1871 — Jan 28, steamer W. R. Arthur boilers explode/fire, MS riv., Isl. #40, ~Memphis TN–45-66

–45-66 Blanchard estimated death toll.*

— 87 New York Times. “Further Details of the Terrible Occurrence…,” Jan 30, 1871, p. 5.
— 87 Simonds. The American Date Book. 1902, p. 101.
— 87 Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “Another Steamboat Disaster…,” Feb 28, 1871, p. 7.
— 80 U. S. Central Publishing Co. Important Events of the Century: 1776-1876, p. 156.
–70-80 Algona Upper Des Moines, IA. “The Steamer W. R. Arthur,” Feb 8, 1871, p. 1.
–70-80 Bragg. Historic Names…Lower Mississippi River. “Islands No. 40 and 41,”1977, p. 73.
— 70 Janesville Gazette, WI. “Loss of the Steamer R. R. Arthur,” Feb 1, 1871, p. 1, col. 1.
— >66 Sanders. “The River…pursuing mystery related to 1871 steamboat explosion…” 1-12-2020.
— 1 First Mate Miller Allen
— 1 First Clerk John Bowman
–10 Cabin crew
–30 Deck “gang”
— 6 Firemen
–15 Deck passengers
–>3 Several cabin passengers (we convert “several into “three” to contribute to tally).
— ~60 Gould, E. W. Fifty Years on the Mississippi. 1889, p. 436.
— 60 Iowa State Reporter. “Chronological List of the Leading Events of 1871.” 1-10-1872, 2.
— 60 NYT. “Steamboat Disaster…Terrible Scene of Death on the Mississippi.” 1-29-1871, p1.
— 60 Wisconsin State Journal (Madison). “A Terrible Steamboat Disaster,” Jan 30, 1871, 1.
–32-60 New York Herald. “The Mississippi Disaster,” Feb 2, 1871, p. 5.
–40-50 Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels. Proceedings of Twentieth… 1872, 195.
— 45 Lytle and Holdcamper. Merchant Steam Vessels of the [U.S.] 1807-1868. 1952, p. 271.
— 45 Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats…[MS Riv. Sys.]… 1999, p477.
— 30 Evening Gazette, Port Jervis, NY. “Another Mississippi Horror.” Jan 31, 1871, p. 1.
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* Blanchard estimated death toll. Given the lack of consensus on the death toll from the sources cited we choose to employ a death-toll range. For the low-end of the range we choose to use Lytle and Holdcamper and Way (and we note the Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels employed a range of 40-50). For the high-end of the range we rely on the breakout of deaths (66) presented by Sanders. We do not use the higher estimates in that they are, with the exception of Bragg, all newspaper or periodical reports at the time. Our experience in steamboat incidents covered by Bragg is that he tends to rely on newspaper reports for fatalities. And our experience is that early newspaper and periodical reports tend to be adjusted over time.

Narrative Information

Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels: “The steamer W. R. Arthur, owned and inspected at Saint Louis, exploded her boilers (five in number) on the morning of the 28th of January, with terrific force, completely destroying the steamer and killing some forty or fifty persons. This case was investigated by the local inspectors at Memphis, Tennessee, and, after a laborious examination of all the facts that could be brought to light and all the witnesses that could be found, the inspectors decided that the primary cause of the explosion was reckless engineering, and, as a penalty for the same, the license of one of the engineers was revoked for life and the other suspended for one year. They have appealed from the decision of the local inspectors, and I will review the case gain as early as practicable.” (Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels. Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Meeting of the Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels…1872. 1872, p. 195.)

Bragg: “…the passengers on board the W. R. Arthur were less fortunate than those who had been saved by Captain Casey’s cool courage [1842 fire on the Gen. Pratte in about the same place]. The W. R. Arthur had about 130 people on board when the boat’s boilers exploded at the foot of Island No. 40 on January 29, 1871. The steamer caught fire immediately after the explosion, panic ensued, and only 50 or 60 of the passengers survived the holocaust.” (Bragg. Historic Names… Lower Mississippi River. “Islands No. 40 and No. 41,”1977, p. 73.)

Gould: “January 27 [sic], W.R. Arthur, from New Orleans to St. Louis exploded her boilers about twenty miles above Memphis. Was totally destroyed by burning, and about sixty people lost their lives.” (Gould, E. W. Fifty Years on the Mississippi. 1889, p. 436.)

US Central Publishing: “Jan. 28. – Eighty persons killed by the explosion of the steamboat W. R. Arthur, near Memphis, Tenn.” (U. S. Central Publishing Co. Important Events of the Century: 1776-1876, p. 156.)

Way: W. R. Arthur. Sidewheel wood-hull packet built in Shousetown, PA and Louisville, KY, in 1864. “….Exploded boilers upbound abreast of Island 40 on Jan. 28, 1871. She had on board 1000 tons molasses and sugar and 1066 bales of cotton; had 75 cabin passengers and 20 on deck. Capt. Harry W. Brolaski was her master. George Ritchie, pilot on watch, was blown to the hurricane roof, jumped overboard, and clung to a cotton bale until rescued. The burning boat floated to Redman’s Point where she sank with the bow under water and the stern high in the air. Death toll was set at 45….Later investigation showed that five of the six boilers exploded; one was found badly twisted, gouged, but otherwise intact. The Memphis U. S. Inspectors revoked the license of George Reed, chief engineer, and suspended for 60 days the license of Hugh Reed (brother), 2nd engineer.” (Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats of the Mississippi River System Since the Advent of Photography in Mid-Continent America (Revised). 1999, p. 477.)

