The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-02-18
STEAMER OLIVE SUNK
STRUCK BY A TORNADO AND SENT
TO BOTTOM OF RIVER.
Eighteen Persons Drowned and 9th
ers Rescued in Serious Condition,
After Hours of Peril.

NORFOLK, Va, Feb. ia tornado
struck the passenger steamer Olive. which
plies between Franklin, Va. and Edenton.
N. c., last night and sent her to the bot
tom of the Chowan river between Mount
Pleasant and divers wharf Seventeen
people are known to have been drowned
and others who were rescued are In seri-
Gus condition.
The storm caused the Olive to go over on
her beams and when she righted 1t was only
to sink on account of the water she had
taken aboard. A majority OF the passen-
gers and crew were below at the time and
had no opportunity to reach the pilot house
of the vessel. This point was the only por-
ton left above water, and in 1t, standing
waist deep from the time OF the accident
until in the morning, George H. Witty
and five others were saved.
The dead are: Jacob Lassiter, white,
aged twenty-five. home, Rich Square, N.
c., salesman for Carlin & Fulton, Balti-
more hardware dealers; Mrs. Bennett,
Franklin, Va; twelve-year-old daughter OF
Mrs. Bennett; Mrs. Vaughan, Franklin.
Va; Frank Hunter, George Butt, w. III.
Edwards, Andrew Vaughan, colored deck
hands; Abraham Cooper and John Pres
colt Scott, colored firemen; Esther Will
liams, colored cook; John Cooper, colored
porter; George White, colored preacher;
the others being unknown.
Captain Witty reached Norfolk this after
noon, in company with Martha Barrett,
colored stewardess of the steamer. He
made the following statement: I'VE left
Franklin on our regular trip to Edenton
yesterday morning at IL o'clock. A heavy
southwest wind was blowing. but along the
Chowan river we did not mind 1t very
much. At o'clock last night We passed
Hollies 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 when everything
became inky 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. 1 thought she
would never right herself, and a monster
wave dashed over u.s. Ii flooded the hold
and smashed everything around us. i,. Witn
slowly righted, and In less than two min
utes after having struck she was resting on
the bottom, with only the pilot house above
the river Two lifeboats were 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 catching up with tow
boat that could be seen ahead of us. L
never saw them after they left our side.
Their going left the stewardess and one
white and two colored passengers on board
with me. We stood in water waist deep
until 6 o'clock in the morning, when a
Norfolk & Southern steamer hove in sight,
took us off and landed US at Edenton. where
we took the train for Norfolk. The boat
sunk so quickly after being struck that
none below had a chance to reach the deck,
and they must have been drowned in their
berths."
A special to the Virginia Pilot from Suf-
folk says that the crew of eight who en-
barked in lifeboats were picked up after
rowing four hours by the tug Gazelle and
landed at Tunis. 1t was learned tonight
that a white man named Wilder, of Cole
raine N. c., is also among the drowned.
making the eighteenth victim. Work will
be started tomorrow to recover the dead
bodies and IL possible raise the steamer
The Olive was a small single screw steam
er owned by j. A. Pretlow, of Franklin,
Va. and has been plying between North
Carolina and Virginia for several years.
Sne left Franklin last evening for Eden
ton and had almost reached her destina-
ton when the cyclone struck her.