Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-01-24
NEARLY FORTY WERE LOST
Disastrous Wreck of an Ohio
River Steamer.
STRUCK A ROCK AND WAS SUNK
Passengers. Make a Frantic
Fight for Life.
The Unfortunate Steamer Was the State
Of Missouri, Making Her First Trip
One Hundred Passengers, Besides
Crew of go on hoard-At Least 81 Were
Drowned.

l.
people are believed to have been drowned
by the sinking of the big passenger
steamer, State of Missouri, Saturday even
ing at o'clock, at Alton, Ind, 100 miles
above here.
The steamer struck rock and sank in
so feet of water. Only fragmentary de-
tails have been received and no names are
given.
The State of Missouri is a long stern.
wheeler, plying between Cincinnati and
New Orleans. She had on board a fairly
large cargo of freight and 100 cabin pas
sengers, besides crew of GO.
At Alton the river narroWs, and the
water being high an extremely swift
current results. This threw the stern of
the boat in toward the Indiana shore.
Before the pilot could regain control of
the boat she hit rock. tearing long hole
in the hold at the water line.
PASSENGERS FIGHT FOR LIFE.
The shock was terrific, and the boat
trembled from bow to stern. Consterna-
tion seized upon the passengers, and in q
moment they were frantic Without re-
gard of consequences they rushed TO the
upper decks in the hope of delaying the
inevitable. as the boat was rapidly sinking.
Women and children were trampled
upon, but 1t is believed all got out of the :.
cabin. Then the scramble for seats in the
yawls began. 1t was a fight for life, in
which many combatants are believed to
have gone to their death.
Tho first yawl launched was sunk within
| 90 feet of where it struck the water. 1t is
| believed every one in it was drowned in
sight of the afIrighted people huddled
together on the sinking steamer. A second
| yawl was then pushed off. 1t contained
women. This is believed to have reached
| shore.
Just when there seemed some hope that
by means of this yawl the passengers
/ hsne tIn gfoa 1,ar frau nm
terrific lurch and literally broke into
pieces, and in ten minutes from the
| moment the rock was struck nothing but
the hull remained.
The cabin and pilot house foated away,
dragging down into the water every one
upon them. The lighter freight was
washed from the main deck and on this
men, women and children chung as best
they could, many, however, only to fall
back into the ice-cold water.
Several succeeded by this means in get
ting into the willows and trees and were
rescued by farmers and passing steamers.
SURVIVORS, STORY.
On the City of Owensboro, which passed
here tonight, were four of the passengers
who had been rescued from the trees. Two
of them were w. Q. Leathers, of Hopkins
county, KY, and Mr.. Gregory of Cave-ln-
the-Rock, Ill. The names of the other two
could not be learned.
| Ar. IeaCleF5 tulnhS bI1dL Ut lettSb Oo
people were drowned He saw four men
90 under within five feet of him, but the
current was so swift he could render no
assistance. Mr.. Leathers says there were
/ 10 cabin passengers, 80 deck passengers
and crew of 90 on board.
The terrific current running at the time
can be partly appreciated by the fact that
the wreckage began passing here early to-
| day, which would indicate at least 10 miles
per hour. The normal is about four miles.
/ Alton. Ind, where the wreck occurred, is
80 miles from telegraph station, with al
most impossible roads. The news secured
came by steamers passing here to-day.
+ Captain Joe Conlon, First Clerk Werman
and Second Clerk Howard who is nephew
, of Captain Ben Howard, and brother oil
/ Captain Jim Howard. of the steamer John
S S. Hopkins, with five lady passengers and
Pilot Pell and son, managed to reach shore
uniniured.
The second mate and engineer on watch
/ were picked up by the steamer Tell City
: and the City of Owensboro picked up fouI
1 men and left them at Owensboro. The
. | Others 35 to 40 i'll number, including male
i passengers and members of the crew, it il
d thought, went down with the vessel.
n FATAL FIRST TRIP.
e This was the Missouris first trip of tht
e season. OF two sister steamers of the
I same line, built at the same time, the
u Mason sank while working in the trade
= about two years ago. The Kansas is now
II left alone.
ST. LOUIS, Mo-, Jan. 21.-A specia
to the Republic from Hawesyille, Ky.
gives q story of the sinking Of tht
lr steamer State of Missouri and place
e the loss of life at not less than 40. Thu
u writer of the dispatch visited the seem
u of the wreck, 35 miles from Hawesville
n and reports that there were 2!2 passen
ie gers and crew of 7S on board. .
lie these 10 passengers nearly half the crew
principally negro roustabouts, were re
portcd drowned. G. q. Whitehead ~
:. old river pilot, was on board, and to tn
as correspondent said:
ii "Out of % passengers only nine wer
at saved. Among these were youn!
r married couple from Louisville. Th
ar husband swan ashore with his wife AM
., thev were saved A man and wife fron
e. Philadelphia escaped, but the man los
his clothing and $4,000.
:. "Mr. Bush from Barros Point, Ark
/. was nv room.mate. He had SO mule
4. on board, which he was taking to hi
al plantation. He was drowned and s
y were all his mules,
oi "Second Clerk Charles Howard o
Paducah, KY: was saved, and ais
Captain Copler, but the rescued pas
n. sengers scored him bitterly for not al
ne tempting TO save the boat. There was
10 passenger en- route to Cairo injured
Y, Pilot Pell and his son were the pilot
Ie and both were saved. The young ma
was at the wheel.
FOUGHT MEN TO SAVE WOMEN.
Is some of the engineers was saved. Th
a mate of the steamer, by fighting drown
:. ing men with an oar, managed to say
III every woman in the boat"
The first clerk of the boat is now 9
Alton, Ind, insane. He was one Of th
IS few in the boat who seemed to try to d
n nothing and was found half buried i
IL the mud on the Indiana shore below tn
to wreck. He swan clear across the rivei
1t is thought that his reason will nevC
return.
A woman named Tomkins of Mar
re- eta Ohio, was found at u Keutuck
IL farm house unconscious, but she wi
he recover.
As the rear end of the boat wer
down, the forecastlc caught fire and fc
two minutes lighted up the whole cour
at Ury, but the boat soon settled to th
ny bottom and the struggling people wer
left in utter darkness.