The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1902-07-11
RIVER DISASTERS RECALLED.
The Turning and Sinking of Stcam-
boats During the Last Twenty
Five Years

There have been in the last rs wears
Only half dozen steamboat disasters
that, in terrific loss OF life are ia any
way comparable TO the calamity that
hefeii tie City Of Pitts6urg On al eceIt
Sunday morning, says the st. Louis Re-
public.
The most recent Of these tatalitie S
was the overturEing of the GoicoLda
about two months ago. The vesS ei va
on its way from Paducah, When fierce
storm overlook her. The WIND blew SO
ferceiy that the boat. wtich was only
small packet careeLeG. Several per-
soEs, iLclEdiLg women aid children,
were drowned.
lie sinking Gf The City of Paducah
nearly year ago at ErGLkhorst La I'd
ing, is miles below ST. Louis, caused
the death Of at east IS persons. The
boat had made the landing and was
backing out into the main cLaErel.
when she struck a hidden srag toe
30 feet !GLg was torn in her i,u.l, and
sic sank so rapidly that there was no
time to awaken the passengers and
persisted The City uf Paduc;,h settled
in &c feet OF water and never was
raised.
Several persons among the passen-
gers and olew of Tic Kate Adams los t
their live. by tie burning Of that boa
in obituary. 1859. She took fire in he
bin aud was almost wholly afame
when her commander brought her to
tie bank Il short distance above Com
merce. Il point 40 miles south Of Mem
pLis. The Kate Adams was an ex-
ceptionaliy fast boat, and to her fell
the honor of conveying President
Grover Cleveland from West Memphis
to that city In 1888,
The most terrible catastrophe on
the Mississippi river or any of its trib-
utaries since the destruction of the Sui
tana and before the burning of the
City of Plttsburg, was the disaster
that overlook the Hannah Banks,
about 10 years ago, near Plaquemine.
La. ten miles above New Orleans. AL
though not accompanied by such large
loss of life. the accident is almost with
out parallel because of the horrible
circumstances under which several
persons persisted after their rescue
seemed certain.
The boat was southwark bound with
a big cargo and large number of per-
sons aboard her. While in midstream
fire was discovered in one of the for
ward cabins. The command to bank
her was given, and at once the pilot
turned her to land. The fire gained
rapid Roadway, driving the passengers
to the lower deck. Many leaped into
the water while the rest, confident
that the boat would safely reach the
bank, remained aboard
The pilot stood at the wheel. his
clothes smoking and his flesh blister
ing in the fierce heat. The engineers,
too, kept their posts answering the
signals until the boat was run aground.
Then followed the horrible scenes
that stamped the catastrophe as
among the worst in the history of such
events.
Many of the crew and passengers
leaped from the boat to the bank,
where they sank nearly waist-deep in
in sort of quicksand. In the attempt
to save the unfortunate men and Wpms
en-. some of the crew piled boxes and
timbers between the burning boat and
the helpless victims. The intense heat
soon fired the boxes, and the strug-
Cling beings died in agony before the
eyes of their companions,