Hide Article Text (OCR)
appalling scene can hardly bo conceived. The river seemed to bo alive with drowning men,some pray ing for assistance, some cursing the fate which, after a day or two of liberty, had condemned them to a horrible death, others shicking aloud in agony, while ever and anon you could hear the last gulp of some miserable wretch as he screaming for assistance, sank to rise no more. A few words from the officer of the deck told the whole story.The Sultana left the coal barge about two o’clock in the morning, proceeding on her way up the river; aud just after rounding the point, som live miles above the city, her boiler exploded, and she had taken fire and was burning up. Just at. this time the captain, who % had been awakened by the confusion, came out of his cabin, and demanded an explanation as to its cause. A few words made the necessary explanation. He instantly demanded if the boats had all been sent out. I told him they had with the exception of the first launch. This boat was a large, unwieldy craft, carrying twenty oars and a brass twelve .pounder swivel gun ainidship. She had no regular crew, and was used, principally, for picket duty. The instant the captain ascertained that she had not been sent out, ho ordered me to man her at once, take 'command, and pull out to the rescue. Now, although this was not in my line of duty, I promptly responded, and soon succeeded in picking \ip a motley crew of cooks, stcwarts, cab-ill bllUb V11V.J•V-tu, 1 vvu\/i y\ mjwere in extreme agony, and after ward died. Out of twenty-five hundred souls on board there were but about three hundred saved alive.I called upon the lady two or three times during the succeeding week, each time finding her a little stronger, but much depressed in spirit from the dark prospects for her future. »Ten days after this calamity I was standing near the steamboat landing watching n tin-clad us it j \v slowly rounded to and made fast to j V. a wharf boat. As soon as the gang j plank was thrown out, a man j sprung ashore with a little girl in ; his arms. He approached the spot where I stood, and, judging from my uniform that I belonged to the navy, addressed me, inquiring if i knew where the survivors of the Sultana calamity were.hiwechi01listClStoi1,itI told him that I did, upon which j t;he asked me, with trembling lips, if there were any ladies saved, j told him there were, and, suspecting his identity, asked him if his name was not Ennis.“My Clod! vcs,”said he, graping my hand.“Then, sir, your'wife is alive endwell.”” The reader can bettor imagine his joy than I can describe it. “And this,” said I, “is your littlegirl.”in hoys and idlers. But agrcasdifficulty to our further progress here presented itself. The launch was lying between the ship and shore, and forward of the stern line, which was drawn taunt, at a point just above the water line, and all our attempts to get the unwieldy launch under it were in vain. Here, again, the authority of the excited captain solved the problem; he discovered our dilemma, and shouted at the top of his voice: “Cut the line and pull away.” An ax was soon found, and the immense hawser lopped ofl‘; and we soon found ourselves drifting toward Jhe Gulf of Mexico. The crewlinini. iiimip/iiI fr\ nulling in inlie answered in the alHrmuiivc, and, as .we proceeded toward •the the hospital, told mo his singular storv. On the night of (he acci-j dent, he had taken his little girl1, from the stateroom into the cabiniv. I!to procure for her some water. Not finding any in the after part of thf. cabin, ho left her there and wont forward. While forward the ex-. plosion occurred; the boat parted}-9 in the center, and thus separated |s him from his wife and child in the:' moment of their direst peril. Being j a strong swimmer he kept himself'j alloat in the vicinity of the wreck,!! and just as ho had sccu-red for him- i1 self a door, some white object dop- j = pod into the water within four feet I \ of him. lie immediately grasped j 1 it with a wild hope, that was grut-j ificd at once. It was his own darling baby, who bad been thrown
Newspaper Details
Winchester Randolph Journal
Winchester, Indiana, US
Wed, Oct 11, 1876
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Gene S.
USA 27 Dec 2016
Other Publications Near Winchester, Indiana
Winchester Journal Herald
Winchester Daily Fair Journal
Winchester Daily Journal
Winchester Journal
Winchester Randolph Journal
