The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1866-06-05
The Steamboat Disaster /!
Details of the Destruction of
the City of Memphis.
STATEMENTS OF THE CAP
TAIN AND PASSENGERS.
LIST oF CASUALTIES

The city OF Memphis was valued at
$50, 600, and was insured In Cincinnati
offices to the amount of $4,000. She
was built at Pittsburg by Captain j .
p. Cooks, in 1857, and her boilers
from the wreck of the steamer Crystal
Palace-were built seven years previ-
Gus at the same place; consequently
the boilers of the City of Memphis
were sixteen years old at the time of
the explosion She had been con-
demned several times, we understand,
but why she was bought again and
again we are unable to say, At the
time of the explosion she had thirty
two cabin passengers and about sixty
deck passengers; and with the officers
and crew of the boat there must have
been two hundred souls on board. All
the proof goes to show. very plainly
that she was carrying but l15 pounds
of steam. Those who witnessed the
explosion say it did not have as much
force as to make as loud report as
might beexpected from boat having
such large boilers.
The name of Mrs. Mary Taylor,
published yesterday as being drowned,
was erroneous. The following are
the statements of persons on board at
the time of the occurrence. Statement
by Dr. James Smythe: Heard a con
versation between the engineers; the
head engineer knew the capacity of
these boilers, and would not stand
under any circumstance more than a
hundred and fifteen pounds. These
boilers, said the engineer, were put up
for hundred aud seventy pounds, but
under the circumstances would not
allow her to carry that amount, no
matter how long it takes her to get to
the end of her journey DIR. Smythe
said that the fire on the boat could
have been entirely extinguished if
prompt steps had been taken by both
passengers and crew, as it was half an
hour after the explosion occurred
before the fire got under Roadway.
There were ten kegs of powder on
board, which Captain Thompson had
the deck hands throw overheard.
The packing blew out the day pre-
vious to the explosion, and made a
very loud report, frightening almost
all the passengers on the boat
dent occurred about breakfast time.
| had eaten and went on the guards
and sat on the railing opposite the
gangway. On the larboard side of the
boat, near the escape pipe, L had just
asked a gentleman for pipe, and he
went to his state-rOom and got it, and
when he was gone [ heard the en-
gineer try one of the gauges. 1t did
not blow as if there was sufficient
water in the boiler, but sounded dry,
just about enough for the engineer to
turn ON the other cock before the ex-
plosion occurred.
STATEMENT OF MRS. CARRIE TAYLOR.
The explosion occurred at eight
o'clock in the morning. | was at the
time setting at the breakfast table;
the first thing [ knew of the explosion
was crashing noise and the falling
of the chandelier. The cabin was
pretty full of people. There were
about ID ladies in the cabin, and
few children. The explosion, think,
must have occurred toward the back
end of the boilers, the force of the
explosion sending the cabin about
midship. After the explosion / put
on my life preserver, after which
got to the lower deck by means of
board. | stood on the lower deck un-
til the flames completes me to jump
in the river, when | got hold of a
plank, by which means [ was enabled
to get ashore.
/ can not tell the cause of the ex-
plosiOn. 1t is said the boilers were
leaking. | heard that the passengers
said that the boat did not go fast
enough, to which the engineers re-
piled that they would not put any
more steam on, as the boilers could
not stand it. Captain Thompson de-
serves great credit for this conduct on
the occasion. The flames on the boat
did not gain Roadway until fifteen
minutes after the explosion. / do not
think they could have been put out
by any means. | noticed that the
sparks were scattered pretty we'll all
through the ruins of the cabin, texas,
&C., the most of which was all piled
together The City of Memphis had
six boilers, and at the time of the ex-
plosion had not more than 115 pounds
of steam.
CAPTAIN THoMPsoN's STATEMENT.
We left New Orleans Friday even
ing the Goth, at 6 o'clock, with large
freight, forty cabin passengers and
sixty deck passengers. We put off
and took on as we came up, and had
about the same number at the time of
the explosion. Nothing particular
occurred during the trip up, except
ing that we passed safely through one
storm. I did not apprehend any dan
ger. The engines worked well, and
there were no signs of a leak in any
one of the boilers. The day before
the explosion the first engineer came
to me and said remarks had been
made by the passengers about the