The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1897-05-11
FIRE ON A STEAMER.
Thirteen Lives Lost on Board a
Mallory Ship.
THE DEAD WERE SURROGATE
Fire Broke Out Among Gotten nag
einE asd ths smoke Cut on All
Means of Escapes
Puts Back late Port.

new lOFh. May lV.-iut MAliofy
line steamer Leona. which left her
pier on Saturday. bound for Galveston.
took hre at sea. put back and arrived
10 port here last night with 10 corpses
on board. The dead are 10 steerage
passengers and three members Of the
crew. who uccumbed 10 a terrible IRE
which occurred on the Delaware
capes at an early hour yesterday morn
Ing Those who are dead we're penned
up below. and although frantic efforts
we're made by the officers OF the vessel
10 save them. the hre had gained such
terrific headway before the danger was
discovered that all escape was cut on.
The steamer carried In her ergo
many bales OF cotton bagging. Il is
not known how the hre originated.
but when Il was discovered Il burst
forth with such fury that Il was im-
possible % reach the steerage Even
then the steerage passengers were ap-
parenty unmlndful Of the danger. else
the smoke and flames had not reached
them. The saloon passengers were
FIRST aroused. and in such a manner as
10 occasion little alarm. when Il be-
came apparent that the Ere had cut
on the steorage passengers the captain
and bis men poured great quantities
Of water down the yenulators and the
most frantic efforts were made for the
escape Of those penned up IN this
way eight Of the steerage passengers
escaped.
The dead arc.
Steerage passengers-B Bridget sulli-
van Mrs C. Guzza. Mlss Guzz. Miss
Hannah solomanson. Miss valeike.
Mrs. vaielke. Sophie Schwartz. Maria
wades and two unknown children.
The crew-Alfred Hardy. waiter. Al
years old New York Fred Lang. walt
er. 10 years. New York II. Hartmann,
butcher. % years. New York
Al $50 O'Clock this morning two dead
wagons drove onto the pier and passed
aboard the steamer and i2 pine boxes
In which we're the bodies Of the deas
victims removed TO the morguc. wher'
they will remain TO await ldcnuhca
tion. Tho bodies which cannot b
identified viii be buried In the potters
Geld.
samuel D. schlllchraut was a pas
senger In the stecrage Of the Leona
lie came here from Hungary about {
month ago and was on his way 20 Co.
lumhus. Texas ne has a wife and sii
children in his native country. whom
he exepcted 20 bring over In a shorl
time. he had $3.50 with him with
which he was going 10 start a small
business In Columbus Tie lost every
thing he had. both money and cloth
lng. tie does not speak English. but
through an interpreter he said: The
crew made no Effort to help the passen.
gers and none OF us were awakened BY
them. They simply took care Of them.
selves and left us 20 our fate. A great
many lives might have been saved u
the crew had done anything TO help The
smoihering passengers" schillachraui
said the general impression was that
the fre was caused by lighted match
dropped by one Of the crew into th'
cargo. lie declared he saw a numbel
Of the crew smoking and they wer'
very careless 10 throwing away the'l
matches Omcers. he said. made no at
tempt 20 stop smoking among TIE crew
which was very strange considerini
the inaammahle naiEe Of the cargo Il
the forward hold.
Along the shore Il Is thought strang'
that the Ore was not discovered earlier
Il must have been smouldering severa
days. and yet neither captain nor an
Of the officers knew anything about I
until the vessel was filled with smoke