Omaha daily bee., 1909-08-21
All Eventually Rescued and Only Two
Are Injured.
MANY RowBoATs TO RESCUE
When Gang Plank is Lowered Fifteen
Fall Into Water.
ENGINEER IS LAST TO LEAVE
ROwboat which IL Left for Him
Takes Fire while He Is work
ing at Pumps-He il seri-
ousIy Burned.

PEORIA, Ill, Aug 20.-The steamer Fred
Swain. Captain Verne Swain in command,
Of the Peoria and Lasalle Packet company.
leaving the port Of Peoria for Lasalle at
o'clock this afternoon, with twenty five
passengers and a crew Of fifteen aboard,
caught fire off the Avery Manufacturing
companys plant in Averyville, at S2O
O'Clock and was burned to the waters
edge, after being piloted into four feet OF
water amidst a patch Of small willow trees
opposite the Peoria Strawboard plant,
about 500 yards above where the fire orig
mated.
No lives were lost and but two people
were injured, one seriously.
The injured:
Joseph Casrider. Paducah. KY, engineer,
seriously burned about the face and body.
Charles Reicheberger, Peoria, ILL.,, right
arm broken.
The loss is estimated at SS5 600, $4,000 of
which is on the vessel. Several of The
passengers lost all of their personal be-
songings.
The escapes from the burning vessel were
miraculous. The majority of the passengers
were women and children and when the
fire was discovered issuing from a state.
room on the second deck panic reigned. To
add to the horror the ropes supporting
the immense gang plank which had been
laid TO enable those aboard to board the
score of row boats that had hurriedly been
put out from shore, broke, letting about
fifteen people including several women and
children, into the water. Tom Powers,
salocnist of this city and E. A. Caron OF
Worcester, Mass, both Of whom were on
u
stricken people, each saved the lives of
two children, half carrying and half SWIM
ming with the little tots on their backs
and shoulders to Old Tree Stumps, to
await the arrival of rescuers.
The fire was discovered by Mrs. Eugene
Furbish cabin girl on opening the door of
a state room. sne' at once spread the alarm.
but ali efforts to subdue the flames proved
fruitess the fire spreading with alarming
rapidty. Captain Swain, on realizing that
| all hopes for the vessel were gone ordered
| pilot Marine Huston to bring the boats
and instructed his crew to deal out live
| preservers Engineer Casrder. after at
tending to his boiler, guarding against an
| explosion, went to his pumps, remaining
| there until the flames licked him about
! the face and body. To save his life he
/ left to find a row boat which had been
left for him had caught afire from the
burning steamer He got into the boat,
however, and beating the flames from him
and rowing hard managed TO get to shore
He was taken to hospital
Woman Cries Fire.
William Btte, prominent hardware
merchant of Peoria, with his son. Harold
after being rescued by a motor boat. said
Il, with my son, was sitting on the
front end of the second deck, when 1
heard a little girl remark to her mother:
Mamma. look at the fire.! The woman
turned in her chair and, on sighting the
flame, shrieked: The boats afire..' In
stantly panic ensued, all making a rush
to the lower deck. When the gang plank
was lowered, after the boat was sent into
the willows, all scrambled upon it and all
were plunged into the water when the ca
lbles We're parted by the flames. I grabbed
my boy and for awhile thought that surely
we would both be lost, but l managed to
Icimb a small willow tree until rescued.
The shrieking of the women and the pitt
ful cries for help by the children were
awful 1t was a miracle that all escaped"
Mrs. Mamie Prizes, who, with Miss Eliza
beth and Hazel Allen, all of Chlllcothe,
Ill, were the first to be brought ashore
from the burning steamer described the
scene following the outbreak OF the fire:
/ Everybody was screaming and trying to
get hold OF everybody else; one frantic
woman almost tore my dress off l was
among the first to get on the gang plank
and with the Misses Allen boarded a row.
boat Just before the gang plank fell into
the water"
Owner at Scene of Disaster.
d. NJ. Swain OF saltwater, Mimi, owner
OF the steamer, was in the Avery Manu-
featuring plant at the time the steamer
caught fire and aided in rescuing the pas
sengers and crew to the shore. His son
Verne, captain of the vessel, was the
last to leave the burning ship and was
warmly congratulated by his aged father
on reaching shore. Efforts were made by
Peoria and Averyville fire departments 70
save the huh Of the boat but the handicap
was too great and the steamer will be
a total loss.