Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-08-21
RIVER BOAT BURNS
Scores of Women and Children
Have Narrow Escape Near
Peoria.
PILOT RUNS CRAFT ASHORE
Exciting Scenes Attend Destruction
of Fred Swain--Enginccr the
Hero of the Occasion.

| Peoria, ILL.,. Aug. 21.-Two people
were injured and 40 narrowly es-
capped cremation when the steamer
Fred Swain, plying on the Illinois
river, bnrst into flames in midStream
near here at o'clock yesterday al
terDoOn. Fire broke out above the
boilers and before the steamer near
ed shore the whole forward section
of the vessel was mass Of flames
fed by the dried plankins OF the
| decks and famed rapidly through
the cabin by stiff wind.
| The boat was run into shallow
water. where the crew threw women
and children into the water to be
drawn ashore by men on the banks.
AS the bow of the steamer neared
the marshy shore the wind blew the
stern ashore, the heat of the fire
driving rescuers astern into deep
water.
| The injured are:
Joseph Casrider, Paducah, Ky. en-
| ginecr; severely burned about the
| face and body.
| Charles Reichbergcr, Peoria, ILL.,.
right arm broken.
| Woman Discovers Fire.
The fire was discovered by Mrs.
Eugene Furbish, cabin girl. Open
ing the door of cabin above the
boilers she saw the fire breaking
through the floor. Leaving the door
| open with the wind tanning the
small blaze into Threatened fire,
she started a panic among the pas
sengers by running about screaming,
The boats afire. We will all drown. -
Captain Verne Swain threatened to
shoot any one leaping oycrboard and
| giving an emergency signal to En-
gineer Casrider, headed The blazing
craft toward the shore. Life pre-
servers were placed on women and
children as the fire drove them
astern.
The boat grounded in four feet of
water along dangerous. marshy
shore. The lifeboats were unable to
carry off all on board and before
their return the flames forced those
remaining to choose between the fire
and the river.
The wind had swung the stern into
deep water. Each man Of the crew
took one of the remaining DasSen-
gers and leaping as far as possible
to ward shore reached the human
chain reaching into the river from
the shore. Only rare good fortune
prevented some of the last to leave
the boat from being carried down
stream against the burning boat.
\ gang plank which had been low
cred to enable passengers to board
the rowboats gave way, throwing 10
people into the river. This accident
saved their lives, for moment later
the boat swung around, leaving that
side toward the stream and exposed
to the flames.
Engineer the Hero.
The real hero of the moment was
Engineer Casrider. The fire. breaking
/, out between the engine and boiler
room. was fiercest at his post. After
going into boiler room to set the
safety valve SO as to prevent an ex-
plosion, he returned to the pumps in
the engine room.
Slowly the fire crept back. driving
him from the forward pump. This
he set to run full force and crossad
the room to tend the after and amid
ship pumps. When the keel of tho
boat grated on the bottom the foor
, about him was ablaze and his clothes
had caught fire.
Il Smothering the flames in hi,
clothing he leaped into the rowboat
which had been left for him. There
was no place to land above and bo
was forced to row around the vessoI
His own little boat was aGre Iuet
in time he reached landing and
| watched his little craft burn tn the
waters edge. He was taken IN
hospital, where it is said he will s,r.
, vive his burns.
Owner ON Boat
ID. NJ. Swain of Saltwater Nipn
: owner of the burned steamer wae
in the Avery Manufacturing plant al
the time the steamer Caught afro
and he aided in reScuing tho nasson,
gers and crew from the shore His
son Verne, captain of the ves.
sci, was the last to leave the b,,rn.
ing ship and was warmly conpratr.
lated by his aged father on reacbino q
| shore.
: Efforts were made by the peoris
and Averyville fire departments +,
save the hull of the beat, but the