The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1916-01-06
Ohio River Disaster is Describ-
ed by the Captain Of the
Wrecked Steamer.
RESCUE WORK ORDERLY
Special Train Picks Up Sur
Mvors Scattered along River
Bank for -Four Miles.

tBr kssociATIn PRrsp
PARKERSBURG, Jan. Captain
Brady NJ. Berry and sixty-two pas
sengers and crew Of the steamer Ka-
nawha, which sank in the Ohio river
at dam, No. 10. last night, arrived
here early today on a special train
sent out by the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad to pick up survivors scatter
ed along four miles of the river
front on the West Virginia side. Cap
tain Berry said that while he saw no
one in the water and did not know
that any had been lost, he felt sure
there had been fatalities. He was
waiting, he said, until daylight to re-
turn to the scene Of the disaster,
where thorough search would be
made. Meanwhile the Kanawha.
total loss, lay bottom up in the stream
five mile from where 1t struck.
I'VE were moving swiftly down
stream about 7:30 o'clock last night
with crew Of about forty and some
twenty passengers of whom dozen
we're women,"'. said Captain Berry.
"The weather had been bad but Just
as we were approaching the lower
end of the lock wall on the West
Virginia side, we we're struck by a
severe storm. Ordinarily light
shines out from the mast on the wall
but last night there was no light
there. and before we knew what was
happening the Kanawha had struck
the iron pier a little forward of the
boiler. It started to sink immedi-
ately and within three minutes had
gone down.
81 shouted for the boats and in q
very few minutes the men were get
ting out, the four life boats we had
on board. The cries OF the -passen1
gers aroused the men at the lock.
They put out q yawl and came to our
assistance. The lights went out with
in a minute after we struck and there
was great confusion. We managed
after a little while to convince the
passengers we would get them Oil
and hurried them to the hurricane
deck. ., =.
"The Kanawha began to turn on
Its side and 1t continued to turn, the
people moving always towards the
top and the water rose higher anu
higher while we were taking them
off. Finally iuturned completely over
but Fortunately the most of them had
been removed by this time, but when
the last man stepped into the life
boat it was bottom up on the river
bed.
more than an hour elapsed from
the time we hit the lock wall until
all were off and as someone was
being landed every time boat made
trip to the shore, you can see that
survivors were scattered shivering In
the cold and suffering from a shock
through distance of fully four
miles along the shore. When / saw
that all we're off l shouted to the
crew and took me off. We then
rounded up as many as We could ana
soon afterwards heard that the Balti-
more and Ohio was sending train as
far as Meldah's station to take US
back to Parkersburg.
81 don't know whether anyone
was lost. The crew numbered be-
tween forty and forty-hve and we
had about twenty passengers. / am
unable to say how many because the
passengers list was lost with every
thing else on board. know there
we're twelve women and we got them
off first, not man except the boat
men to row them to shore being al
lowed to leave the boat until they
were gone. One OF the women !
found in fainting condition at the
pilot house and we got her of, too.
"I heard some Of the boys say that
sue boat load went to the Ohio shore
nut Of that don't know, but we will
clear that up in the morning. The
cargo was worth something, too, be-
cause we had good trip"
Captain Berry, who lives at VIII
JAMESTOWN, W. Va, had organized his
searching party by daybreak and re-
turned to the place where the boat
sank to continue his search for those
Of the passenger and crew who have
not been accounted for. 1t was
known that some Of them had found
hospitable houses along the river
where they wera landed.
Among the passengers who were
taken off the boat and brought here
OF, the rescue train were Mr.. and Mrs.
Il. w. Edgerton and Mr.. and Mrs. A.
d. Hoblitzell, Of Washington, D. G.;
Mr. and Mrs. R. M. Beaver, Racine,
o.: Mr.. and Mrs. William Burdette,
Gallipolis. o.; Mr.. and Mrs. Bert
Lawrence Long Bottom, o.; q. +.
Landon, Reedsyllle, o.; E. G. Atkin-
sin, Racine, o.; and Emerson
xt..f.hA nFo,iakfo n ~