The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-07-06
TERRIBLE STEAMBOAT EXPO.
SION.
MORE THAN FIFTY LIVES LOST.

1uAN AlV Ed 0O0A'
From the Chicago Press, Of the Goth.
The steamer Ben w. Lewis, packet
plying between Memphis and st. Louis,
burst her boilers at Cairo on Sunday night
about midnight, and more than fifty lives
were lost. For the following particulars
we are indebted to Capt. G. G. Sutherland
of this city, who arrived last evening by the
Illinois Central Railroad:
The Ben w. Lewis left Memphis on Sat
urday evening at half-past FIVE, with some
forty or fifty cabin and twenty or thirty
deck passengers, and arrived at Cairo on
Sunday night at twenty minutes past eleven.
Here she landed some half dozen passengers,
Capt. Sutherland among the number, and
after taking on coal, left for st. Louis.
When rounding the point, her boilers ex-
ploded with an awful crash, which Captain
Sutherland describes as more terrible than
any thunder he ever heard. He was walk
ing on the levee towards the hotel at the
time, looking at the steamer. He imme~
diately with two others took a small boat
and made all possible haste to reach the
steamer, but long before he could get there
she was on fire, and many of those who had
escaped the explosion were doomed to
more horrible death. Captain Sutherland
has seen many scenes of suffering, but he
recoils from those of Sunday night as the
most horrible it is possible for the magma.
ton to conceive.
The hull of the boat, it would seem, was
not injured by the explosion. for she Aoated
three or four miles down the Mississippi,
and when burnt to the waters edge, ca.
reened over and sunk. Capt. Sutherland
succeeded in saving one lady and eleven
gentleman. Thirty-6ve others were saved
by the steamer Sunny Side and several
small boats, and seventeen were landed at
Birds Point, on the Missouri side, two miles
below Cairo. Capt. S. does not know how
many of the saved were passengers and how
many were of the crew, but he thinks that
in all more than fifty lives were lost.
FIENDIsH.
Capt. Sutherland says that the steamer
Bay City had just arrived at Cairo as the
Ben Lewis left, and of course had plenty of
steam up, but the Captain utterly refused to
go to the assistance Of the burning steamer.
He would not trust his boat anywhere near
the flames. The citizens of Cairo promptly
offered to insure her, and frantic father
who had wife, son and three daughters on
board the burning vessel, offered any price,
but the hard hearted wretch refused to stir.
He was, however, soon glad to leave, for
he heard significant threats of hanging him
to the first post that could be found. The
gentleman alluded to had left the Ben Lew
is, in order to get ahead of his family to St.
Louis. Two of his daughters were saved,
one of them by Capt. Sutherland the 9TH
er daughter, the wife and son are supposed
to be lost.
NOBLE CONDUCT OF THE CITIZENS OF CAIRO
AND THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL R. R.
In contrast with the dastardly conduct of
the captain of the Bay City, it is cheering
to refer to the noble, generous acts OF the
citizens of Cairo and the officers of the Illi-
nois Central Railroad. AS the steamer
exploded about midnight the passengers
were in bed, and of the saved most of them
had on only their night clothes. The citi-
zens of Cairo at once opened clothing
store and dressed the passengers with COM
plete suits. They took the wounded to the
ST. Charles hotel and did all that it was
possible to do for them. All the passengers
were comfortably provided for. Capt.
Sutherland speaks of the conduct of the peo-
pie of Cairo in the highest possible terms.
The officers of the Illinois Central Railroad
wed with the citizens of Cairo in their at
tentions to the distressed. All who were
able were brought up to Centralia without
charge, and the spacious hotel there and its
accommodations were also rendered them
free of all expense. The Ohio and Missis~
sippi railroad doubtless passed them to St.
Louis.
Capt. Sutherland could give US but few
names. Capt. Mason, he thinks, is lost.
The clerk, Mr.. Marshall, the pilot, Mr.. Nc
Ginnis, and the mate, MIR. Kaufman, are
among the saved.