The Van Buren press., 1866-03-17
Great Destruction of Steamboats, and
Loss of Life.

Almost every paper We open. contains
accounts of disasters to steamboats, on the
Ohio and Mississippi rivers. There seems to
be carnival of death and destruction abroad,
Now is it the officers and employees that are
culpable or not? We do not pretend knowl-
edge as to who are really the bldmablc par
ties, bnt of one thing we are certain. howey-
er. and that is that all concerned should be
held to strict accountability. Lives
should not be thus mercicSSly sacrificed with
out some examination into the matter and
manner thereof
Besides the late explosions of the Missouri,
and Il. W. Carter and Miami, we notice the
explosion, on the lth inst, of the steamer RI.
Lockwood, which occurred eighteen miles be-
low Memphis, killing at least twenty persons,
and scalding and injuring twenty-five more.
On the 22d ult. the Winchester took fire and
was burned on the Ohio river, below Wheel
inc, and fifteen lives lost. The Mamie Byers
was sunk, a few days since, in the Ohio. near
Madison, Ia, by collision with the {. f Hill
man. causing a loss of twelve or fifteen souls,
and tho ioss to the survivors of all they lad
in the way of baggage, except that they had
on their persons.
On the 22d ult. a destructive fire occurred at
the st. Louis leyec by which four of the lar
gest and finest Mississippi steamboats, were
destroyed, involving a loss of $4,000. We
copy the following account of their destruc-
ton from the St. Louis Republican, of the 27tl
ult.:
At 10 o'clock last night fire was discover
ed bursting from the cOOk-houSe of the stea-
mer PeytOna. lying at the foot of Walnut-st
The flames spread with incredible rapidity
the crew who were nearly all Oh board, having
barely time-many of them to escape witt
thelr lives. Almost in an instant the bells OF
the city rang ont the alarm, and as the flames
spread and assumed the proportions of q
great and disastrous contagrat ion, Il scene OF
much excitement prevailed along the levee
such as has probably never been occasioned by
any former conilagmtion in our city since
1919. In less than half an hour four magniti-
cent steamers, among the finest and largest
on the Western waters, were cnveloped to-
gcther in onerbroad sheet of flame. which, as
cendlng toward the skies threw its glaring
light far abroad upon the river and over the
opposite shore, and warned spectators who
were at distance of the extent of the disas-
ter. Whilst the flames were still running
along the length of the Peytonl and her crew
were seen wildly rushing to and fro and lea
ping from the guards upon the adjoining
steamboats,, the crowds Of men and women on
shore were fastening toward the scene of the
conflagration from all directions, and in a
short time amultitudc of more than ten thou
sand people were tllronging the I.evee. The
flames OF the Peytona tapping over on both
sides. soon involved in one mass of fire the
superb steamers Luna and Lcviathan, lying
above her and the Dictator, lying alongside
toward the south. In the coarse of three
quarters of an hour all four were burned &c
the waters edge #ni'
All the boats excepting the Dictator, were
valued as follows: ..., ... E5 'n
Peytona, Capt. Wesley Connor, Sl25,000;
Luna, Capt. Pat. Yore, 100000: and the Le-
viathan, Capt. Pegram, the largest boat even
built in a Western river. sold at auction aftcl
the death of her builder, Capt. Ambrose ii
Reeder, at $ll9,O0O, but cost much more, and
was valued at more than that sum.
The Dictator was valued, we believe. at
$l6O,OOO or SlS0,O00. and insured for Sll2,5OC
III Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. She was own
eel by Z. j. Callrey 4 Co., of this city. and
capt. W. b. Donaldson, her commander. The
Luna, we may add, has sunk at the landing.
The ozark will, hereafter. run in the Mem
plliS trade as will be seen by reference to our