The semi-weekly messenger., 1903-02-20

and others were saved.
Norfolk. Va. February IA cyclone
struck the passenger steamer Olive
which plies between Franklin. Va. and
EdentOn. N c.. at o'clock last night
and sent her to the bottom Of the Chow
an river of Woodley's pier between
Mount Pleasant and divers wharf
Seventeen people are known to have
been drowned and those who were res
cued are in serious condition.
The whirlwind when it struck the
Olive caused her to go over On her
beams end and when she r.glted it
was only to sink on account of the wa
ter she had taken. majority of the
passengers and crew were below at the
time and had no opportunity to reach
the pilot house of the vessel. Tn S
point was the only portion left above
water and in it standing waist deep
from the time of the accident until 6
o'clock in the morning, Captain George
IL. Witty and five others were saved.
No complete list of the dead has been
obtained 1t is known that the follow
ing perished:
Mrs. Bennett, Franklin, Va.
Twelve wear old daughter of Mrs
Bennett.
Mrs. Vaughan, Franklin, Va.
Frank Hunter, George Butt, W. H.
Edwards. Andrew Vaughan, colored
deck hands.
Abrs ham Cooper, and Prescott
Scott. colored firemen.
Esther Williams. colored cool-.
John Cooper. colored porter.
John White, colored preacher.
Four unknown colored passengers.
Those saved were: Captain Witty
Engineer Conroy. Purser Bell. the color
ed stewardess and two white passen-
gers.
AT o'clock this morning the river
steamer Petit, hove in sight and res
cued the almost frozen survivors,
The Olive was a small single screw
steamer owned by j. \ ProtlOw, OF
Flanillin, Va. and has been plying be-
tween North Carolina and Virginia
points for several years. SIfa left
Franklin last evening for Edenton and
had almost reached her destination
when the cyclone struck her.
New York. February 1.-THE Olive
was an inland passenger steamer hail
ing from Norfolk. She was bui n
1859 and was of 2S7 tons gross 1908 feet
long. 20.4 feet beam and feet depth of
hold
According TO the statement af Cap
tain Witty TO the Associated Press cor
respondent here tonight. there are sew
enteen known to have been lost on the
sunken steamer and life beat loaded
with Engineer c. L. Conway. Assistant
Engineer J. P. Murphy Purser ]. \.
Bell. one white and two COlOred paSsen-
gers. unknown. ard two coI0red deck
hands. which left the steamer in hopes
of reaching a vessel whose lights could
be seen in the distance. is yet unheard
from. If these have been drowned.
the death list will reach twenty-five
James Lassiter, white aged %. home
Rich Square, y. c.. salesman for Car
lin and Fulton. Baltimore Hardware
dealers.
Captain Witty reached Norfolk this
afternoon IN company with Martha Bar
rett. colored stewardoss o. the steamer
To the Associated rress correspondent
he made the following statement:
" ( IGII II IdIIhIIn Ctl CiAT regular Trip
to Edentor yesterday morning at II
o'clock. = heavy southwest wind was
blowing. b"t along the Chowan river we
die not mine X very much. At Q
O'clock last night we passed Hollies
Wharf and headed for E;denton bay The
weather became so heavy that would
not risk the open water and pur the
boat about to return up the river for
safety. It was just about , o'clock
when everything became inkV black
and terrible roaring broke out OF the
night. l was alone in the pilot house
and most of those below had turned in.
In second something struck the boat
on her port beam and turned her over
on her starboard side. I thought she
would never right herself and q mon
ster wave dashed over us. II foo led
the hold and smashed every window
around Us. With the rush OF water INTO
her hold. the Olive slowly r;shted and
IN less than two minutes after having
struck she was resting on the bottom
with only the pilot house above the
river. Two life boats We're swept
away and one was left. Into this the
engineer, assistant engineer. purser and
one white and two colored passengers
climbed and put off in hope of catch
ing up with Il tow boat that could be
seen ahead of us. I never saw them
after they left our eide. Their going
left the stewardess and one white and
two colored passengers on board with
80. We stood in water waist deep
rusil o'clock in the morning when a
Norfolk and Southern steamer hove I'm
ei@'t took US off and landed us at
T.+-r.ton. where we took the train for
'<-~'~t'- The boat sunk so quickly af-
r. tcins strrck that non, below had O