Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1897-01-29
TWO REPORTERS DROWNED
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tts pi ptz z5r atss4eht
While Following in the Wake of
the Congressman
RE- .iis---4
5 L .ie5fe l,s.ss ~ 81 ~.
IN The MISSISSIPPI RIVER
ta 81. H5sfsf ftetssh ,Issl -..=-t
On the Tour Of Inspection to the Ietties Below
New Orleans.
fAlfssia@f
THE YACHT ON WHICH THEY WERE
Came in Collision With q Norwegian
Steamship and the Form or Went
Down Carrying the Pencil
Showers With Tt.

New Orleans, Jan. 28.--The Norwegian
steamship, Albert Dumois, and the steam
yacht Argo, collided in mid-river, near
8 Port Eads, this morning. at 12:35 o'clock
and two reporters. members of the Plea
yune staff, were probably drowned, as
nothing was seen of them after the rest
of the party on the Argo crawled into a
little boat from the sinking yacht. The
Dumois laid by and searched for the
missing men. Nine persons, including
the crew, were aboard the Argo.
When the visit of the congressional del
egation, who are now at the jetties, was
first broached. a committee was appoint
ed by the jetty conference to arrange for
the entertainment of the visitors. The
very first thing the committee did was to
secure a vessel to convey the delegation
down to the jetties to take a look at the
creyasse which was the occasion of the
congressional visit. President Hutchi-
son and Mr.. Schriever, of the Southern
Pacific railroad, came to the rescue of
the committee and placed at it's disposal
the splendid steamship Whitney. The
Whitney is a passenger carrier, and In
her cabin there are some thirty-odd state
rooms At the time nothing was said
about the press accompanying the dele
cation on the trip, for 1t was accepted as
a matter of. course that representatives
of the various papers would be taken
along, custom which has always pre-
vailed in this city whenever any move
ment of Importance is on foot.
But subsequent developments caused
a hitch In the arrangements OF the COM
mittee. Last Sunday word was received
that the congressional party, including
the ladies who were along, would consist
of twenty-eight persons all told. There
is where the hitch came. With accom-
modations for only thirty people, the 10
cal committee were at their wits ends to
arrange matters so that the entire con-
gressional party and the local committee
of eight, who were delegated TO go along,
could be accommodated on. the trip
At meeting held Monday, it was de-
cided that under! the existing circum-
stances the representatives OF the press
would have to be- excluded. When thls
information was broached to the papers,
1t created something of a. commotion, for
such thing had never been heard OF pe-
fore The, Picayune especially took ex-
ception to the action -of the committee,
and in a leading editorial expressed ITS
feelings in the matter in plain Woros.
The Picayune, in its article, SAID tnat
the movement was of too great pub
lie nature to excite the press. However,
it went on to say that the trip would be
fully reported by the Picayune, leaving
the impression that the paper would send
it's men to the jetties, and have them on
hand when the inspection of the crevasse
was made. This Is how the Argo came to
be in the middle of the Mississippi this
morning when the Dumois was on her
way up the river. However, had the
Picayune learned in time that the local
committee, al, ia the last moment, had
changed their plans and decided to have
the press along, the Argo might have not
gone down the river, Yesterday 1t was
announced that the ladies of the con-
gressional party would not make the
journey, and the result was that the
representatives of the press were invited
to make the trip. This information came
too late for herPicayune, for the Argo
had been chartered and every arrange
ment made for three of it's reporters to
take the trip, and, such being the case,
the management decided that they had
better send the Argo anyhow.
The Argo left Algiers some hours after
the Whitney departed with the congress
sional party aboard. "'u
At II o'clock all on board the Argo, ex-
cept Captain Brown, in command, and
the engineer, vent to, bed. The crash
when the Argo and the Dumois struck
awoke everybody and they clambored on
deck in their underclothing to f1nd their
craft with her bow stove in and fast
sinking. The one little boat the yacht
carried would. barely hold the party, but
they crowded in and cast Off The wind
was nlgn ana cOnSlueTaDle ulIi1culIy was
experienced In getting to the Dumois,
as the overloaded. boat was unmanagea-
BILE. =. sl.ff F7.1.ga3,. 7-
The names of the missing reporters are:
H. B. Blessine and Harrison Hester. The
latter is a son OF Secretary Hester, of the
cotton exchange.HIt is believed he was
asleep in the cabin, of ct(he yacht the
shock not awakening him, and he went
down with the vessel.
The collision is unexplained. 1t oc-
Cured at point where the river is mar
row and strong current runs, and Capt.
Brown, of the yacht, probably lost his
head at a critical moment