Information on early steamboats and those who operated and traveled on them can be found in a number of sources. My personal preference are law suits and there depositions of witnesses. Newspapers are an excellent source as well as the reports of the local steamboat inspectors which were sometimes printed in the papers Beginning in 1853 the supervising inspector for each district met with his counterparts in a major city within one of the districts. Here they submitted "their annual report of the operation of the steamboat law of August 30, 1852, and their own proceedings and those of the local boards during the past year." These summaries were in turn printed in the annual "Report of the Secretary of the Treasury of the State of the Finances." The following is taken from the report for the year ending June 30, 1860;
"By far the most serious accident by explosion of inspected passenger steamers during the past year is that of the explosion of the boiler or boilers (for the boilers having sunk, and not yet been raised, it is not known whether one or more exploded) of the steamer ‘Ben Lewis,’ about one o’clock on the morning of the 25th of June last, at the mouth of the Ohio river, and but a few moments after leaving the landing at Cairo. The steamer also took fire from the explosion, and was burned to the water’s edge.
This explosion caused much excitement and indignation, not only by the loss of life directly resulting from the explosion, but from the greatly increased loss of life by the drowning of those who, after the explosion, were compelled by the fire to leap in the river and endeavor to reach shore.
At the Cairo landing, which was a short distance from the exploded steamer, were steamboats having steam up, small boats, and other conveniences for rendering assistance to the injured and saving the lives of those driven into the water; but so little were they availed of, or so great was the delay in proceeding to the rescue, that many of them were drowned, before assistance reached them, who were comparatively uninjured by the explosion. Indeed, in one case of a steamboat just arrived at the landing, and with steam up, relief was positively refused by the captain. The officers and crew, after urging the captain by every consideration that could be presented to start out his steamboat to the aid of the injured and drowning, and his refusal, took possession of the small boats and proceeded to the scene of the explosion, and were successful in saving many lives.
It is supposed that not more than one-fourth of the total loss of life was the direct result of the explosion; the remainder were driven overboard and drowned.
The conduct of the captain alluded to has been condemned in the severest terms, as not only the most common dictates of humanity should have led him to render all possible assistance to the sufferers, but he was, in addition, urged and implored by those surrounding him, and by every consideration that should influence a human being, even appealing to his cupidity by offers of compensation, guarantee, &c., to the fullest extent; but all was of no avail. Since the accident, this man has been publicly censured and repudiated by the whole community, and especially by those more immediately connected with steam navigation; so that, as the result, he has been compelled to give up his steamboat and abandon the river.
The investigation of this explosion has been commenced by the board of inspectors at St. Louis, but is not yet completed, as they desire to examine the remains of the boilers before making their report.
The circumstances attending this disaster, as set forth in the testimony already given, were as follows: The boat was on her trip from Memphis to St. Louis, and had made a landing at Cairo of fifteen to thirty minutes; they had started out again on her route, (whilst at the landing at Cairo the second engineer, then on watch, blew off a large quantity of water from the boilers,) and as the boat struck the current of the Mississippi river, when passing out of the Ohio, she was careened down very much. As soon as she was fairly headed to the current, she again righted, and the explosion immediately occurred.
It appears, further, from the evidence, that the second engineer, then on watch, had been frequently noticed to run with water lower and carry a higher pressure of steam than was done when the chief engineer was on watch; in fact, an engineer, who was a passenger on board, had noticed this state of things, and had warned a friend of his (also on board) to be on his guard when the second engineer was on watch.
Without wishing to anticipate the report of the local board engaged in investigating this matter, we may say that, from the evidence already received, there can be but little doubt that the water in the boilers was blown down to so low a point that when the boat struck the current of the Mississippi and careened, a portion of the flues was laid bare, and when the boat again righted, and the water returned over the bare and heated flues, the generation of steam was too rapid to be relieved by the safety valves, and the explosion followed.
By this explosion and the fire resulting therefrom twenty-three persons lost their lives by the explosion and drowning; among the former was the second engineer, on watch, who paid for his temerity the forfeit of his life."
