Between four and five o’clock, in the afternoon of July 1st, 1845, the steamer Marquitte, Capt. Turpin, was about leaving the wharf at New Orleans. Her last bell had rung, and the hands had begun to cast off the moorings, when it was ascertained that the cook was on shore. The boat waited for him about fifteen minutes, during which time no steam was blown off, or passed through the cylinders. The cook having arrived, the steamer began to back out from the wharf, and when the paddle-wheels had made three or four revolutions, all the boilers exploded simultaneously, producing a sound which was heard in the most distant parts of the city. The pilot, Mr. Frederick Ostrander, who was at the wheel, was blown to a considerable distance, and fell on the hurricane deck of the steamer Yazoo City. One of his thighs was dislocated and his hip broken by the fall. It is mentioned as a remarkable circumstance, that Mr. Ostrander’s hat was blown in an opposite direction, and fell on another boat. The pilot house which this gentleman bad occupied, after ascending to a great height, caine down on the forecastle of the steamer James Pitcher, occasioning some damage to that vessel. The wheel, (or a part of the steering apparatus,) which Mr. Ostrander held at the time of the explosion, appears to have been annihilated, as not the smallest fragment of it could be found afterwards. Mr. Powell, the second pilot, who was sitting on the boiler-deck, reading a newspaper, was never seen after the explosion. The cook was cut in two by a piece of the boiler; one part of his body was blown forward near the jack-staff, and the other part remained near the machinery. Capt. Turpin himself received an injury in the thigh, but was still active in affording his assistance to the other sufferers. Capt. B. M. Martin, of the Belle Poule, was wounded by a piece of the boiler, and died a few hours after. At least forty-five others were killed, and comparatively few of their names, (as usual in such eases,) are on record. The universal excitement and consternation which prevail on board of the vessel where an explosion takes place, renders an accurate statement of particulars almost impossible. After the explosion, the boat drifted a short distance down the stream and sunk. All the cargo was lost.
The ladies and children in the cabin escaped injury, except a small girl, who was badly scalded. One dead body was taken from the wreck; it was that of a man who had his legs literally blown away, and was otherwise mangled. Three others died in a short time. Two of the dead bodies remained all night in the watch-house yard, exposed until eleven o’clock next day, in order to be recognized by their friends, if possible. The officers of the boat were Robert Smith, first mate, slightly scalded; J. F. Lee, clerk, bruised; John Orrick, bar-keeper, badly hurt; Samuel Hays, first engineer, scalded ; John Hazzard, second engineer, killed ; Hannibal, a slave of the captains, killed ; Theodore Ostrander, pilot, severely hurt; Mr. Powell, second pilot, lost; George W. Wood-hull, clerk of the steamer Belle Poule, killed; Luther Hathaway, mate of tile same boat, badly injured; John Milton, New Albany, Ind., killed; Mr. Martin, Tenn., badly scalded; Mrs. Decker anti child, killed.
KILLED.–Z.. Vanstover, Hermann, Mo. ; Mrs. Lecrist, Louisville; 0. Doughty, P. Fishback and N. Drake, Cincinnati, Ohio; B. Williamson, St. Louis; D. B. Short, South Carolina; Miss Tree, England; three firemen, names unknown; Dunn O’Flaretyand Patrick Murphy, belonging to the boat; M. Music, New York; Andrew Dearborn, New Castle, Ind. ; Dennis Cochran and Samuel Felt, Maine; Thomas Farrell, Rhode Island; Simpson, Texas; ‘W. E. Wilbur, New Orleans; A. Spotts, Ala.; F. Hogart, Evansville, Ind.; -Franklin, Tenn.; Hilburn Carter and D. Epsome, Canada; besides several others whose bodies were not recognized after being taken from the water.
Cabin Passengers Saved.-Miss McCord and child, Miss Lydia Page, Miss Sarah Smith and Mrs. Harriet Cook, all of Mobile; and Miss Elmira Lacy, Cincinnati, Ohio.