1886 — Dec 13, steamer J.M. White, fire, MS Riv., Blue Store Lndg., ~Bayou Sara, LA –28-40

–28-40 Blanchard estimated death-toll range.*

— 60 Huntingdon Globe, PA. “60 Lives Lost.” December 16, 1886, p. 2, col. 2.
–20-60 Wells and McCarthy. Cultural Resources Survey of…Pointe Coupée Parish… 2014, 30.
— >40 Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. “The Mississippi Steamboat Fire.” 12-25-1886, p.326.
–~15 white cabin and deck passengers
— 13 dead and missing crew-members
–>12 black cabin and deck passengers
–35-40 Logansport Daily Pharos, IN. “A Horror on the River,” Dec 15, 1886, p. 1.
— 40 Philadelphia Record Almanac 1888. “General and Local Events, December, 1886,” p89.
–15-30 Huntingdon Globe, PA. “The Reports in New Orleans.” Dec 16, 1886, p. 2, col. 2.
— >30 New York Times. “Killed By Fire And Water.” 12-15-1886, p. 1, col. 2.
–21 black
— 9 white
— 28 Daily Picayune, New Orleans. “Steamboat Burned!…J.M. White.” 12-15-1886, p. 1, c.3.
— 28 Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. “The Mississippi Steamboat Fire.” 12-25-1886, p.326.
–~15 white cabin and deck passengers
— 13 dead and missing crew-members
— 28 Norrington, Keith. “The Palatial Str. J.M. White.” Waterways Journal, 1-17-2021.
— 15 Cabin and deck (white) passengers. Estimate of Captain J. F. Muse of the J.M. White.
— 5 cabin passengers
–10 deck passengers
— 10 Supervising Inspector-General of Steam-Vessels (US). Annual Report…1887. 1887, 21.
–5 crew
–5 passengers

* Blanchard estimated death-toll range. We note herein a range of fatalities from ten to sixty. Unfortunately, we cannot conclude that any one estimate is definitive. Thus we resort to a range, trying to exempt those we view as inaccurate or speculative. The Steam-Vessel Inspection Service report of ten deaths is clearly inaccurate. So, too, the estimate of Capt. Muse of fifteen deaths, wherein he only included white passengers, and left out of his count the black passengers and the crew deaths. The estimate of Wells and McCarthy of 20-60 deaths, seems to us to reflect an acknowledgement of the range of deaths noted in their sources, with no attempt to evaluate. The Huntingdon Globe report of sixty lives lost in its December 16 edition, strikes us as too speculative to include in our own estimated tally. This leaves the sources noting, and sometimes delineating, twenty-eight to forty deaths. Personally, from our review of the sources cited as well as other accounts read but not cited, we are of the opinion that the loss of life was probably closer to forty than to twenty-eight.

Narrative Information

Philadelphia Record Almanac 1888: “December….14. – The steamer J. M. White burned near Pointe Coupee, La., and forty lives lost.” (“General and Local Events, December, 1886,” p. 89.)

Supervising Inspector-General of Steam-Vessels (U.S.): “December 13, 1886. – The steamer J. M. White, while completing her cargo of cotton and sundries, at Saint Maurice Plantation, on the Mississippi river, took fire from some unknown cause, and was totally destroyed, whereby ten lives were lost, five of whom were passengers.” (Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector-General of Steam-Vessels…for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1887. 1887, p. 21.)

Way: Sidewheel wood-hull packet, built in Jeffersonville, IN, in 1878, measuring 312-7 x 47.9 x 11.5. “The fire which destroyed the White was spectacular. She was moored at Blue Store Landing, St. Maurice Plantation, Point Coupee Parish, La., on December 13, 1866 when the blaze was discovered. Several lives were lost, and more would have been save for the cool determination of her clerk G. Wash Floyd, who lost his life saving others. Gunpowder stowed in the boat’s magazine in the hold let go and blazing timbers were hurled aloft. The old hulk was bedded in the sand there for many years, grim reminder of the greatest cotton queen of the Mississippi.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv.] System…(Revised). 1999, pp. 234-235.)

