The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1859-03-10

EXPLOSION OF THE STEAMER Princess
The New Orleans papers of the LIST and I'd
inst, contain full particulars of the explo-
sion of the Princess, when off Conrads
Point, in sightof Baton Rouge. The Deltd
says:
The boat took fire after the explosion and
burned up.
There were four hundred persons on board
at the time of the disaster, of whom two
hundred are lost and missing.
1t was not until yesterday afternoon, when
the Kate Dale reached our wharf, that we
could learn all the facts of the disaster.
The Princess was on her way down the
river from Vicksburg, having on board from
one hundred and fifty to two hundred pas
sengers, crew of at least one hundred and
eighteen hundred bales of cotton She had
touched at Baton Rouge, where she took
on board several gentlemen of this city, in
Guiding the members of the legislature.
The Kate Dale had passed, and was pro-
ceeding down the river at some distance, but
in sight of the Princess, when suddenly a
loud report, as of the discharge of a whole
battery of heavy artillery, was heard, pro-
ducing perceptible shock, and filling the
air with smoke and fragments. All rushed
on deck, and looking towards the Princess,
saw that she was the victim of this terrific
explosion. A thick smoke, only broken by
red flashes of fire, completely enveloped
the whole steamer, which a few seconds be-
fore had excited so much admiration by her
grand proportions and graceful movements.
Expressions of horror and dismay arose
| from the behclders of the sad scene. Capt
Smith, of the Kate Dale, Immediately Or
dered his boat to round to, and steer to-
| wards the Princess.
| AS soon as she neared the scene the hor-
rors of the disaster came in full view
Language is utterly inadequate to depict
| the heart-rending features of the dismal
| tragedy. The force of the explosion had
| thrown the bow of the Princess on the bank,
the flames were rapidly consuming the
wreck, cutting off the approach to the bank,
and subiecting to further tortures the
manned and helpless; the water was alive
with the wounded and the unhurt, some
swimming, others clinging to bales of cot
ton and other floating objects, and all pre-
| ferTing their chances to the more merciless
fury of the other element.
The scene presented in the cabin of the
| Princess beggars all description. On the
floor, lay some fifteen persons badly wound
| ed; five of them taken on board had already
L
ed rolled in agony, uttering the most sick
ening groans, others lay motionless, help
less, and apparently paralyzed, and all pre-
sented that blackened, CHASTITY and horrible
aspect of the burnt and scalded-the most
revolving aspect in which the human form
can be presented. Every relief which the
ease demanded was extended to the unfor-
tunates. Some were taken to the hospitals
| he h.
tells.
The Princess was one of the most splendid
boats on the river, having been built at Gin
cinnati, in 1855, and enjoyed equation
! for safety never yet gained by any steamer
"a confidence which rendered the shock
greater Her officers have always been
known as among the most careful men on
the river, and from the fact that only one
boiler exploded, it is thought that there
must have been flaw impossible for the
most experienced eye to detect. She wa:
commanded by Capt. VIM. c. Wilson, who
fortunately for himself and family, was de.
tanned in this city and did not go upon her
t The ePrincessss was owned sas follows -
One-half by Copt. G. Wilson, three-eighth!
by Capt. Truman c. Holmes, and the re.
naming teIgHLnA0y Br. james Izod, the mrs
clerk. During the past summer she haC
= been repaired at a cost of $4,000, and ovel
, 5000 had been spent in her boilers.
No one knows the real cause of the ex-
plosion. There are a thousand and one re-
ports in regard to it, the most probable O
! which is the following
The Princess was considerably behind hel
usual time. The weather was cloudy and fog
gy, and the officers of the boat were anx
ious tossreach New Orleans phnctually
A few minutes before the explosion it wa:
noticed that there was an unusual pressure
, of steam on, too much for safety, and it wa
not let off,
The engineer is also reported to have sale
e that he would reach New Orleans at a Ger
= tain hour, or blow up the boat.
q The dispair and gloom which pervade oul
community cannot be described.
Among the saved there were probably
, one hundred more or less wounded
Many of these have since died at the va
rious places to which they have been car
ried, but it is impossible to get full ant
+ correct list of the saved or lost
The Princess had more passengers oil
: board than she was ever known to carry
. before.
|