The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-26

' N 1879 ne steamer Emma was rebuilt
 at lecatur, Ala and her name was changed to the Robert Anderson. She was the largest boat plying theTennessee river above the Mussel Shoals and con- sidered also the fastest. The Anderson was owned and operated by Messrs. Cape hart &,Samules, and had the mail contract from Knoxville to Decatur Besides car rying a large cargo of miscellaneous freight, she always carried a goodly num- Der of passengers, especially on the upper end of her run between Louden, East Tennessee. and Chattanooga.
 One evening ra1e in February the An derson stood at the bank at Washington Landing several hours loating sacks of shelled corn, and when she backed out from the landing it was quite dark and a stiff wind was blowing. Henry Nichol- son, veteran river man and the only ore on board holding license as pilot from Knoxville, Tenn to Paducah, Ky, was at the wheel, and as the spokes whirled rapidly through his hands he remarked that it would be a rough night and some thing doing before morning." He kept the engineer on the jump across the en- zine room to shift up his engines, as he gave the different bell ropes sharp, quick jerks, signaling him 70 come ahead, stop or back up, as the occasion demand ed to get out from the landing.
 There were about thirty state rooms In the ladies cabin and all of them occupied on this occasion. We were on our return trip down the river and were heavily loaded the guards of the big boat swing ing in the water. The river was very high, and occasionally a wave would dash across amdship and inundate the lower a,1r flaa negro deck h3nds sleeping under and around the boilers, and also Old Sally, large pet hog, which, by the way was cock of the walk on lower deck.
 Among the deck hands was small yell low negro Jim McAvoy, who had been on u Anderson since her initial trip. He was "leader'-quick as a cat, always tho first man with the line and out on the bank making fast before the gang plank had quit swinging, and he could swim like a duck.
 We were going full stroke" on high tide down stream, consequently making almost railroad time. The forty-odd pas sengers had nearly all retired for the night Toward midnight, as we were pass ing Half Moon island, where the channel was close in and the big boat was trim ming the willows, she stopped dead still, quivered moment and-then came crash
 4 large sycamore tree with gigantic branches reaching out over the river when at high tide as on this oeeasion had caught the smoNestacks. Unable to stand the great pressure. down they came, crushing the two lifeboats on the hurri- cane deck as if they were egg shells, tearing away the pilot house, narrowly missing Nicholson, the pilot, and crushing in an unoecupied part of the Texas, but fortunately killing no one The tiller rope became foul and 1t was impossible to guide her. The loud noise caused by the stacks falling aroused every one on board ara the excitement in the ladies cabin was intense One woman came out of her state room with a wash bowl on her head crying for a life-preserver. The clerk and number of cooler headed male passengers were trying 10 pacify the wo- men. n the meantime the mate, Old Smallwood. had cast anchor. but it failed to hold, and when, 1t did catch, the long chain parted and the big boat was fast drifting down stream, endangering the lives of all on board. Everything was confusion. and about this time the big safety valve popped off. This was the fin- fshing stroke. Some one yelled, "She Is blowing up-jump," and a long-legged East Tennessee mountain boy took a header into the muddy waters. We never saw him again,
 Then Sally, the pet pig. came out from under the boilers, with "Ugh Ugh' and ran between the legs of a negro rousta- bout carried him to the guard, lrGmped her back like a buclking broncho and dumped him into the river, but was too wise to jump in herself
 The captain left the hurricane deck and went down on the lower deck, seeing that the anchor chain had parted. and reaiz- ing the desperate situation that we were in, he called out. Fifty dollars to the man who will take this line, swim ashore and make fast'' One negro looked at other. but not one stirred. ''Where is Jim McAvoyy' called out the captain. "Ay ay. captain" came the reply from Jim, who was standing before the fire doors in close conversation with slick" the negro fireman. Here Jim, take this line swim ashore and make fast" said the captain. Jim cast a swift glance shoreward. kicked off his shoes, took the small rope. walked deliberately to the bow of the boat and plunged head first into the muddy stream. The other end of the small line was quickly spliced t, the main line and slowly the mate played 1t out, at a snales pace, seem- ingly. / Numerous comments were made by a number of the male passengers who had gathered on the lower deck. as to whether Jim would reach the shore