The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1856-06-16
Terrible Steamboat RxpIe.ion j. Canada.

Terrible Steamboat ExpIesion In Canada
Inc teiesraph has mentioned the occurrence OF
Monday, OF . terrible steamboat explosion At Lon
sueuii, Canada. The III fated vessel was . ferry
boat running In connection with the Grand Trunk
Railroad The Montreal Gazette has the fellowfua
account Of the accident:
Tne boat was moored At the wharf The train
from Quebec and Island Pond had inst come IN,
ana the passengers haviag gone on board. the boat
vas ABOUT 70 start The greater number of pas
sengers were gathered aft. Among those that
went aboard was Capt Lesperance OF Lougueuil
~ 10 SAID, tnat on observing the condition OF the
boilers, &c he left the boat, remarkine, its not
SAFE thereu be blow up" or something to that
enect. He had not proceeded 900 feet from the
boat when the explosion took place. The CAPTAIN
SSevariat) had taken his position in front of the
wheel house, giving his necessary directions for
nnmoorlng and starting the boat, when the explo.
sion TOOK place lifting him and the part of the up
per DECK on which he stood, high into the air. and
casting him down again on an adjoining wharf, $50
feet distant. He jumped Immediately to his feet.
ciapped his hands to his head and gasped ont s.Tm
all right, when the blood gushed from his ears
Little hope IL entertained of his recovery. The
boat Immediately. sunk
For q moment all "a conformation and manic
sezed the oravest and most collected Those who
ment that they could not for . moment inn zine
WhAt happened. Then arose the shrieks of the
wounded and the scalded for assistance and from
toe estaolishment Of the company and the village
came streaming down a crowd of humane persons.
70 see what had happened, and no less eager to do
All tnat tney could for the sufferers The dead
were gathered together and laid out in the freight
depot. The sight of their mangled and dsfipured
remains was terrible one, the larboard boiler,
weighing several tons was lifted ont of the hold of
tue vessel and pitched bodily ON the wharf.
aoont one hundred feet from the water. twas
crushed into perfect wreck and the debris steam
pipes ana fragments Of machinery were scattered
TAR ana wide. One mass of iren weighing five q r
SIX hundred weight had been lifted high in the Air
and had fallen through the roof of the freight she'd
crushing its way through everything till reached
terra frRa The starboard boiler was also lifted
bodily out Of the hold, and falling on the bow of
caused her TO sink.
8 OF the passengers and crew some were blown
INTO the river, some upon the wharf, and others il
ia supposed sank with the boat and were drowned
Those gathered together in the after part of the
boat seemed generally to have escaped compare
lively unhurt.
One poor woman had a baby blown out of her
arms, aud the little thing is since dead The wo
man herself was severely injured. Another child
Is also since dead, whose name we did lot learn
A mother was observed going about on the wharf
in distracted state, looking among the dead and
wounded for her son. who was missing.
Col Johnson, of Melbourne was pitched into
the river, but escaped, we are happy to learn
over to Montreal with 475 in his overcoat pocket
to retire note at one Of the banks. He lost his
coat and money in the water.
The Gazette says that the accident was caused
by the engineer allowing the water to get too low
in the boilers.