Wells and McCarthy: “…the J. M. White is remembered more for her spectacular death rather than her lavish appointments. On 13 December 1886, she was anchored at the Blue Store Landing, just off St. Maurice Plantation…when she caught fire and exploded, killing anywhere from 20 to 60 people — no passenger list survived the fire, and deck passengers, largely African-Americans, would probably not have been listed (The Times-Picayune 1886). The cause was never satisfactorily determined; eyewitness accounts had the fire starting with the cotton on the deck, or in the engine room. The boat was carrying at least 3,500 bales of cotton and 275 barrels of oil (presumably cottonseed). Many of the bales were observed in the night, on fire, floating downriver from the wreck. Her clerk, G. Wash Floyd, lost his life saving many of the passengers that had been trapped in the rear cabins. Within ten or fifteen minutes, the entire boat was engulfed stem to stern, and a store of gunpowder in the hold was touched off, blowing timbers skyward and sealing her fate. The hull of the J. M. White, burned to the waterline, was visible in the river for many years thereafter (Way 1983:235).” (Wells and McCarthy. Cultural Resources Survey of…Pointe Coupée Parish… USACE, New Orleans District, 2014, pp. 29-31.)

Newspapers

Dec 14: “Steamboat Burned! The Steamboat J.M. White on Her Way To New Orleans Burns To The Water’s Edge. Loss of 28 Lives and $200,000 Worth Of Property…”

“Baton Rouge, Dec. 14 – (Special) – The palatial steamer J. M. White, on her down trip from Vicksburg, caught fire at 10:30 o’clock last night, while at the Blue Store Landing, in Pointe Coupee parish, four miles above Bayou Sara, and was entirely destroyed in a few minutes. Her cargo chiefly consisted of 3600 bales of cotton, 8000 sacks of seed and 400 barrels of oil. The number of lives lost is not definitely known, but it is estimated at between fifteen and twenty as follows:

Wash Floyd, formerly captain of the Will Hays.
Mr. Stafford, superintendent of the railroad at Vidalia, La., wife and little girl.
One roustabout Levy Robinson, is missing, and ten of the cabin crew, as follows:
Oscar Landry, pastry cook;
Amos Moss, porter;
Penney Walker, chambermaid;
Two cooks, and
Albert Brown,
Perry Branch,
John Parker and
Ed. Jackson, cabin boys.

“The fire originated near the boilers, and spread with such fearful rapidity that the flames enveloped the boat before warning of their danger could be given the passengers and crew. One of the mates was the first to see the fire from the river bank, and by the time he reached the cabin the smoke was so dense that he could only awaken the occupants of a few of the staterooms in front and retire with the rest of the officers to a place of safety.

“All the books and valuables in the clerk’s office were destroyed. Capt. Muse was sick in his room at the time and was notified just in time to save his life. All the passengers in the forward cabin were saved, but with one exception. Those in the ladies’ cabin were shut off from retreat by the flames and were burned in their rooms or were forced to jump into the river, where only three were rescued.

“A beautiful little girl about 12 years of age was seen to stand on the rear guards and spring into the river with her hair and gown in flames.

“Capt. Wash Floyd was aroused in time to save himself, but with the unselfish heroism of a superior nature he rushed back into the ladies’ cabin to save the occupants and was himself destroyed. On his way back he aroused Major S. L. James who rushed out and escaped from the burning boat.

“Your correspondent this morning saw Col. Henry C. Brown, assistant state engineer, and one of the forward cabin passengers on the White. He says he had retired for the night and was sleeping soundly, when he experienced a feeling of suffocation, and awakening, found his room full of smoke. He grasped the situation in an instant. Seizing his vest and overcoat, he plunged out the door and stumbled over his shoes. He picked these up, and in the blinding darkness of the cabin, filled with smoke, he rushed for the front door, stumbling and falling down twice on the way. As he reached the guards the fire leaped into the cabin and filled it with flames.

“Andrew Pierson, residing at 470 Royal street, New Orleans, and employed on the boat in the capacity of sailor, was sleeping aft. On being aroused by the approach of the fire, he had the presence of mind to lower a yawl with which he was able to do excellent service in the work of rescue. There was little wind blowing at the time of the fire, but the boat was in an eddy, and owing to this fact several lives were lost of those who rolled the bales of cotton into the river and spring on them. The cotton, instead of floating down the river, drifted toward the boat and caught fire. Pierson, with his boat, was able to save of these parties: Mrs. Mary Smith, of Smithland, Pointe Coupee; a little girl, whether white or mulatto he did not know; John Stout and Bob Smith, the two pilots; the head cook and the cabin boy. Some of these he rescued from bales of cotton that were on fire, receiving himself burns on the hand and knee.

“Those who were saved stood on the river bank and watched the rapid destruction of the most splendid steamer afloat on the Lower Mississippi.

“At 12 o’clock that excellent gentleman, Capt. Sam Pennywith, of the Stella Wilds, in the trade between Natchez and Bayou Sara, came along and took everyone aboard. The Wilds, stopped at Bayou Sara to deliver her mail, and then made a special trip to Baton Rouge to land the victims of the disaster at that city…..

