd people huddlcd together on the
! sinking steamer. \ second yaWl was then
! pushed off. 1t contained! four women.
! This is believed 10 have reached shore.
Just when there seemed some hope that
| by rleans of this yawl the passengers
! could be saved. the steamer gave another
| terrific lurch and literally broke into
! pieces, and in ten minutes from the mo
men, the rock was struck nothing hut TIA"
huh remained The cabin. texas and
| Pilot HOUSE, iloatcd away. dragging down
| into the water everyone upon it, The
! lighter freight WAS washed from the main
deck. and on this men. women and chil-
dlcn chung as best they could. many. how
ever. only Ia fall back int" death \ icy en-
brace. Several succeeded 10y this means
in .r,ti!l. into the willows and trees and
were rescued 10y farmers and passing
steamers.
In less than ten minutes from the tm,.
the boat struck she had yon" down. At
! Rockport and Owrnsboro. rs we'll as ~
| all intermediate points. the bank is lined
with skins picking up pieces of furniture
and watching for dead bodies. but the cur
rent is too SWif; for small craft to g"t
out far. -Four passengers Were saved Oy
| clinginS to Il mule which SWAIN ashore.
The paSscngers were all tickcted throu IN
to New Orleans.
The State of Missouri was built IL Mail
ison. Ind. in 1880. by the Kansas City
syndicate. for the Missouri River trade.
at Il cost Of SiOtrN. She was one of Il
trio Of fine steamers built ty TIN. same
company-the State of Kansas and the
\. l.. Mason being the others She Wa,
80 feet long. with Il forty four foot beam
ard six foo. hold. She was never launch
ed on the Missouri. but placed on the
Ohio and Mississippi. plying between
Cincinnati and New Orleans, with occa
sionsl trips to ST. Louis.