The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-20
Terrible Accident on the River Near VickS-
 burg. THE W. I. SCOVHLE
 EXPL0DES AT GOLD DUST John Quackenboss, the Master, and Son Arc Among
 the Dead. Detective Boiler Plate Causes . Great Catastrophe On the ATissinsipps, While Boat Was Taking On
 Freight at . Landing. 


 vicksburg. Miss, Dec. 1s.--one of the most disastrous accidents in the history of the Mississippi River occurred at ten minute past II o'clock this morning when the steamer w. T. Scoville. plying in the vicksburg and Davis Bend trade. was destroyed by an explosion.
 Owing to the large number of ne- groes on board, it is impossible to as certain the exact number of the dead and injured, but officers of the boat who arrived here tonight, state that no less than ten or moro than sixteen wera killed. The probabilities are that a like number were injured.
 The white dead are as follows. Cap- tain John ouaekenboss, master of the boat. vicksburg, Mss; Clerk Wade Quackenboss, vicksburg; Lavell Yergsr. cotton seed salesman, Jackson. Miss: Clerk JoAeph Smith. Yazoo City. Miss.
 The white injured are: Tennie Rob- erts, assistants pilot, vicksburg. Misas injured internally. very serious; John Doughtrey. pilot shoulder dfslocateds Charles McKenna, passenger, painfully injured; - Buttertfeld, slightly in- jured in the head.
 The number of dead and injured ne- groes cannot be stated at this time, but of a crew and passenger list Of about fifty. about half are missing. The negro dead were cared for at the place where the accident occurred, as were some of the injured. About i've of the injured negroes were brought to vicks- burg tonight on the steamer Senator CordiiI. with the white dead and in- JureG.
 Occurred at Gold Dust.
 The accident occurred at Gold Dust, about seventeen miles south of vicks- burg.
 The scovilIe was at the landing talk ing on freight when suddenly Q ter rife explosion occurred and the boat was blown practically to atoms. Many of the timbers were thrown hundreds of yards and some Of those aboard were blown almost that far. The pilot house and front part of tho cabin were blown to splinters and some parts of the boat were so badly dana- aged that she began to sink imme- diately.
 When the scoville left here late thin afternoon she was listing heavily and her cargo of 1000 sacks of cottons6ed and eighty-five bales of, cotton win be lost
 Pending the arrival of the Senator CordilI. the injured were cared for at Gold Dust Landing as well as possible. Of the white dead, only the body of Laveu Yerger had been recovered
 Wade Quackenboss was heard to call for help soon after the explosion but according to the reports of those who were on the boat, escaping steam soon smothered hIs cries. Captain Quackenboss was not seen after the accident.
 Pilot Dougherty was blown several hundred feet out into the river. but despite a dislocated shoulder, managed to swim to the bank.
 story of Accident.
 The story of the accident as told by J. T. Bruce. the engineer of the boat. is as follows;
 we were lying at the Gold Dust landing this morning taking on a cargo when l noticed a small quantity of wa ter boxing through the boiler. sus- pected something was wrong and pro- ceeded to make an examination. About this time the scoville broke her head line and drifted 80 that I did not have time to make a thorough examination at that moment As soon as got, her back to the bank, crawled on top of the boiler and proceeded with the in- vestigation. I had just gotten down from the boiler when the explosion occurred. The catastrophe, believe, was due to a defective boiler plate"
 Mr. Bruce was not injured. When the CordilI arrived at Vlcksburg at 2 o'clock tonight e crowd of several hun dred people met her at the wharf. There were anxious inquiries for friends and relatives, and many tears were shed when the sad tidings were told Owing to heavy losses among the negroes aboard, the landing was crowded with women and children of that race.
 The injured wer taken to the various sanitarinms and hospitals of the ciey.
 Captain Quackenboss was one of the oldest and best known residents of this city. and was well known to every man on the Mississippi River. The steameg scovilie was only recently purchased oy hi mand others for the Vicksburg and Davis Bend trade The boat was in- surod for S60O0.
 Wade ouackenboss was the son oe Captain Quaokenhosa