Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1868-01-09
STEAMBOAT ACCIDENT
Loss OF Life and Fatal Inj~ries.
rom tn. Oincinnati Gazetts, Of afonddv.

From ns Cincinnati Gazette, Of Monday.
The stern wheel steamer Harry Dehn,
plying recently as regular weekly pack
ct between Cincinnati and Marietta, on
her way down on Saturday morning, with
small passenger list and a heavy freight
trip, including four hundred barrels Of
oil, upon reaching the bend two miles
below Gallipolis, exploded her boilers,
scattering portions OF the boat and somo
of her passengers in every direction in
the water. Captain Burch, of Marietta,
the oldest pilot on the river, being near
ly 80 years of age, although seriously
and guided the boat until she struck the
Virginia shore. The oil on the boat soon
ignited, and she was burned to the wa
ter's edge. Hh Vs1AtA
The scene Is described as horrible in
the extreme. Several of the sufferers lay
scorched, blackened and burned upon
the burning mass, with sufficient con-
sclousness to be aware of still greater
calamity, their total annihilation by fire.
Many were struggling in the river, and
endeavoring to reach spar or piece of
the wreck to aid them. tn l.ht
The books and papers of the boat were
all lost. So also was her cargo, consist
ing OF oil, potatoes, salt, apples, etc.
were about twenty five passengers on
board-a smaller number than tile Harry
Dean usually has, which is fortunate
circumstance Among those who lost
their lives by the accident we have heard
of the following: Major j. w. Ryder, of
the firm of Ryder & Caswell, near Guy
andotte, killed and body lost; Captain
| George w. Norton, of Ironton,, Killed
and body lost; Captain II. NJ. Biggs, of
Ashland, KY, Killed and body lost.
| Those known to have been injured
were Mr. Horatio Booth, clerk Of the
boat, and son, both slightly wounded
Pilot John Levissy, Harry bays and En-
| gineer Chamberlain, slightly wounded;
Captain Burch (pilot), severely but not
fatally wounded; Mr.. Burns, OF Parkers-
burg, badly burned; John Haines, fire.
man, fatally, arms broken and body bad
| ly burned; Mr.. Muncy, barber, seriously
and probably fatally; John Ryan, WASH
ington Co., Ohio, leg broken and badly
| burned; J. J. Brown, formerly Of the
36th Ohio Regiment, arms broken and
otherwise injured; Mr.. Buchanan, deck
hand, burned to death. Two deck hands,
names unknown, were also burned to
death. The second steward and cook are
missing, in addition to four more, and
] OtC SuPPOoSu w OC loobs W. HlcIl were
thrown from the boat into the river, but,
.clinging to pieces of the wreck, escaped
unharmed to the shore. A number were
injured slightly, who are not reported.
The Harry Dean was owned BY Capts.
Dan. f. Sayre, Horatio Booth, Henry
Chaplin, Levi Barnes, pilots John Lewis
sey and Hiram Burch, and Ben. Hull, OF
Marietta, and Harnlar, and was valued
al $4,000. She was insured for $4,000
but her loss being by explosion, her own.
ers recover nothing.
The Harry Dean, formerly the Ohio
Valley, was built Mt Cincinnati, by Cap
tain Chaplin, In October, 1853, and during
the war was one OF the fleet of Govern.
ment gunboats. After doing considera.
bic service, she was rebuilt ut Cincinnati
and run In the Dean Limo to Memphis
as a regular packet. She afterward piled
between. Arkansas and White rivers and
New Orleans. After the burning of the
w. +. Curtis, at Marietta, last summer
the Harry Dean was purchased of the
Dean Line by parties at Marietta, whose
names are given above, and has beer
making successful trips nearly ever since
1 Her boilers and machinery were regard
cd as good. We have ifo particulars a.
to the cause of the accident.