SAVED HIS CAPTAIN'S SON
On the Libbie Conger, which was ground to pieces on the Illinois shore,
were Captain Seaman, his wife and his child,a little boy who is a general favorite on
board the boat. When the worst appeared to be coming, a negro, whose name is unknown, took
the child in his arms and plunged overboard bearing the captain's boy safely through the
boiling waters to the Illinois shore. Captain Seaman rescued his wife. But for the act of
bravery of one of his roustabouts his boy would probably be among the missing.
When John McDowell, a roustabout on the tug Reliance, which performed great work among
the boats which lined the Illinois banks for miles down the river, returned to the city,
he was burdened with messages to loved ones in this city from fathers and brothers telling
of their safety. He brought happier news to many households than was ever brought to them
before.
He reported that the Madill had been blown to pieces and that the crew swam ashore. He
said he thought every member of the crew had escaped with life. The ferries at the foot of
Anna street and at East Carondelet had been blown to pieces and gone to the bottom with
their crews and passengers. This could not be verified, but the negro, stated positively
that such was the case.
There was a rumor that the excursion steamer Grand Republic, belonging
to the Columbia Excursion Company, had gone to the bottom with 500 excursionists. An
officer of the company denied this. He said the boat left St. Louis at noon to go to
Alton, where it was engaged for an excursion at 8 o'clock that night. The storm might have
blown the boat away, but in such exigency only the crew would have been imperiled and
these men could all have swam to safety.
