On the 4th day of May, 1817, while the steamer Constitution was ascending the Mississippi river, and when she was off Point Coupee, the boiler exploded, making the whole front part of the cabin a perfect wreck, and killing or wounding thirty persons, eleven of whom perished instantly. As soon as the terrific report of the explosion was heard on board, numbers of the excited passengers threw themselves into the rapid current, and many were drowned or wafted down the stream before assistance could reach them. The shrieks of the wounded and dying were reverberated from the distant shores, and many a ghastly and heart-sickening spectacle presented itself on the deck of the ill-fated vessel. One man had been completely submerged in the boiling liquid which inundated the cabin, and in his removal to the deck, the skin
had separated from the entire surface of his body. The unfortunate wretch was literally boiled alive, yet although his flesh parted from his bones, and his agonies were most intense, he survived and retained all his consciousness for several hours. Another passenger was found lying aft of the wheel with an arm and a leg blown off, and as no surgi
cal aid could be rendered him, death from loss of blood soon ended his sufferings. Miss C. Butler, of Massachusetts, was so badly scalded, that, after lingering in unspeakable agony for three hours, death came to her relief. Many were drowned whose names do not appear in the subjoined list of those who perished by this disaster; Besides, many of the victims were so mutilated and disfigured, that their bodies could not be identified; and owing to these causes the list may be considered as very incomplete.
Capt. Bezeau and lady, with some others, were fortunate enough to escape unhurt, being forward when the explosion took place. The following are the names of those who were killed:
William Yarnall, Va.; F. Frazier, Gibson Port, M. P.; Thomas Brown, Scotland; Wm. McFarland, Washington Co., Ky.; Joseph D. Wilson, James Carpenter, Md.; Alexander Philpot, ilenry Co., Va.; William Steel, Warrenton, M. P.; Peter Huber, N. 0. and Baltimore; Robert Robertson, 18 years old;’ William Larkin, silversmith Natchez; Amos Shorter, Wm. Albright, David Young, Theodore Wright, Mrs. Yaneey, of Pittsburgh; Mrs. 4my Farmer, Patrick Dougherty, Waldo Green, W. Wheeler, John Durrick, Augustus Baer, and Dennis Fryer.
The Constitution, formerly called the Oliver Evans, was built at Pittsburgh only a short time before this fatal explosion. At that period she was one of the finest boats on the river.