The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-07-06
GOVERNMENT is


river between Peoria and Pekin, ILL.,.
shortly after midnight.
Twenty bodies had been recovered
at daylight and telephone messages
from the scene of the wreck indicated
that other bodies had been located be-
tween the decks of the vessel.
59S People on Vessel.
Five hundred and sixty-three pas
sengers and crew of thirty were
aboard the vessel. Scores of survivors
some of whom were injured, are being
cared for at Pekin.
The Columbia was a three-deck ex-
cursion steamer, $50 feet long. 1t was
owned by the H. F. Mehl Excursion
company of Peoria, and was under
charter to the South Side Social club
of Pekin.
Happened in Dense Fog.
The vessel was returning to Pekin
| from AL F'resco, a summer resort.
dense fog lay over the river.
With the excursionists dancing on
| the upper deck to the strains of band,
the Columbia ran on a sand bank. She
was promptly backed off but imme-
diately began to list. Later reports
indicated she had struck a submerged
| log and torn a hole amidship.
Panic stricken, the excursionists
rushed to the port side of the boat
in spite of the efforts of the crew to
1
Boat Turned Over.
Less than five minutes after she had
struck the bar the Columbia over
turned in mid-channel and sank.
Dozens of men and women had
| leaped into the water and others We're
thrown into the water when the boat
| turned over. Many were between
decks and it was believed certain they
went down with the boat.
Shrieks of dozens of survivors who
were padding about the wreck were
| heard in the village of Wesley, nppo-
site which the accident occurred. Sew
eral small boats put off from the shore
to pick them up.
Calls for help were sent by tele-
phone to Peoria and Pekin and
| launches started for the wreck from
those points. A special train carrying
nurses and physicians was dispatched
from Peoria
| left on the upper deck during the
| dancing, persisted.
Mrs. Elizabeth Frew, a stewardess,
was asleep when the boat struck. She
hurried to the deck and tried to calm
the terrified woman passengers
Many Jumped Overheard.
Everybody was fighting to get to
struggling and clutching each other.
Many jumped overheard. I saw some
of them go down. Others swan
around, crying, until boats picked
them up. Soon I found myself in a
boat. God knows how I got there"
| Coroner Clary of Pekin said today
| that it was impossible to make accu-
rate estimate of the death total He
| believed it would reach 100. He had
been told by members of the crew
that scores of persons were below
decks hen the b, asst struck. If that
| DO he no hi nf bar
escaped.
Many survivors were still huddled
on the river bank at daylight They
| were being taken to Pekin as fast as
motor cars could make the run. Wild
estimates of the number of dead were
made by those who escaped. Many
asserted that less than 800 survivors
had been accounted for out of the $50
J said to have been abroad.
Most Victims on Lower Decks.
Telephone messages were sent to
Chicago for professional divers. The
boat lay in midstream with her super
structure above water. Expert swim
| mers were trying locate bodies on
the upper deck. Most of the victims.
however, were believed to lie on The
lower decks and it was regarded as
unlikely that many other bodies could
be recovered without diving ap-
paratus.
SOiOAS1 OldTy SWOTc III jury Al
Pekin early today and stated he would
begin his official investigation during
the morning. His first witnesses were
expected to be Capt. Herman Mehl,
one of the Columbia's owners, and
Thomas Williams, her pilot. a
Sank in Two Minutes,
That the boat sank within two min
utes after water was discovered in the
hull of the Columbia was the state
ment made by Allen L. DAWSON. Sec
ond engineer on the steamer.
1--WE were travelling under a slow
bell thru the dense fog" he said. 81
) felt slight shock but paid little at
tention to it 1t was hardly noticea-
, BILE, then I received signal from the
pilot to stop and back the boat
within a few seconds 1 received
another signal from the pilot to &C
ahead slowly. Henry Tripler, watch.