The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-02-18
Steamer Struck by Tornado OFF
Norfolk, Va.
She Sank 50 Quickly Few Wer
Able to Escape.
SEVENTEEN DROWNED
Majority of Those on Board Be-
low at the Time.
Eight Got Away in Life Boat
and We're Saved.

Norfolk. Va. Feb 18.-Seventeen per
sons were drowned and several others
dangerously injured in the sinking Of
the passenger steamer Olive near here,
A tornado struck the steamer about
$3.50 o'clock and sent her to the bottom
of the Chowan river, off Woodleys pier.
between Mount Pleasant and divers
wharf
The storm. when it struck the Olive,
caused her to go over on her beam ends,
and when she righted it was only to
sink on account of the water she had
taken.
A majority of the passengers and crew
We're below at the time and had no op-
portunity to reach the pilot house Of the
vessel. This point was the only portion
left above the water and in it. standing
waist deep from the time of the accident
until 6 o'clock in the morning, Captain
George fl. Witty and FIVE others were
saved.
THE DEAD.
No complete list of the dead has been
obtained, but it is known that the fol-
lowing Derished.
Charles Lassiter, hardware salesman.
Mrs. Bennett, Franklin Va, and her
young child.
An aged white woman. unknown
Easter Williams, negro deck hand
Abraham Cooper. a negro fireman.
- Parker, a negro fireman
six negro members of the crew, un-
known.
Three unknown passengers, one white.
Those saved We're: Captain Withy
Engineer COnroy, Purser Ball, the col
ored stewardess, and two white pas
sengers.
At o'clock this morning the river
steamer Petit hove in sight and rescued
the almost frozen survivors.
-.r5TT civ
steamer owned by j. A. PrelOw of
Franklin. Va, and had been plying be-
tween North Carolina and Virginia for
several years. She left Franklin last
even for Edenton and had almost reach
ed her destination when the tornado
struck her.
Captain Witty reached Norfolk this
afternoon in company with Martha Bar
rett a negro stewardess of the steamer.
To the Associated Press correspondent
he made the following statement; we
left Franklin on our regular trip to Eden
ton yesterday morning at II o'clock. A
heavy southwest wind was blowing. but
along the ChOwan river we did not mind
it very much
AT O'Clock last night we passed HoI-
lies wharf and headed for EdentOn bay
The weather became so heavy that [
would not risk the open water, and put
the boat about to return up the river
for safety 1t was just about 2 o'clock
Wlen everything became lnky black and
terrific roaring broke out of the night
was alone IN the pilot house and most
OF those below had turned in. In a sec
ond something struck the boat on her
port beam and turned her over on her
starboard side. I thought she would
never right herself and a monster wave
dashed over us Tt flooded the hold and
smashed everything around us With
the rush of water into her hold the
olive slowly righted, and in less than
two minutes after having struck she was
resting on the bottom. with only the
pilot house above the river Two lille
boats were swept away and one was
lest.
Into this the engineer. assistant
engineer, purser and one white and two
colored passengers climbed and put off
ln nope OF catching up with tow boat
that could be seen ahead of us
never saw them after they left our
side Their going left the stewardess
and one white and two negro passen-
gers on board with me We stood in
water waist deep until 6 O'Clock i'm the
morning when a Norfolk g Southern
steamer hove i'm sight. took us off and
landed us at Edenton, where we took
the train for Norfolk. The boat sank
50 quickly after being struck that none
below had q chance to reach the deck
and they must have been drowned In
their berths."
A dispatch from Suffolk says that the
crew of eight who embarked in life
boats were picked up, after rowing
four hours by the tug Gazeue and
landed at Tunis. 1t was learned last
night that a white man named Wilder.
of COleraine. N c.. is also among the
drowned. making the eighteenth vic
tim Work viii be started tomorrow to
recover the dead bodies and if possible
raise the steamer.