Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-09-05
BLOWN INTOETERNITY.
Six Men Lose Their Lives by the
Explosion of a Torpedo in
the Mississippi.
STEAMER JOHN R. ME1Gs SUNK.

Entire ForecastIe Torn Away by the
Dreadful Engine of DestructIon-Acci-
dent Occurs While Men Were Removing
Mines from the Mouth of the Mississippi
Work VIII BE Observation-Disclosures
Regarded an Inex pIicabIe Mystery.
New Orleans, Sept. 5.-A Fort Philip
special to The Picayune says: When
the John r. Neigs had her forecastle
blown off there were six men hurled
by the shock into the Mississippi who
Kever came to the surface. Three 9TH
ers were thrown into the river and
were so badly injured as to prevent
their climbing back upon the boat. Con-
trary to the advice5 deceived Saturday
night the Meigs did not sink immedi-
ateIy. Disabled as she was she was
carried by the tide and a stiff wind to
the east bank, where her stern grounded
and her bow swung out and pointed
down stream. Nearly everything of
value had been recovered before she
lurched off the bank on which her stern
rested and plunged bow foremost into
the deep water of the channel. The
men hurled to death by the dynamite
never saw the mine that exploded. The
shock came when it was several feet
Those Who Were Killed.
The six men killed were: Captain
P. r. Starr, of Vicksburg; Sergeant
JOAN Newman, WilIet's Point, n. Y;
Private Pat Carlos. same place; Fire
man ]. d. Malone; Ralph Rogers, col
ored: Harry Jackson. colored. The
wounded were: D. b. Reddicks and
Fritz Koch. They are here in the hos
pital. Pilot ]. c. Davis was at the
the flying fragments of the torpedo
and the shattered steel deck tore the
pilot house to pieces. Davis, however,
escaped unhurt. Lieutenant Henry
Jervey was within a few feet of the
pilot house and he. too, was fortunate
enough to escape unhurt. Night Watch
man Frank Coape, asleep in his cabin
on the boiler deck, was awakened by
the crash to find himself in a hole in the
roof and his bed jammed against the
wall by piece of the steel deck. He
climbed out through the hole. Lieuten-
ant Jervey and Pilot Harris were also
on the boiler deck.
Two Men Blown into River.
d. 3. Reddicks was blown into the
river. A piece of steel went through his
right forearm and another tore off a
piece of his scalp. Engineer Layne was
blown into the river and escaped injury.
Inere were nineteen people IN the boat
when the explosion occurred. The ex-
plosion occurred about IL o'clock. Tt was
noon when the Meigs sank. Her entire
forecastle was blown off and nothing
but her watertight compartments pre-
vented her immediate sinking. A col
umn Of water was hurled fifty feet into
the air and the torpedo blown several
hundred fet high. Portions of the tor
pedo and steel deck fell on the east
bank in front of Fort st. Philip, 1,500
feet from the scene of the wreck.
Accident Is Inex plicable.
Major Quinn arrived at Fort st. Philip
at o'clock He stated that no more
torpedoes would be taken up. The work
will be abandoned. There are nineteen
still in the water. Major Quinn and
Lieutenant Jervey agree that the acci-
dent is ineXpiicable. 1t was impossible
for the torpedoes to explode. The tor
pedo did explode: and that is the way
they summarize the situation