The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-05-11

NEW YORK. May 1o.-It was a Grue-
some sight on board the Mallory line
steamer Leona early to-day. Thirteen
dead bodies. blackened by fire and
smoke, were lying In the steamers steer
age, and men and women were on the
deck, looking as though they mad passed
through an awful ordeal Nobody was
allowed to either leave or board the ves-
sci until after the coroner had arrived to
view the bodies and give permission for
their removal.
Coroner Hoeber arrived about 2:e0 this
morning at the pier and found Charles II.
Mallory, one OF the owners of the vessel.
| in conversation with Captain Wilder IN
the lattcrs cabin. Accompanied by Sir.
! Mallory and the captain. Coruner Hocber
went TO the steerage and viewed the
charred bodies. Then he gave pcrmlS-
| sion for their removal. The coroner told
Captain Wilder that as q matter OF form
ne would be compelled 10 have him
placed under arrest.
He was Immediately paroled In the
custody OF Mr.. Mallory, who was in
structed to produce the captain Then the
inquest was held. The witnesses were
told to be at the coronerg Office al noon
to-day.
A watchman guarded the vessel and
refused TO allow any person aboard with
out the consent Of the captain Or owner
| Of the vessel.
Coroner Hoeber found one man who
had been one Of the steerage passengers,
whom he ordered detained until after the
| inquest This mans name Is Thomas
Doyle He Is slXty-seven years old and
| lives at Paterson. n. J. He was on his
way to Vallejo Calf, 20 see his uncle
and aunt Doyle is a veteran OF the late
war. He will be detained until the in
quest IS held. Doyle said that he was
| among the steerage passengers who oc-
| cupied hunks on the starboard side OF the
vessel He said that among the paSsen-
gers who could speak English were two
men whose names he did not know and =
young Irish girl named Lizzie Sullivan,
on her way 60 Los Angeles, Calf. She
! was about seventeen years old and pref
". Doyle stated that he was lying
asleep in his bunk early on Sunday
morning, when he was awakened by q
suffocating feeling. His first thought
was that some one was smoking bad
| cheroot, but when he opened his eyes and
saw the apartment filled with smoke he
Jumped from his bed and made for the
companion way leading to the upper
deck This was only a short distance
| from where he slept. At the entrance
OF the c0mpanlonway he met the steward
who was shouting "Fire!" He started
up the companlonway and found thas
| two men preceded him. When he started
up. he fell back, having lost his balance
and that when he started up again he
was assisted by some one behind him,
who pushed him up.
He does not know who this was. On
reaching the deck his first thought was
for the safety Of Lizzie Sullivan and he
started down into the women'B side OF
the Eteerage TO rescue her. But he was
pulled back by members Of the crew.
The crew worked like beavers to put out
the flames. The matches, burlEps, etc,
| which caught fire were stored only
short distAce away from the steerage
apartments.
Renewing the Dead.
At $50 o'clock this morning two dead
wagons drove on the pier and passed
aboard the steamer twelve pine boxes In
which the bodies OF the victims were to
be removed. The members OF the crew
refused 10 touch the bodies and the work
had 10 be performed by the wagon at
PENDANTS. The thirteen bodies were
placed in nine OF the pine boxes, some ot
the bodies being those OF children ard
others charred and burnt Into about halt
their natural size. The bodies were taken
TO the morgue where they will remain 70
await Identification. Those who c1nEot
be Identified will be buried In the pot
ters field.
Samuel SchIllchraut was one OF the
passengers In the steerage OF the Leona.
He came here from Hungary about q
month ago and was on his way 10 Coll
umbus, Texas He has n wife and six
children in his native country, whom he