The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-06-27
is. TRAGEDY
COST THREE LIVES
TWO Women Drowned and Man Who
Was Responsible for Fire Was
Found a charred
Mass.
REMARKABLE RESCUE
With 1900 Excurslonists on Board, 1t
is Wonderful That SO Few
People Were
Killed.

LA CROSSE, Wis, June 27.-Three
dead five badly injured and scores,
possibly hundreds slightly burned,
while all the others of the 1900 ex,
cursionists on board the steamer ].
s. escaped unhurt, is briefly the story
as seen by the light Of day of the
burning Of the historic old excursion
boat in the Mississippi river at Vic
tory, Wis, Saturday night.
The dead.
MRS. EMMA RANDALL, New AL
bin, Iowa; drowned.
JOHN PLANE, Waukon, Iowa;
burned to death.
UNKNOWN WOMAN; drowned.
Seriously injured:
Joseph Coyle, Lansing, Iowa; both
hands burned and severe injuries.
Mrs Meier, Lansing; leg broken.
Mrs. John Joseph, De Soto; SER
iously injured about head and should
ers and possibly internally.
Mrs. Archie Bailey, Victory; ankle
mashed
Mrs Gus Kaeppler, Victory; ankle
sprained and severly bruised about
the body.
That the hundreds of women were
restrained from leaping to certain
death in the waters of the river to
escape threatened death in the flames,
was due only to several men, who
stationed themselves at prominent
points about the boat and yelled to
the passengers to keep quiet and to
await quietly the efforts OF the mas
ter OF the steamer to save them II
from death.
It was nearly o'clock Sunday
morning before the last Of the rescu-
ed were taken from the tiny 'sland
where they were marooned By to-
day, however, the countryside about
Lansing, whence most Of the excur-
sionists hailed, heard the survivors
tell their tale of horror
The steamer was nearing Bad Axe
Bend when the fire was first discover
ed. the survivors say. Earlier in the
trip John Plane had been arrested for
dsorderly conduct and had been
In the prison, forward Of the engine
and boiler. Locked up in dark room
It is supposed he smoked cigarette
to while away the time, and set fire
to the steamer.
Planes charred body is undoubtedly
in the river bottom, with the steamer
which sank after burning to the wa
ter's edge.
~ sofn y1,r
could not be found Saturday. and who
was thought to have burned to death
In the boats Jail, was located IN La
Crosse Sunday. He had missed the
boat at La Crosse.
The loss to the Acme Packet Com
pany is estimated to be 100000 Prac
tically every passenger on the steam
er lost clothing, bundles, money o.
other valuables in the mad rush fol
safety, and it Is estimated this com
bined loss will aggregate $4,000.
1t is probable that other passenger
are missing, although all people thus
far sought by frantic relatives hay'
been accounted for.
A detailed story of the fire was toll
by Miss Mrytle Oliver Of De Soto
Wis.
The first we knew Of the fire, sh
said, was when smoke began to com
up to the upper deck, where we wer
sitting. Life preservers were bucl
led on, while the men tried to figh
the fire at first with eNtinguishers
The captain headed for the Iowa shor
as the crew tried to put out the flames
We neared shore, only to find ther
We're rafts along the bank. Then tn
captain turned and headed for tn
Wisconsin shore. When the fiji
alarm was first sounded Mrs Emm
Randall Of New Albin, Iowa, jumpe
overheard and was drowned. Whe
the captain was unable to land on =
Iowa shore another woman, who's
name no one seemed to know, craze
to see the steamer leaving the shor
for the middle of the river, jumpe
over the rail and drowned also. O
the Wisconsin bank the water wa
also too shallow. BY the time W
reached the island 1t was too late fc
all to escape by the gangplank,
they began jumping into the shallo
water. Only about 200 Of the pa
sengers left by the gangplank, tt
rest, about 1900, jumped into the rive
and waded ashore