The Locomotive - Lighthouse Survival Blog

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LOCOMOTIVE. 85
wreck] by hook or crook, wciu obliged to release their holds and take to tlie water to
avoid tlio dangerous wljirlpuol |.v/V'] which was formed by the sinking steamer. For-
tunately mucii of tlie woodwork of the boat ro.so to the surface, sejjarated by the shock,
and to this the wrecked pleasure-seekers clung till help arrived." We beg our readers
ti> note all these facts carefully, and also to observe that the entir»4)Opulation of the
town of "Winamac, some 900 souls, " turned out and wont to the a.ssistance of the in-
jured, who were tenderly cared for, being tidvcn to their homes or to those of their res-
cuers. Many were wild with grief at the fear that members of their families who were
missing had met with death or injury in the wreck, and would not be comforted until
thej' learned positively that the ol)jects of their solicitation had not left the docks on
the boat.'' Observe, with even greater care, tlu; following: "The steamer Nellie Bly
was placed in the river at this j)oint by a stock company controlling several pleasure in-
terests in Indiana. She was to have been run in connection with the attractions at Nye's
i'iirk this season, and her owners had looked forward to an especially piofitable season.
The l)oat measured forty feet in length.'' Now it appears that this account is a tissue of
lies, evolved, hirgely, from the unhealthy but prolific imagination of some ])enny-a-liner.
How studied his mendacity was, Avill appear from the following extract from the Chi-
cago Tribune: " There is no steamer Nellie Bly on tlie Ti])i)ecanoe river at this place
(Winamac). Again, no steamer can run in shallow water of six to eighteen inches in