Potosi journal. (Potosi, Mo.) 1894-1929, 1922-11-15
FIGHT fire and
water IN WRECK
American Professor, wife am
Children Have Exciting Ex.
perienoe h Argentine.
on-ADEn VESSEL BLOWS U
Battle In WaAAs Wtth Fsar-cs0oee
passeoosrs-Bvsnins Oh spssads
Over Water and Many ~
horribly Burned.

New York-A burning ship ~.
rounded by \ sea Il blazing gHssatDa
attacks BY passenger eraxed With
fear that threatened 10 impede e.
cape and the buneting Of rough waves
were the obstacles that Professor Ed.
ward X. keinmerer of Princeton Cni.
versity. bis wife and two children bat.
tied against and overcams when. the
steamer vulefrance was wrecked In
the Parana river, Argentine last June.
Professor Kemmerer. 4 noted
economist, who was At one time a.
nancial adviser to the Mexican and
Guntemslan governments. returned 70
Gently with his family.
1t was 4 dramatic narrative Of q
IRE and shipwreck and the many OBJ
Struc,ions that he and his family had
to surmount before reaching shore
that the professor unfolded The
Kemmerers are the only cabin sur.
v1vors Of the river tragedy.
I'VE were awakened At 2 Z. N. BY
. roaring explosion" Professor KEN
nerer began. I'VE were In bed and
Jumped out clad only In our night
clothing. Running to the companion
way. We found the ship ablase from
Gtem 70 stern
Fire ~ All eaess.
we reached the deck. where there
were sweeping flames and saw oil
burning On the water on al side&
Women and childrn were running
about. some with clothing sfr~, men
we're nght!nx and people wese Jump
Ing overheard.
1T vas terribly hot and people wsrs
shouting and shriekinG al about and
there was great confusion. We saw
II all In an instant and we knew re
had no time to lsse. Suddenly the ship
began 10 list
My wife and ch!ldren-Ruth,
twelve, and Donald. styteen-are good
swimmers ] shouted 70 them to run
to the rail- and We waited thers . few
minu;eN We could 80 people who
had Jumped overheard who had been
Se.xed By the flames and wese terri
bly, burned. and all seemed to b.
drowning.
I've saw gradually the flames were
dying out, as the oil surface was con
su,ned That MAS our chance for l..s
We dl,ed over. The dive carried Us
nu, of raeh Of the flames near the
ship We SWAN under water n while
"There WAS wrckaEe abou, US and
mnny were struggling in the water We
70, some distance frosn the vessel
When there was another explosion
That was followed by mose nsmes on
the water, as more oil was blown out
of the ships hold where the cr-co Of
sasolae WAS stored. We looked back
and could see the ring Of the dr~
coming OF toward ua.
Seized BY Drowning Man.
suddenly I heard my wife scream.
she had been sei.ed by drowning
man who had Er'pped her and would
have carried her down BEFORE l
could reach her she had released her.
SELF and was swimming On. She was
quite exhausted from the effort. how.
ever. and she had injured her les,
which had been broken several ycars
ago.
~ man who had bern burned and
driven insane vas on top of table
which had blown frcm the ship. Tie
xprsng OF the table 90 me and after
a severe struggle I succr~dcd In dis
engaging myself from him.
when I had done 20 I found the
sra was running higher and wc b.
came separated, and unable to get
together. Finally. we brought up to
shore a, various points and werr cared
for by the nativeA II was two hours
before I found by wife and ehildren.
My wife's face was slishtiy burned.
but she has recovered from IT.