The Indianapolis journal., 1899-01-17
NO TRACE OF THE BOAT
HORN ISLAND LOOKOUT DID NOT SEE
THE PAUL JONES.
Mayor Taggart Leaves for Mobile
Hope for Vessels Safety
Diminishing.

Mayor Taggart left for Mobile yesterday
at 4 o'clock in order to personally aid in the
search that is being made for the raphtha
launch Paul Jones' aboard which was his
daughter Miss Florence Taggart, and
party of friends The mayor went via
Louisville and expected to be joined at that
city by Lawrence Jones, of Louisville, own
er of the launch Before leaving the city
the mayor talked over the telephone with
Mr.. Jones and received the rather encour-
aging news that the latter had just received
a telegram from c. A. Marshall, superin-
tendent of the Louisville & Nashville Rail-
road Company at New Orleans. The tele-
gram stated that strange yacht with two
masts had been sighted fifteen miles off
Horn island Saturday night going east. The
description given tailed with that of the
Paul Jones, and Mr.. Jones was confident
that it was his yacht and that she is safe.
This was the only news the mayor received
before leaving. He made arrangements to
keep his friends here notified of his move
ments, so that he might be reached in case
it were necessary to communicate with him.
Late last night, however, the news be-
came graver when there was received the
following newspaper dispatch from Biloxi,
Miss. This special was as follows:
After a thorough and fruitless search of
the coast, inside and outside Chandelier,
Ship and Horn islands, there seems to be
little cause for hope that the naphtha launch
Paul Jones is atioat, and every reason to
believe that the persons aboard her have
perished. Additional light is thrown on the
movements of the launch after she passed
out of the Mississippi river by Captain q.
Nielsen, of the steamer Georgia, plying as a
passenger and towboat between here and
snip island. He gives description of
launch which he passed on the morning
OF Jan. 4, while on a trip from Scranton to
R4 ha Of tfhyng he MISSING m Peapen Nielsen
says that the launch was about fifty feet
IN length, with strongly built houses on
deck, finished in dark wood, probably ma
hogany, and attracted his attention because
She was much larger than any of the
launches usually seen on the coast.
when the Georgia passed her she was
about halfway between Ship island and the
mainland and was heading for Grants
pass. This is the regular route taken by
pleasure craft, keeping inshore. In the ordi-
nary course of events the launch should
have reached Mobile the next day. This is
the last information obtainabe concerning
ION the arrival of the tug Leo at Scran-
ton this evening her captain reported seeing
q large launch fifteen miles south of Horn
island. 1t was at first supposed that this
was the missing Paul Jones, but later gulf
navigators. who have been watching the
coast closely for a week, declared that the
LeoS find was one of the Baldwin launches
out of New Orleans, which left Pearl river,
south of here, and was reported by lookout
The government officials are bending ev-
cry effort to find the missing launch. AT
the request of Senator Fairbanks Secretary
Gage yesterday sent instructions from
Washington to Captain Moore, commander
of the revenue cutter Winona, to proceed
to sea Immediately in search of the yacht
Paul Jones, supposed to be in distress be-
tween Pensacola and New Orleans Cap
tain Kimball, of the lffe-saving service, sent
orders to the gulf station to report anything
that can be learned.
Advices received from Mobile last night
said that the Winona left there yesterday
morning at 1890 O'Clock to search for the
yacht. The cutter will follow the course
that a vessel of the size of the Paul Jones
would probably have taken from Grants
pass to Pensacola. From New Orleans word
comes that, although there has been dill
gent inquiry at points on the gulf coast, no
word has been received regarding the fate
of the missing pleasure boat At the
weather office there 1t was said that from
Jan. to s the weather was good, but on
Jan. a severe storm passed over New Or
leans and Mobile from the west gulf. 1t
was feared that the vessel had encountered
that gale. Nothing is known at Pensacola
concerning the boat, according to press dis
patches from that point. 1t is said that
there is almost continuous communication
between that city and the mouth of the bay
by oyster and fishing boats, but at noon
none of them had reported sighting the
launch.