The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-05-10
BURNED AT SEA.
The Mallory Line Steamer Le-
Ona Returns to Port
Bearing the Charred COrpses
of Thirteen
PASSENGERS ANDCREW
Victims Were Penned Up in
the Steerage.
Fire Was Started in the Cargo
by a Careless Seaman.

New York. May 10-The Mallory line
steamship Leona, which sailed from
this port Saturday afternoon, returned
at late hour last night with 13 corpses
OF men, women and children aboard.
They had been burned and suffocated
on Saturday night. Ten of them We're
steerage passengers, one was the ships
butcher and two were stewards. The
dead are:
/ Nallck, Bridget Sullivan, Mrs. c.
Guzza, Miss Guzza, Maria Mades, So
phia Schwartz; Hanna SOlomonson;
two children unidentified.
Ships cOmpany-H. Hartman, aged
p, New York, butcher; Alfred HOwey,
aged 40, steward; Alfred Lang, aged 19,
New York, steward.
Whether they died from smoke or
flames is a matter of conjecture. 1t is
certain that their bodies were charred
beyond recognition before they were
pulled out from the wrecked steerage
quarters. That was after the flames
had been fought under and the Leona
had headed again for New York While
the fiercest part of the fighting was
going on the cabin passengers watched
the performance from the deck of the
City of Augusta. of the same line which
had passed a an opportune moment.
An incipient mutiny among the Ital-
ian stokers, who fought TO desert the
vessel and had to be beaten back to
their posts, added to the vivid cOlOring
of the tragic voyage.
About l o'clock Sunday morning.
when the LeOna was off Delaware
breakWater. a fierce, swift fire broke
out in the forward cargo compartment
under the steerage, in. which % pas
sengers bound for Galveston were
asleep.
It was a gruesome sight on board the
vessel Thirteen dead bodies, black
ened by fire and smoke. were lying in
the steamers steerage and men and
women were on the deck looking as
though they had passed through an
awful ordeal Nobody was allowed to
either leave or board the vessel until
after the coroner had arrived t. view
the bodies and give permission for their
removal
Coroner TIoeber arrived about 2:2o
this morning at the pier and found
Charles H. Mallory, one CT tEe owners
Of the vessel, in conversation with Cap
tain Wilder in the 1atter's cabin Ac-
companied by Mr.. Mallory and the
captain, Coroner HOeber went to the
Steerage and viewed the charred bodies.
Then he gave permission for their re-
moval. The coroner told Captain VIII
der that as a matter of form he would
be compelled to have him placed under
arrest.
He was Immediately paroled in the
custody of Mr.. Mallory, who was in
structed to produce the captain when
the inquest is held. The witnesses
were told to be at the cOrOner's office at
"A
vessel and refused to allow any person
aboard without the consent of the cap
tain 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 67 years old and lives at
Paterson N J. He was on his way
to Vallejo, Cal, to see his uncle and
aunt Doyle was a veteran of the late
war He will be detained until after
the inquest is held. Doyle said that
he was among the steerage passengers
who occupied hunks on the starbOard
side of the vessel. He said that among
the passengers who could speak Eng
lish were two men whose names he did
not know and a young Irish girl named
Lizzie Sullivan, on her way TO Los ALl- An
geles, Cal. She was about Il years
ola and pretty. Doyle stated that he
was living asleep in his bunk early on
Sunday morning. when he was aWak-
ened by a suffocating feeling. HIS nrSt
thought was that someone was Smok-
ing q bad cherOOt, but when he opened
his ewes and saw the apartment hlIed
with smoke he jumped from his bunk
and made for the cOmpaniOnWay lead
ing to the upper deck This was only
a short distance from where he slept
At the entrance to the companionWay
he met the steward who was shouting.
He started up the cOmpan1onWay ana
found that two men had preceded him.
When he started up he fell back, having
lost his balance and when he started up
aoain he was assisted by some one from
behind 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's side of
the s+eerage to rescue her But he was
Dl1Iled back by members of the crew
The crew worked like beavers to put
ont the flames. The matches, burlaps,
etc which caught fire were stored only
a short distance away from the steerage
apartments.
All $50 o'clock this morning, two dead
wagons drove on the pier and passed
a board the steamer u pine boxes in
which the bodies of the victims were to
be removed
The members of the crew refused to
touch the bodies and the work had to
be performed by the wagon attendants.
The 13 bodies were placed in nine of the
pine boxes some of the bodies being
those CT children and others charred
and burnt to about half their natural
size. The bodies We're taken to the
mOrgue where they Will remain to await
fdentfffca ton. The bodies which cannot
be identified will be buried in the pot
ter's field.
Samuel D. Schillchraut was one of the
passengers in the steerage of the LeOna.
He came here from Hungary about a
month ago and was on his way to Col
umbus Texas. He has a wife and six
children in his native country, whom he
expected to bring over in short time.
He had $3.50 with him with which he
was going to start in a small business
in Columbus. He lost everything he
had both money and clothing. He does
not speak English, but through an in
terpreter he said;
passengers and none of us was awaken
ed by them. They simply took care of
themselves and left Us to our fate A