The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-01-06
STEAMBOAT EXPLOSIONS.
How and Why Mississippi Travel IL Now
Safe and Pleasant
fu....t.t H.

SPECIAL Correspondence
CAIRO, Ills. Jan. 1.-Two appalling
disasters. within a few hours, and after
an exemption 50 long that s,eambOating
had come 10 be looked on as quite as
safe as life on land, have naturally set
all our old pilots. captains and travellers
10 giving their "reminiscences. l note
two curious facts. the first that steam
boat explosions and other disasters on
the Mississippi appear to run in sets,
quite q number coming in rapid success
sion; and the second, that in many of
the worst cases no satisfactory reason
can be assigned.
While not a steamboat man, | have
several times voyaged from the head of
navigation on the Mississippi to it's
mouth. and was at one time familiar
with all its noted passenger steamers.
And noting the fact that explosions APP
pear TO como in groups, | have suspected
that the state Of the atmosphere had
some mysterious influence. There is no
"science" in this-it is only one mans
guess. Or il may be that a certain num-
Der Of boats started on their career about
the same time. and 50 their "constitu-
Once in a long time YOU will meet an
old pilot whose recollections begin with
the Helen Macgregor, which exploded
at Memphis some fifty years ago. The
cause oil the explosion was plain. The
steamer Law broadside ut the Memphis
landing while the river was falling fast;
the result was that her shore side was
hard aground, and she was careenod so
that one boiler was almost empty. while
the other was nearly full. The fires had
been kept at their highest for some time,
preparatory tOmaking a start, and when
She was worked off and took her level,
the water rushed into the empty and
Overheated boiler; the result was the in
slant creation of an excess of steam,
and an explosion which tore all that end
of the boat 20 splnters aud instantly
killed every person near.
About 1910 the great "bOOm' of New
Orleans began. and by 1880 it had
reached its elimination. This was the
era of tracing" on the Mississippi. Those
were the DAYS when we heard so much
OF "lamming in the rosin," "try some
tar" "break open them lard barrels and
heave it in, "give her more, more"
"niggcr rOOsting on the safety valve,
etc. OF course frightful accidents re-
suited; the newspapers ran crusade
against racing, and The more cOnseIya-
tive era of steambOating came I'M.
Steamboat travel on the lower Missis-
sippi, which had always been pleasure.
thCn became o poetic delight which
reused the enthusiasm of visitors from
an lands. And it was and Is peculiarly
American. Our art and orr great pub
lie buildn~f are too often poor imila-
tons Of foreign models but the Ih0mp-
SON Dean. the Richmond. the Great Re
public and their handsome rivals are
purely original. Then architecture,
from Texas 10 boiler deck, peculiarly
American, and j. almost the ouly form
in which appears a perfectly original
American system.
OF course the owners of such high
priced craft employ only the most thor
Ough engineers, the most si,llllul pilots;
and 90 the danger Of accidents Is re-
duced TO q minimum. There is really
more danger from snag5 than explosions,
Travel on the lower Mississippi Is today
the safest OF all American diversions
averaging passengers and casualties.
Even baseball is more dangerous, if
ardcntly pursued.
The work of Mississippi steamers dur
ing tho war has employed a thousand
pens. but have often wondered that so
little was said Of the steamer Sultana.
At any other time it would have been the
sensation Of the year and made the ears
of all who heard II tingle But what
did the loss of 400 men amount 10 in
April, 1865? On the 2lst Of that month
the Sultana reached Vicksburg with crew
and passengers 10 the number Of 10.
There she was boarded by 996 soldiers
and thirty-hvo officers, neaiiy all Just re-
leased from southern prisons, many suf-
fering from disease and wounds. but all
OveriOyed at thoughts of peace and
home. At 230 a. m. of the 9th, when
eight miles above Memphis, her boilers
exploded without warning and more
than half of those on board were in
stantly hurled into eternity. She was
carrying more than five times her ca
pacity, and the men were huddled to-
gether on every part Of the boat. In
few minutes she was wrapped in flames,
the survivors were afloat in the great
river, and of tho 2,14l on board only 1855
were afterwards rescued, 800 having
persisted. Il is a thrilling experience
even now to hear one of the survivors
tell Of that night c.. G. BROWNE.