Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1895-01-24
New Orleans Packet State Of
Missouri Goes Down. J
BOAT STRIKESA ROCK
Thirty of the Passengers and
Grew Are Drowned.
panic-Stricken People Trnmp pie Each
Other to Death In Their Frantic
Efforts to Escapc-One of the Yawla
O~yercrowded and Sunk.
Die in Sight of Shore.

The great Cincinnati ana New Orleans
steamer State of Missouri went to the bot
tom of the Ohio River at Wolf Creek, sew
pnty miles below Louisville, KY, at 6
o'clock Saturday night and it is reported
that thirty people met death. The steam
boat was one of the largest steamers be-
longing TO the Cincinnati and Memphis
Packet Company, and was a new boat
worth 100000. She left Louisville, Ky,
Mt 10 O'Clock Saturday morning, bound for
New Orleans, with twenty-three passen-
gers and a crew, making seventy eight
people. She had about half a cargo Of
furniture, nails, acids, etc. and ran
smoothly until her dreadful accident that
sent many souls to eternity.
The trip was uneventful until the dread
ed point known as the horseshoe bend.
near Alton, Ind. was reached. Here the
pilot slowed down. as the current was
very swift. and turned his wheel so as to
avoid an obstruction known as Bullock
rock. The rudders failed to respond 20
the wheel and there was a grinding.
crashing sound. The boat soon filled and
sunk.
The shock was terrific and the boat
trenblcd from bow to stern. Consterna-
ton seized upon the passengers and in a
moment they were frantic. Without re-
gard to consequences they rushed TO the
upper decks in the hope of delaying the in
evitahle, as the boat was rapidly sinking.
Women and children were tranlpled upon,
but 1t is believed al got out of the cabin.
Then the scramble for seats in the yawls.
began. 1t was Il fight for life. in which
many combatants are believed to have
zone to their death. The first yawl
launched was sunk within twenty feet of
where it struck the water. II is believed
everyone in it was drowned in sight OF the
nffrighted people huddlcd together on the
sinking teamer 4 second yawl was then
pushed off. Ii contained four women.
This is believed to have reached shore.
Just when there seemed some hope that
by means 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-
ment the rock was struck nothing but tho
hull remained. The cabin. texas and
~pilot-house tloated away, dragging down
into the water everyone upon ii. The
lighter freight was washed from the main
deck, and on this men, women and chill
lren chung as best they could, many. how
tNNh oiis u" u u ! ga y ~ Sih
brace. Several succeeded by this means
In getting into the willows and trees and
were rescued by farmers and passing
steamers
In less than ten minutes from the time
the boat struck she had gone down. At
Rockport and Greensboro. rs well as At
all intermediate points. the bank is lined
with skiffs picking up pieces Of furnitu-ct
and watching for dead bodies, but the cur
rent is too swift for small craft To get
out far. Four passengers were saved by
clinging to a mule which swan ashore.
The passengers were all ticketed through
to New Orleans.
The State of Missouri was built ut Mad,
lson, Ind. in 1890. by the Kansas City
syndicate, for the Missouri River trade,
at n cost of $4,000. She was one of a
trio of fine steamers built by the same
company-the State of Kansas and the
A. L. Mason being the others. She was
2oO feet long, with n forty-four foot beam
and six foot hold. She was never launch
ed Oh the Missouri, but placed on tho
Ohio and Mississippi. plying between
Cincinnati and New Orleans, with occ.,-
sional trips to st. Louis.