The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-05-15
LOSS OF THE PADUCAH
FULL DEATH ROLL OF THE
 SUNKEN STEAMER.
Fifteen Persons Were Drowned, Six of Them Being White-Ofhcers of the Vessel Showed the
 Greatest Goodness.

St. Louis. May 14.--Authentic infor- nation concerning the wreck of the Louis and Tennessee Packet Company. which occurred at Brunkhorst Landing, Illinois. late Sunday night, was obtain ed upon the arrival of the steamer City of Clifton at this port at 2:80 this morning.
 Fifteen persons lost their lives in the awful catastrophe-six white and nine blacks. srs | The dead are;
 pr. J., W. Bell. of Cuba Landing. Miss Mabel Gardner of St. Louis. Charles Johnson. aged S4 years, deck watchman.
 Frank Gardner. Texas Tender, of Paducaf., Ky.
 Two white firemen, names unknown. Grant Woods, colored, boatmaker.
 Eight colored roustabouts. names un- known. How It Occurred. The City of Paducah stopped at Brunkhorst Landing at S:30 o'clock Sunday night and took on load Of corn. Whenin the act of backing away from the wharf the boat swung around and struck the bank heavily with her stern. A snag imbedded in the bank tore an immense hole in the hull through which the water rushed with frightful rapidity. She at once began to settle and at the end of three min- utes nothing. but her roof, Texas deck and pilot house remained above the surface.
 The impact with the hidden snag, ac- companied as 1t was by the awful noise caused by the shifting of the cargo, aroused the passengers to a realization of their dangers. The of- ficers acted with great coolness, and as the boat settled helped the startled passengers to the cabin roof, from which the boats were lowered and their charges carried ashore.
 Miss Gardner Asleep.
 Miss Mabel Gardner of St. Louis was asleep in her state room when the shock came, and probably lost her life by remaining to dress. Her body was found in the forward part of the cabin The body of Dr. Bell has not yet been recovered, and it is supposed he was drowned in his state room like a rat in trap.
 The crew and roustabout helpers, be. ing on the lower deck in the midst of the cargo when the vessel struck, were placed in a position of most awful peril. As the steamer careened in set ting, the big cargo, consisting chiefly of sacks of corn, shifted, and before the men could escape half of them were pinned down and either crushed to death or held until the water brought about their end.
 The passengers lost all of their be longings and had to be supplied with
 A
 The City of Paducah lies in about thirty feet of water, and the loss will be total. She was valued at $lo,oO0.
 Captain McCoy's Story.
 Captain Mccoy of the steamer City of Clifton. which arrived this morning from the scene of the wreck of the City of Paducah, said:
 "At the hour the City of Clifton left the scene of the wreck at o'clock yes. terday morning, the body of Dr. Bell had not been recovered. Miss Gardner then it was believed was killed by the falling of a trunk while several deck hands were thought to have been lost in the same way; others beint drowned.
 Miss Gardner and her travelling companions, Mrs. Allen and Miss Min negrode, were together when the acci' dent occurred. All but Miss Gardner were rescued through a skylight.
 Clerk Truslow of the boat and his wife were saved by the same means, while Captain Kirkpatrick and Chief Mate Tobe Roll rescued Rabbi BLOCK, of St. Louis, and Mrs. Block through a hole in the roof They and Dr. Bell, who was lost were among the few passengers who had retired.
 "The women were taken in row boats to Grand Tower soc of them wearing only shawls over their night dresses. The body of Charles John- .. watchman S3 years old, was not re-
 Al the records of the City of Paducah were lost"
 Sensible Behavior.
 According to reports the passengers behaved sensibly and there was no panic. The shock in striking the bank did not seem to be great. but everyone realized at the time that they were in danger and all acted coolly. The num- Der of deck hands who were lost can not be determined correctly. Possibly some of them had quit the vessel at points between this city and at points where the wreck occurred.
 The record of the City of Clifton showed on board the following person who were saved from the City of Pa ducah and made the return trip to St. Louis:
 Mrs. H. T. Allen
 Miss Carrie Minnegrode. Mir. and Mrs. James Truslow Fritz and John Gillen, pilots
 John Gillen. engineer. E. A Lee. member of the crew.