“Owing to the destruction of all the books it is impossible to tell all who were lost.

“Wm. Daley, of Otto county, Neb., and Andrew P. Oberchain, of Kentucky, are supposed to be lost….

“On the way down the crew of the Wilds saw a man floating on a bale of cotton and threw him a line, but he slipped from his position and was drowned

“Abe Jackson and Albert Brown, cabin boys, residents of Baton Rouge, are missing.” (Daily Picayune, New Orleans. 12-15-1886, p. 1, c. 3.

Dec 14: “Killed By Fire And Water. Thirty Lives Known To Have Been Sacrificed.
A Mississippi Steamer Burned And Many Passengers Roasted To Death And Drowned.”

“New-Orleans, Dec. 14. – The largest and fastest steamer on the Mississippi River, the J. M. White, caught fire at 10:30 o’clock last night, at S. Maurice Landing, in Pointe Coupee, en route to this city, and in 10 minutes had burned nearly to the water’s edge. Her cargo chiefly consisted of 3,600 bales of cotton and 8,000 sacks and 400 barrels of oil. The number of lives lost is not known, but it is estimated at over 30….

“Following is a list of the lost so far as could be ascertained up to midnight: There were nine white persons, Mr. Stafford, Superintendent of the Natchez and Vandalia Railway, wife and child; Capt. Wash Floyd. Of the ‘Will S. Hayes;’ Miss Agnes M. Caleb, of West Feliciana; two women names not known, and two white men from the West in charge of the ‘Boeuf Gras.’

“There were 21 colored, including several of the boat’s hands, and 2 negro preachers, which makes 30 lost altogether.

“The following account of the loss of the J.M. White was gathered from the officers and crew:

“The boat had landed to take on a pile of cottonseed, and there were between 35 and 40 roustabouts engaged in this work, when, precisely at 10:15 o’clock, everybody was startled by the loud ringing of the bell by Watchman Tom Miller. Immediately after the cry of ‘Fire!’ was taken up by 20 voices. In an instant the direst confusion reigned. Men darted to and fro, and the work of arousing the sleeping passengers was begun. The fire was discovered by Thomas Barry, the second engineer, who, with his partner, Steven Jauney, was on watch at the time. The first intimation he had of fire was a small light on the top of a row of cotton bales amidships, which greatly resembled the flame of a lantern. Barry left his post to investigate, and was astonished to discover that the light was caused by a bale of cotton briskly burning. Barry gave the alarm and his voice ran through the deck room of the vessel. Watchman Miller took in the situation at once and rang the huge bell on the second deck. Miller stood at his post ringing the bell until he was forced to retreat by the encroaching flames.

“The noise of the bell aroused William McGreevy, the chief engineer, who was asleep. He sprang out of bed and groped his way through the smoke to wake up his partner, John Pallasier, second assistant engineer, who was asleep in the forward part of the boat. Abut midway he met Pallasier, who had also been aroused by the bell and was on his way to hunt for McGreevy. The two men then looked as best they could through the stifling smoke for the others who slept in the Texas, but not seeing any one and believing that all but themselves had left they crawled out on the hurricane deck, and were compelled to climb down on one of the stanchions to the right side of the boat, from whence they got on shore.

“In the meantime two streams of water were brought to play on the fire, but the heavy black volumes of smoke drove the engineers back. They fought the flames step by step, but were at last forced to drop the hose and save themselves. The fire burned with frightful rapidity, and in less time than it takes to tell it the entire left side of the boat was a mass of flames. Fire soon caught the railing of the cabin deck, and before any assistance was to be had the boat looked as if she was encircled by a stream of ire. The crackling of the flames and the shrieks of the passengers and crew caused the most intense excitement.

“The terrified passengers quickly got out, nearly all of them in their night garments. Among them was the Superintendent of the Vidalia Southern Railroad. He had his wife and two children, girls of 9 and 12 years, with him. He called them around him and bade them follow him. By this time the flames had reached the cabin, through which thick smoke was rolling. The panic-stricken passengers quickly made for an entrance, some to the stern and the others to the front. The gentleman referred to was among those that went to the stern. Upon reaching the deck he grasped his two children, one at a time, and threw them into the river. Before he and his wife could follow the flames had reached them and they were burned to death. The two pilots on watch, John Stout and Bob Smith, were in the pilot house and were compelled to jump into the river, where they were picked up. They had a narrow escape from death.

