Kansas City daily journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1892-1897, 1895-02-11
WRECK OF The sUL1ANA.
IN ONLY FOUR BATTLES WAS THERE
GREATER Loss OF LIFE.
Thirteen Hundred kilicd-Howard Hendcr-
son. Who Has the only Roster In
Existence, writes the Tragic
Narrative.

-
| Howard Henderson. who was the con.
,odnra+a nx.,,,,a ,r,,,tss,a.o, -,
| ,,..,,. 49,, -, -.
"ii't'" ior 'he ihuepehueht an account
| OF the wreck OF the Sultana. which.
| from one point of view, is singuarly
| timely. He SAYS;
In isei.ss y.b,o ,.o,,o,ora., o,,,,,,,,
.i,,,,. g., a., , - -, -.
=" '"e eNchahse vi PRISONERS vi
war Tor the Department of Alabama,
Mississippi and East Tennessee, | eX-
changed the men lost on the Sultana
This cntas,,onbo is tho e,,,,o., a., ,t,
bis,,,, -, .,....i..s,,.. Mt, -,
,' VI .ta'ho"a'i 'i's' lucy were
Dana commanded the department and
General Morgan D. smith. the district.
,rb,ougb roi,n,t :, t,i.L -, ,,,,ar,i
c,,,,,t,, EN- ~ r,', ~
"''''" san "o" ol pehNer' Paroit
camp had been established. neutral
ground at -Four Mile bridge, east of
vicksburg. From this camp the men
had been exchanged IA week or more he.
fore they were TRANSPORTED Several
boats had passed unon which they
might have been Skinned and this made
a suspicious circumstance suggesting
bribery, whispered on the day of shin.
ment but boldly charged "A fter the disas-
ter Having in my possession A COPY of
the official record of tho court martha.
which sat on the case. and complete
roll of the men on board the steamer. |
propose to give an nuthentic acrount
of the greatest steamboat disaster of
time. which has never been done. No
one could do it without the record Of the
trial of Captain FREDERICK Speed. the
only copy OF which is in my possession
on April "a 1865 the men were
brought bv rail from Camp Fisk and
placed upon the Sultana. The exact
number of prisoners was l6ii. There
were on board besides these. 3lf soldiers
mot prisoners, passengers and crew.
She was crowded To her utmost capac-
ity, for besides the human freight there
were thirty or forty mules Rations
were issued for over / 500 soldiers.
The men covered the hurricane deck
and the texas" and IL was feared their
weight would crush the roof of the
cabin. The guards of the cabin were
filled and the boiler deck was so crowded
that the men sat thick on the gunwales
their legs swinging over the sides of the
steamer which sunk so low that when
the vessel careened while running
their feet touched the wafer They we're
so anxious to get away that thav fearad
to complain. lest they should he left he
hind. they even claimed IN he antiraIv
comfortable bur their wretched nosition
excited universal comment and provoked
earnest protests The LADY cav and
Pauline Carol Law at the ieyee while
the Sultana was being loaded. their can
begging "a rp n
ers. This added another clrcumstanne
suggesting venalitv. II was Furthermore
declared that the mon were shinned in
the face of official remonstrance from
Acting Ouartermaster " = Eerns
safety and. having coal left there
Seven miles above She eynloded her boIl-
ers and burned. Hundreds were hurled
many feet in the air falling into the
water with broken bruised or scaIdnd
by drowning The number thar Iost
their lives is approximatojy lilo of the
prisoners and 300 of the crew and mas
sengers. including Cantain Nason rho
commander of the boat The nI,nbor
has been repeatedlv nlaced at from soo
to 2.OOO. but ii approximates the exact
truth To state that about | 400 nersons
perished. or abou, 60 per cent of ali on
board. | do moi nropose Ia desrrihe tho
scenes of suffarinr ,vitnessnd TIL
spring freshet was at its Good and tho
swamns on the Arkansas side vero
oyerd6wed for many miles Inland NIanv
escaped To the submerged trees and n
Iarra nronortior Of tbaea ,srisbo,1 Tron,
cold and fright
II was claimed that the casualty was
caused nv o,arIoadinr cousin~ 10 ,'os
sci Ia SET so low as Ia strain the on
gine's power beyond its CAPACITY To drive
the steamer against the swift current
she had t1 s,am Evnerts testifed tbot
though she was overcr0wded she was
not Swarlnsdad .nI tbat tba cat,s,ra
nhs could nor he charred ~ tho burden
sh, CARRIED havinr freoIanti,, trane-
nnrted freipht tbat sunlf bn,, n;ator.iino
ae low
If was cbargad hat rahe, an,tsssr-
les who we're aIiov"d ahoar6 nincnd
tnrnadoas in tho coal. arJ 49, sse,,
@ W '.". put itts' ~ ~, Ne a nlst9IE s'aNtil
"9ati. ''tiH 40 ~, ~ IN ie,Icl1'e Mriie
aua"' " nv saw ntl loilI tic ~
,l'., anu n.t"ilss S,,i PiotTsttu asad.st the
Mu."s VI HiSi, III tna' 1nnuiiiam
" - 70 ~ mn''t iiiei' ioM iNtn5 Mni
austsls, ~ We snuM' " IN tnr @ @titI' that
, Mitlc az IthSpu'S ''oItri iiau ptcIi
Inst "a 'e"yi VIZ nm l,ul'' @ an"
ma ii eiIiS anu n "'st att'ii EauH Mas
,he AUS VI 'he e"pIosloli. JUS peloIe
tSaNils ot' Luis, pii ie' uowh ZIP,
the s'eai.ier n"u peeh satlsiacloIlly |
teSteu anu prohou'ceu stauhch pE tle
marine ol'leials' ~ maS pioNcll th"t tl1
Ntsse' was iol par'ItuiarlS thuuhseIeu
py 'ne huiiper sne earII5u' nave ne
IoIG me staten'ent, nauc py the chlel
engineer, WhoSr hcehse had peeh re-
Nokeu on srouhus OF careleSsnesS, writ
zen octoper 20, 1900 ana nubllshed IN |
me ~, Louis i'eHloerat peiofe any or
ilclal ihNestlsatloh OF the disaster, claim
lns thai me supefNislhs inspector had