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Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== New Orleans Daily Crescent Tuesday, 1 March, 1859 EXPLOSION OF THE STEAMBOAT PRINCESS GREAT LOSS OF LIFE At about 10 o'clock on Sunday morning last the steamboat Princess, CAPTAIN JACKSON, on her way to this city from Vicksburg, exploded when opposite Conrad's Point, about eight miles below Baton Rouge. The forward part of the boat was blown to a complete wreck, and a great number of persons were instantly killed; others, as the boat drifted to the shore, jumped overboard, some of whom were drowned. The mate and some of the men succeeded in getting a line ashore and made fast, and most of the passengers who were uninjured or had not been killed outright got safetly ashore. In the meantime the wreck was rapidly being en- veloped in flames, and soon after floated away and was totally destroyed. The loss of life by this disaster was very great, but by no means so large as represented at first, there not having been, we are informed, more than 200 passengers on board. The ladies, of whom but few were injured, acted with the utmost coolness, while performing the diffucult feat of getting ashore, and, but for that fact, the list of casualties would have been much larger that it is. No- thing in the clerk's office was saved, and consequently the loss of life cannot be known with certainty; it is variously estimated at forty, sixty, and by some as high as eighty. The clerk, MR. JAMES IZOD, fell through the shattered floor of the cabin, where he was so badly burned and scalded, that he cannot probably recover. MR. GEORGE CASE, assistant pilot of the Princess, was blown overboard by the explosion and picked up from the river. He arrived on the Empress yesterday evening, and is said to be much bruised, but not seriously injured. The Empress and the Kate Dale brought down a number of the sufferers yesterday evening, and some of them presented a shocking spectacle. The Empress had on board the first and second mates and fifteen firemen and deck hands of the Princess, all badly scalded or burned, and also the dead body of a deck hand named SULLIVAN. The Kate Dale brought to the city the following persons from the Princess: Edward Quigg, barkeeper; A. Q. Carley, assistant bar- keeper; Mr. Kingston, painter, Common street, N.O., and Henry Brown, f.m.c, all died before reaching the city. Mr. Cockburn, of the house of Oakey, Hawkins & Co., badly scalded; negro man Smith, of Captain Ure, badly scalded; negro man of T. L. McGill, badly scalded; a deck hand, name unknown, badly scalded; Mrs. B. J. Butler, of Vicks- burg, slightly hurt; Mrs. Murphy, of Natchez, uninjured; Mrs. Porter, of Black Hawk Point, uninjured; Mr. Bledsoe and son, of Black Hawk Point, uninjured. The telegraph yesterday furnished the following additional names of the lost and missing: A son of W. B. Stuart, of Fayette, Miss. Mr. Brandon, clerk of the Court, Natchez. Two brothers, of the name of Marks, of Fayette, Miss. James Yale and W. L. Glover of Natchez. Col. Coffey, of Grand Gulf. Dr. Richards, of Pointe Coupee John M. Bell, of New Orleans H. W. Sherbourne, of Baton Rouge Charles Bannister, Representative from New Orleans L. Huard, Representative from New Orleans Captain Jackson, Messrs. John Clark, Claxton Taylor, of Baton Rouge. The assistant engineer of the Princess was cut in two and otherwise dreadfully mutilated. One of the pilots of Princess is among the lost. The following persons were badly scaled: James Izod, clerk of the Princess. L. H. Lurty, L. D. Brewer and W. B. Philips, of Bayou Sara. Messrs. Hall, Wilcox and Rodney. Jos. Clark, second clerk. J. F. Scott, of Tensas. Augustus de Lee, of Clinton. F. Surget, of Natchez J. J. Hodges, of Franklin, Miss Mr. Cockburn, connected with the house of Oakey & Hawkins, of this city. Mr. Harbour, Point Coupee; M. Vigne, ditto. F. A. Cheatham, Baton Rouge George Evans, Natchez J. M. Carr, New Carthage Philip Stephens, Baton Rouge H. B. Murphy, St. Louis Anderson, colored waiter. C. M. Kingston, of New Orleans Sam. Waits, of Virginia Edward Quig, barkeeper of the Princess Mr. Baxter, of Rapides Judge Boyce and nephew; J. D. Corneaux and Mr. Murphy, of Baton Rouge; Mr. Alley, ditto. BATON ROUGE, Feb. 28 - Messrs. Hodges and Murphy, who were wounded, died of their injuries last night. Mr. Reeves is doing well, with a prospect of recovering. Mr. Laville rested well, but both of his legs are crushed. Three of the wounded, whose names are unknown, died last night. The following