Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1855-07-07

Explosion OF the Lexington-Many Lives
Lost-B0at Burnt.

! OF tOn-mamy L1ys
Lost--Boat Burnt.
The telegraph has already briefly mentione
that the steamboat Lexington, from St Louis fc
Louisville, having about eighty persons on board
including passengers and crew, exploded he
boilers in the Ohio river, while under way, abou
3 o'clock on Saturday morning last, killing ant
wounding full half Of the people on board, Thi
terrible disaster occurred near the town of Rome
Indiana, while every soul on board, with the ex
ception of that portion of the crew who were OF
on watch, were asleep in their berths, totally un
conscious Of the danger and death that sur
rounded them. The Louisville Courier of Mon
day, says:
The boat, il is supposed, exloded all her boilers
with terrific noise, causing death and destruc
tion to all around. The upper works of the boat
forward Of her water wheels, were blown TO frag-
ments, throwing the sleeping passengers and the
crew like ''chatf before the wind; many of them
falling in the river, and Others alighting among
the fragments of the burning boat and aud red hot
furnaces on the lower deck, as the boat, almost
on the instant Of the explosion, caught fire. thus
exposing the survivors of the wreck to the horrors
of being either burnt alive or drowned. At this
juncture the boat careened and commenced sink
ing, when a wood boat was caught, and that, to-
y v.
mont and ID. A. Given, which came up, saved
many lives.
The J. G.. Fremont, with eight of the survi-
vors, all wounded, reached this port Saturday
evening. The d. A. Given stayed by the wreck
some time, and arrived here yesterday morning
with good many of the wounded, and the pas
sengers who were saved.
Captain Troop, who was terribly burnt, went
back to st. Louis, accompanied by his mate, John
Johnson, first engineer, Mr.. Davidson, the Clerk,
and number Of the cabin crew, on the Balti-
more. The boat turned bottom upward, and
sunk near Stephensport. The second mate was
standing near the forward bits at the time of the
explosion, and the first thing he knew he caught
the captain in his arms. The latter was on the
hurricane deck the moment before. Several Of
the passengers who were saved, including Capt.
T. White, who arrived in the Given, knew no
thing Of the disaster till they found themselves in
the river, in their night dress, among the floating
portions of the wreck. How they were saved,
or in what manner they reached The shore, was
equally mystery. passenger asleep in an
upper berth was saved, and the one in and under
berth Of the same room.
The second engineer, Willis, who was on
watch, was killed, and his assistant saved. The
second clerk and an assistant bar-keeper were
killed, and two fremen, names not known, burnt
to death in their hunks. Two passengers who
got Oh the boat at Smthland were killed. One
OF them was gentleman about thirty years OF
age, medium size, with brown hair and dark
sandy goatee. Mr.. Wiley Johnson, of Madison,
had his leg broken and received several contu-
sions A German deck hand and colored man,
who lived back of New Albany, died on the ID. A.
Given. Allrthe ladies', children, and passen-
gers in the after part of the boat were saved I'M
hurt. One or two dead bodies and portions Of the
wreck were met by the Rainbow thirty-ive miles
below the scene of the disaster.
The ley In kpd only n few days of being
five years old. The machinery was made by
Phillips, Hiss & Co., of New Albany, and the
boat was quite old enough to be condemned. She
has been packet in our trade, but was recently
sold to St. Louis. The inspectors, Of course, now
that the damage is all done, will investigate as
usual. The boat was under way, had but two
fremen on watch, and it is the. opinion of those
who saw the wreck that the boilers had no water
in them. All the wounded persons are burnt,
bruised or crippled. Annexed is full list of the
killed, missing, and wounded.
KILLEp.-Henry Lewis, Samuel Lowry, Eco
lored;) two brothers (names not KNOWN got on
board at Smithland, supposed to be from Georgia,
one killed and the other missing
MIssMG.-James Miller, second clerk, Nash
vile, Tenn; Willis, second engineer; MIR. Fair
child; Haines, carpenter; Phillips, Liberty, Mo-;
John Taylor, colored; Baldwin, colored, New Al
bany; Harrison, New Albany; one of the Geor-
gians above mentioned.
WoUNpED.-Coi. Bayles, Louisville, slightly;
Thos. PAYNE, Cincinnati, do; Thos. F. Gibson,
first mate, Switzerland, do; Z. G.. Davidson, first
clerk, Paducah, do; Snead String, pilot, Nash
vile, do; ]. B. Johnston, first engineer, do; M.
Twigg, do; S. w. Andersmith, assistant engineer,
do; ID. Harris, Cincinnati, do; Harry, New Al
bany,. badly scalded; ]. Nj. Gardner, King s
Landing, Ky, severely burned; P. Finn, Au.
burn, N. Y, slightly wounded; J. II. Freeman,
colored, New Albany, do; l.. B. Johnson, ST.
Louis, do; A. Badger, pilot, St. Louis, badly
scalded w. P Johnston, Madison, leg broken
and badly bruised; T. Ryan, st Louis, slightly
wounded; Capt. Thos. White, Louisville, badly
hurt; Capt. J. Throop, very slightly scalded; Mr.
McElroy, Lebanon, Ky, slightly scaded; j. Hail.
Liberty, Mo-, badly wounded; Chas. Squires, do
Christopher Dicterly, of Baltimore, and J.
Barnard, of Virginia, were among those unin-
iured.