The Bozeman courier., 1927-04-08

IN order, the old Virginia reel being the
IaVOrlte dance. The social feature of trip
on one OF these elegant boats was most
charming.
Causes of Wrecks
Inc machinery and boilers of the boat
were on the main deck. The latter, con-
SlSJlng OF battery of six or eight cylin-
uerS was placed over a huge furnace. The
machinery consisting of two pOnderOus
engines, ran as smoothly as the movements
OF watch, and furnished the motive power
10 turn the two immense wheels. one on
either side of the boat. The cost of such
boat as has been described was, during the
period between 1850 and 1860, from $4,000
to $75O0O
The next most common cause of acci-
dents on the Missouri. after snags and
Sunken wrecks, was fire. The cabins Of
the boats were constructed of white pine,
| as light as they could be built, and were
thoroughly saturated with lead and oil.
Constructed of such cOmbustihle material,
when once on fire the flames could not be
eXtinguished, and the vessel burned with
| life
Accidents from explosions Of boilers were
frequent in the early days of steambOating
| on the river, and the fatality in some cases
was appalling. The boat always caught
fire after the explosion, and those who
escaped immediate death were confronted
by the flames. The improvement in the
material and construction of the boiler
however, and the most rigid enforcement
of the inspection laws by the government
tended materially to decrease the number
of disasters from this cause in the last
years Of steambOating.
The "saluda" Explosion
"The most terrible disaster that ever oc
CURED on the Missouri river" says Phi
Chappell in his History of the Missouri
River" was that of the explosion of tn,
Saluda, at Lexington. Mo-, in 1852. TIL,
Saluda was a side-wheel steamer, with
battery Of two boilers, and was on her wa!
up the river, with her cabin and lowe
deck crowded with passengers, the most o
whom were MOrmOns. The river was un
usually high and the current at that plac
exceedingly swift. Capt. Francis Z. Bell
the commander of the boat, had made re
peated efforts to stem the current, but
having failed, fell back to the levee. A
last, on the morning of April 9, after wait
ing several days for the flood to subsid'
he again ordered steam raised for a inS
effort. He went to the englne-rOOm, ant
looking up at the steam gauge, asked I'll
, engineer how much more pressure 81
could stand. On being answered that ST
= had already every pound of steam that
= was safe to carry, he said: FIJI her up; pl
on more steam, and remarked to the eI
} gineer that he would round the point
blow her to HI He then returned to Il
hurricane roof, rang the bell, and gave Il
. order to cast loose the line
t The bow Of the boat swung gently o.
into the stream and was caught by Il
Icurrent. The engine made but one revOl
ton; then came a terrific crash, and all w
h chaos. darkness, and death The numb
n of those who lost their lives was nev
known. About 100 bodies were recOvere
and it was supposed that there were
l. many more victims whose bodies we
= blown into the river and never recOvere
|, Nearly all the officers of the boat we
Y killed, among them Captain Belt. He W
e at his post on the hurricane roof, standil
e with his arm resting on the bell, when t
# explosion occurred and was blown hi
is up on the bank. His body when fOu
[, was a mangled mass of flesh and BON
a The bell which had just sounded the dea:
h knell of so many souls was sold with
e wreckage to an old German, who afterwa
d sold it to the Christian church at Savanna
y Mo-, where it was hung in the belfry
IN more than a century. On any Saba
al morning its clear, silvery peals can
" heard, but it is doubtful if there is G
is among all those who are called to
n house Of God who knows anything Of
ly tragic history"
H. Fort Benton
s. A very large percentage Of boats engae
he In the Missouri river trade were su
de sooner or later, and while this entaileo
IS heavy loss ranging in each instance fr
of $4,000 to 100000 for boat and car
er nevertheless the profits were so great
he to make the speculation a good one on
ng average For some years after 1866
es. overland route to the Montana gold ne
was virtually abandoned. leaving the N