persons are reported with legs broken and variously injured otherwise: L. V. Reeves, Representative from Tensas F. C. Laville, Representative from New Orleans F. Davenport, of Natchez The following persons are hurt, but not seriously: Judge Farrar, Pointe Coupee; Philip Brandon, Washington, Miss.; Miss Lizzie Stone, Natchez; F. J. Surget, Natchez; Mrs. Reeves, Tensas; Mr. Delany, Baton Rouge; Judge Burke, Baton Rouge; Mr. Brewer's servant. The following persons who were injured have since died: J. W. Seymour, of Baton Rouge, and Mr. Calhoun, of Kentucky. The boat was crowded with ladies, who occupied half of the gentlemen's cabins. Those who were saved at all were generally but little injured. The boat and cargo ar an utter loss. Notheing whatever was saved. The steamers R. W. McRae, Natchez and Peerless, bound up, took on board the remaining survivors, most of whom were conveyed to Baton Rouge. The Princess was one of the finest and swiftest packets on the river, and was a favorite with the traveling pub- lic. What amount of cargo she had we did not learn, but it is said that she had on board about 1800 bales cotton, and Capt. Dillon, of the steamer Morning Light, states that he passed floating bales of burning cotton, within thirty miles of the city. For a great distance below the scene of the disaster the river and shores were strewn with smoking fragments of the wreck. Further particulars of this melancholy catastrophe will be seen under the telegraphic head. ------------------------------------------------------------- THE KILLED AND WOUNDED Further Particulars of Steamboat Disaster Baton Rouge, Feb. 28. - Among the large number killed by the explosion of the Princess are A. W. Delie, of Clinton; Mr. Cahoun, of Kentucky; and Messrs. Huad, Cahoun, and Atkinson, residences not ascertained. Mr. F. A. Chatham is alive, but his recovery is considered hopeless. Mr. F. A. Laville is also still living but has lost both legs and his recovery is considered doubtful. A large number of bodies are still being found whose names we have not yet been able to ascertain. Among the bodies found is one supposed to be the remains of Mr. Shesburn (sic?). Latest from the Scene of the Explosion. Baton Rouge, Feb. 29. - It is impossible to give full particulars of the terrible disaster to the steamer Princess, which has spread such gloom over our community. Those who witnessed the explosion uninjured describe it as appalling in the extreme. No one knows the real cause of the explosion - there are a thousand and one reports in regard to it, the most probable of which is the following: The Princess was considerably behind her usual time - the weather was cloudy and foggy and the officers of the boat wer anxious to reach New Orleans punctually. A few moments before the explosion it was noticed that there was an unusual pressure of steam on - too much for safety - and it was not let off. The engineer is also reported to have said that he would reach New Orleans at a certain hour or blow up the boat. Incidents of the Explosion. At the time of the explosion Messrs. Canonge, Bannister, Laville and Huard were sitting in the gentlemen's cabin, immediately over the boilers, conversing together. Mr. Canonge, together with the chair in which he was sit- ting, was thrown by the explosion back into the ladies cabin unhurt and found himself landed squarely sitting in the same chair. (Rather a tough story.) Mrs. Morton, who was saved, had a son with her about two years of age who was picked up some nine miles from the scene of the disas- ter below the wreck, and found to be entirely uninjured. One Hundred Wounded. Messrs. Brewer and Lurty are reported among the dead at Bayou Sara. The despair and gloom which pervades our community can- not be described. Among the saved there were probably one hundred more or less wounded. Many of these have since died at the various places to which they were carried, but it is impossible to get a full and correct list of the saved or lost. The Prin- cess had more passengers on board than she was ever known to carry before. Noble Conduct of other Steamers The steamers R. W. McRae, the Natchez and the Sunny South acted nobly in rendering aid to the distracted passengers. They remained alongside the burning steamer as long as they could be of any service in rescuing the unfortunate victims, and to those whom they saved they threw open their pantries and state rooms, and offered them every comfort within their power. ===============================================================================