“While the passengers and crew were escaping from the boat the steam pipe blew up and was hurled 300 yards in the air. The force of he explosion caused over 20 bales of burning cotton to be hurled high in air, where they revolved several times and then fell into the river. Immediately after the explosion shrieks were heard coming from the stern of the vessel. For an instant two colored women were seen standing on the gallery just back of the wheelhouse, and the next moment they were hidden from view by the smoke and flames. The first part of the boat to give was was the wheelhouse. It fell into the water, and a draft being created the flames swept through the centre of the boat.

“The White was built at Jeffersonville, Ind., in 1877 and cost $100,000. She was owned by the Greenville, Vicksburg and New-Orleans Packet Company. She was valued at about $60,000, and insured for $27,500, $20,000 in Louisville with Western companies, and the balance in New-Orleans companies. She was the last of the floating palaces, and her like will never be built.

“Capt. Wash Floyd, who lost his life to save the women and children, was formerly commander of the Will A. Hayes, was 43 years old, had been 25 years a steamboat man, was a native of Pittsburg, Penn., and leaves a wife and child….

“It was, according to many statements, not five minutes from the time the fire was discovered until it had run from stem to stern, and 15 minutes later there was scarcely a vestige left of the magnificent steamboat….

The White left New-Orleans on Wednesday evening with a crew of 44 roustabouts, the ordinary employes in the other departments of the boat, and the following officers J. F. Muse, master; A. McVay, Ovid Bell, and John Callahan, clerks; John Stout and Robert Smith, pilots; William McGrevy and Tom Berry, engineers; F. G. Pallissier and Steve Jenney, stokers; John H. Grant and Tom Trimble, mates; Tom Miller, watchman; Pat Ryan, steward; P. E. Dolsen, carpenter, and Andy Pierce, sailorman. She left Vicksburg on the return trip Saturday evening. A gentleman from Chicago and his wife took passage at that point. At Natchez Mr. Stafford, Superintendent of the Vidalia Railroad, his wife and child, and Capt. Wash Floyd, and Mrs. Murray were added to the passenger list. At Greenwood, West Feliciana, Mrs. Doctor Wade and her sister, Miss Agnes McCaleb, were taken on, and subsequently Col. S. . James, Major H. C. Brown, who was coming from Morganza, and several other cabin passengers, some twenty odd, most colored, were taken on at New-Texas landing and different points.” (New York Times. “Killed By Fire And Water.” 12-15-1886, p. 1, col. 2.

Dec 15: “New York, Dec. 15. – A dispatch from New Orleans says: “The steamer J. M. White was burned to the water’s edge about 11 o’clock Monday night [13th] at Point Coupee landing. Exactly how the fire originated is a mystery. In a few minutes the flames had gained such headway that it was impossible to stay their course, and in a short time nothing was left of the finest boat on the lower Mississippi. It is impossible now to give the names of all who were burned or drowned, but it is known that between thirty-five and forty passengers and boat hands lost their lives….

“From interviews with officers and men of the ill-fated steamboat, The New Orleans States has collected the following details of the disaster:

“The White was hauled up to the bank and thirty or forty roustabouts were getting cotton-seed aboard when Watchman Tom Miller began to ring the alarm bell and shouts of ‘Fire!’ were heard. Great confusion ensued. Employees ran quickly about to wake up the sleeping passengers, who hurried out partly dressed and panic-stricken. Second Engineer Tom Barry was the man who first saw the fire. It was in a cotton bale amidships. He cried fire and Miller at once began ringing the bell and stayed at his post until driven away by the advancing flames.

“William McGreavy, chief engineer, was asleep in the texas, being awakened by the clanging bell, sprang from his bed and groped his way through the smoke to the forward part of the texas to arouse his partner, John Palasier, second assistant engineer. Meeting Palasier about midway, the two men then began to search through the suffocating smoke for the others who slept in the texas. They were unable to discover any one and, believing all had escaped but themselves, they crawled to the hurricane deck, from whence they climbed down on one side of the stanchions to the right side of the boat and escaped to the shore.

“Two streams of water had been brought to play upon the fire and the engineers fought the flames step by step, but were finally forced to drop the hose and save themselves.

