Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-04-17
THE STEAMBOAT EXPLOSION AT sr. LOUIS.

PROM THE ST. LOUIS REPUBLICAN, APRIL s.
We called to record terrible catastrophe
the expl9 Of the steamer Glencoe, and the destruction
Of alas hsr q human beings it cannot be asssr-
The 1smer had just arrived. on Saturday evening" be-
tween seven and eight o'clock. from vUrIsaH nsay1y
laden, and was endesvoring TO effect landing between
Pine and Chesndt streets
The steamers Aleck Scott Georgia Cataract and West
World lying, beside the other at that point
and the Glencoe attempting entrance between the
Cataract and the Georgia She lay with her bows little
above the stern Of the Georgia. when two Of her
boilers exploded spreading death and destruction in every
direction about her.
From young gentleman who during the upward trip
of the Glencoe acted her assistant clerk learn that
she carried eighty deck passengers or less and
from twenty to twenty-five cabin passengers The boat
had touched at several adjacent steamers sufficiently
long time to allow many persons from shore to board her.
swelling her numbers considerably.
The explosion was we have ntimated tremendous
The entire upper works of the Glencoe forward OF
the unfortunately the part where the
oy of the passengers had gathered witness the land
ing-were torn away. Chimneys, boilers timbers, and
freight scattered about with many human beings in
every direction.
The work of destruction was not confined to the Glen
coe The after upper works Of the Cataract which lay
close by taking in the whole of the ladies' cabin de-
stroyed Other boats near by were visited but to less
extent, by the calamity.
Shortly after the explosion the boat discovered to
be FIRE, and simultaneously with the discovery
menced floating down. The full extent or the
sented itself as she passed down.
The cabin forward of the wheel-house was gone A
portion of it had been thrown the freight piled ut the
forecase this rising high the after hurricane
deck. The flames burning fercey about where the
boilers had been and spreading rapidly oil Sides From
the shore many human beings, and women, could be
deserted huryng from side to the other desperately
seeking some place of escape.
One poor fellows who had been scalded and af
terwards caught in the falling mbers notion
ing and heard crying wildly for assistance the flames
reached and enveloped them The most hor-
ribe As the boat continued to glide down her yawl
became filed with her surviving passengers The yawls
Of other boats also pushed succeeded
in saving others We make correct estimate of the
number of persons lost by scading and drowning 1t is
supposed that from sixty to seventy were saved Allow
ing this estimate be correct from thirty forty
even more, lives have been lost
The witnessed Immediately after the
of the catastrophe Of the most heartrending descp
ton Wenotced several men, their faces blackened their
clothes wet and soiled with ashes hunyins along the
had the head blown entirely off, We saw also the legs
Of boy girl the body having lodged - otbsr -
rection The body Of lady, horribly nanged that it
scarcely held together taken from the ruins Of the
Caaracts ladies' cabin. She not Of course, denti
fed The bodies recovered, with two exceptions were
horribly mutilated The limbs seemed all to be broken,
literally crushed and in several instances many of them
were separated from the trunks.
The burning Glencoe lodged at first about the foot Of
Spruce street. where Of the survivors who had not
escaped the yaws succeeded gaining the wood
and thence reaching shore AerWard she swung round
and foated until within few blocks of the gas works
where she permanently lodged and burnt the waters
edge The fire communicated TO the woodboats she
had passed. of which that fully eghted
destroyed. Five other empty wood boats also
sumed The flames spread next to the corded wood
shore 1t is estimated that from $50 800 cords Of this
wood consumed Fortunately the fire did not spread
to the buildings on the levee.
The catastrophe is of those which, from their dis
astrous and general effects blot ont oil means Of
tanning the number and the Of the sufferers. The
book containing the passenger list is gone with every
thing else in the clerks Office, except the freight record,
the clerks themselves Dead the comparatively few
bodies recovered unrecognizabe and it seems impos
sibe that the loss of life viii be correctly acerained