“Head Clerk McVay was in his cabin when he heard the first alarm. He had barely time to secure some of the money from the safe and the most valuable papers, before the flames were upon him. He then ran out and devoted himself to efforts to save the passengers. He says there were fifteen to eighteen cabin passengers, of whom eight were ladies. He first wakened Second Clerk Callahan, who did not stop to put on any clothing except his shirt and trousers. McVay and Callahan made a rapid tour of the rooms to make sure than no one was left unwarned of danger. Among the passengers who crowded together on the deck, most of whom were clad only in their night garments, was a gentleman who was recognized as the superintendent of the Vidalia Southern railroad, who was traveling with his wife and two little girls, 9 and 12 years old. As the roaring flames came near the group, the father, seeing that they would be burned to death if they remained, grasped his little girls one after the other and threw them into the water. He was urging his wife to take the leap when a burst of flames enveloped them. They soon fell, apparently suffocated by inhaling the fire, and were burned to death.

“John Stout and Bob Smith, the pilots on watch, were in the pilot house and were compelled to jump into the river, where they were picked up. They had a narrow escape from death. So Quick was the spread of the flames that it was impossible to see who escaped and who perished. While they were escaping as best they could, the steampipe burst. The force of the explosion was terrific. Many bales of cotton were thrown high in the air where they revolved several times and then fell into the river. Just after the explosion shrieks were heard coming from the stern of the boat. Two colored women were seen enveloped by the flames. A moment later they had fallen and disappeared.

“The rescued were picked up by the steam-boat Stella Wild. As the last were being taken aboard, the four kegs of powder on board blew up and hurled the burning wreck in all directions. This virtually put the fire out, as but little was left to burn. A minute or two after the explosion a cry for aid was heard from mid-stream. A boat was lowered from the Stella Wild and pulled in the direction of the cry for help. A man was seen through the darkness clinging to a cotton bale, but just as the boat was nearing him, the bale turned over, the man’s hold was loosened, and he sank to rise no more….

“The Latest. – From all that can be ascertained it is estimated that fully forty persons are perished.” (Logansport Daily Pharos, IN. “A Horror on the River,” Dec 15, 1886, p. 1.)

Sources

Daily Picayune, New Orleans. “Steamboat Burned! The Steamboat J.M. White on Her Way To New Orleans Burns To The Water’s Edge. Loss of 28 Lives…” 12-15-1886, p. 1, c. 3. Accessed 1-29-2021 at: https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/state-lwp%3A5193

Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. “The Mississippi Steamboat Fire.” 12-25-1886, pp. 325-326. Accessed 1-29-2021 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Leslie_s/Y0VaAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=steamer%20j.%20m.%20white%20fire%20mississippi%20river%20point%20coupee%201886

Huntingdon Globe, PA. “60 Lives Lost by the Burning of a Steamboat on the Mississippi,” 12-16-1886, p. 2, col. 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=102947020

Huntingdon Globe, PA. “The Reports in New Orleans.” Dec 16, 1886, p. 2, col. 2. Accessed 1-29-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/huntingdon-globe-dec-16-1886-p-2/

Logansport Daily Pharos, IN. “A Horror on the River.” 12-15-1886, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=83527246

New York Times. “Killed By Fire And Water.” 12-15-1886, p. 1, col. 2. Accessed 1-29-2021 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1886/12/15/103653160.html?pageNumber=1

Norrington, Keith. “The Palatial Str. J.M. White.” Waterways Journal, 1-17-2021. Accessed 1-29-2021 at: https://www.waterwaysjournal.net/2021/01/17/the-palatial-str-j-m-white/

Online Steamboat Museum. “Captain J.M. White 1823-1880.” Accessed 1-29-2021 at: https://steamboats.com/museum/jmwhite.html

Philadelphia Record Almanac For 1888. “General and Local Events.” The Philadelphia Record, 1888. Digitized by Google. Accessed 1-29-2021 at: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hxpnn1&view=1up&seq=203

Supervising Inspector-General of Steam-Vessels (U.S.). Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector-General of Steam-Vessels to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1887 (Treasury Department Document No. 1038, Steamboat Inspection, dated 10-21-1887). Washington: Government Printing Office, 1887. Accessed 1-29-2021 at: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nnc1.cu09189980&view=1up&seq=51

Way, Frederick Jr. (Author and Compiler), Joseph W. Rutter (contributor). Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats of the Mississippi River System Since the Advent of Photography in Mid-Continent America (Revised). Athens OH: Ohio University Press, 1999.

Wells, Douglass C. and Andrea R. McCarthy. Cultural Resources Survey of the Pointe Coupée Seepage Project, Pointe Coupée Parish, Louisiana (Final Report). New Orleans District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, March 2014. Accessed 1-29-2021 at: file:///C:/Users/Wayne/AppData/Local/Temp/Exhibit%20EE.%20Angel%20Ranch%20Site%20Partial%20Phase%20I%20Cultural%20Resources%20Assessment%20Report.pdf