Newspapers at the Time

Jan 28: “Memphis, Jan 28. – The steamer W. R. Arthur, from New Orleans for Louisville, with 45 cabin and 40 deck passengers on board, exploded her boiler 14 miles above this city at 1:30 o’clock this morning. After the explosion the boat took fire, but through the exertions of the crew and passengers the flames were extinguished. The vessel floated down the river on the bar and sunk. The night was dark, and after the explosion most of the passengers rushed down to the lower deck, many in their confusion jumping into the river. When the bow sank, the waves swept from the lower deck all who had gathered there.

“The tugs Little Grant and Report and the ferry boat Excelsior were sent to the scene of the disaster, and returned with sixty, of the passengers, most of whom were wounded. Several persons were picked up torn cotton bales and planks on the way. Two bodies were brought down on the Excelsior. The officers of the Excelsior saw several bodies in the wreck under the debris, but the wounded were suffering so much from the cold that they did not wait to cut them out.

“Capt. Henry Brolaski, the commander, says he had retired a half an hour before the explosion, and felt himself lifted up and knocked down by the stairs of the texas, which jell upon him. He extricated himself, wife, and child. Had the cabin passengers remained in the cabin all would have been saved, but, owing to the fright, nearly all rushed down stairs.

“Five of the passengers took a life boat immediately after the explosion, went ashore, and then turned the boat adrift. They were afterward picked up by the steamer Excelsior, but were strongly denounced by the remaining survivors, who talked of lynching them.

“Nothing was saved from the boat, the passengers barely escaping in the clothes they had on. From present information, it is almost certain that thirty lives were lost, while upward of seventy have been saved, many of whom are burned so badly that they cannot recover….” (Evening Gazette, Port Jervis, NY. “Another Mississippi Horror.” Jan 31, 1871, p. 1, c. 5.)

Jan 29: “Memphis, Jan. 29….It is now believed that eighty-seven lives were lost by the disaster.” (Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “Another Steamboat Disaster…,” Feb 28, 1871, p. 7.)

Jan 30: “….Capt. Brakaloski says: ‘We had 45 cabin and 40 deck passengers and clerks. At least 60 were lost…’.” (Wisconsin State Journal. “A Terrible Steamboat Disaster,” 1-30-1871, p. 1)

Feb 1: “On the night of the 28th inst., the steamer R. W. Arthur left Memphis for Louisville. A few miles above Memphis, near Island No. 40, at about one o’clock a. m. one of the boilers burst and shattered the forward part of the boat and set it on fire. The boat drifted to a sand bar nearby and sank to her upper deck in the water. As soon as the news of the disaster reached Memphis assistance was promptly rendered to the passengers and crew who were floating in the river, and others left on the hurricane deck of the wreck. About seventy lives were lost by this appalling disaster. Many of the passengers were blown into the river by the explosion, others were burned to death, and numbers unable to reach the hurricane deck in consequence of the fire, were forced overboard and perished before assistance reached them.

“The investigations have failed thus far to reveal any adequate cause for the disaster. There is no regard for human life in the states through which the Mississippi runs, south of St. Louis, and of course, no responsibility will be assumed to preserve life on the river.” (Janesville Gazette, WI. “Loss of the Steamer R. R. Arthur,” Feb 1, 1871, p. 1, col. 1.)

Feb 4: “The W. R. Arthur was a large sidewheel steamer, built at Pittsburg and towed to Louisville, where she received her machinery and upper works….She came out in 1864, and not proving a profitable investment, she was sold, afterward widened and lengthened at S. Louis, making her capacity over 2,000 tons. She came out with tubular boilers, but they were removed, and double flue boilers, built at Saint Louis, placed in her.” (Logansport Weekly Journal, IN. “The Boat,” Feb 4, 1871, p. 4.)

Sources

Algona Upper Des Moines, IA. “The Steamer W. R. Arthur,” Feb 8, 1871, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=124461971

Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels. Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Meeting of the Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels, held at Washington, D.C., January, 1872. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1872. Accessed 11-5-2020 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=PHq2xqMdSJAC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Bragg, Marion. Historic Names and Places on the Lower Mississippi River. Vicksburg, MS: Mississippi River Commission, 1977. Accessed 9-15-2020 at: ftp://ftp.library.noaa.gov/noaa_documents.lib/NOAA_related_docs/US_Army/Mississippi_River_names_1977.pdf

Evening Gazette, Port Jervis, NY. “Another Mississippi Horror.” Jan 31, 1871, p. 1, c. 5. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=18676838

Gould, E. W. Fifty Years on the Mississippi; or, Gould’s History of River Navigation. St. Louis: Nixon-Jones Printing Co., 1889, 750 pages. Digitized by Google. Accessed 2008 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=udyywXOVBvsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Iowa State Reporter, Waterloo. “Chronological List of the Leading Events of 1871.” Jan 10, 1872, p. 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=87934782

Janesville Gazette, WI. “Loss of the Steamer R. R. Arthur,” Feb 1, 1871, p. 1, col. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=52727894

Logansport Weekly Journal, IN. “The Boat [R.W. Arthur],” Feb 4, 1871, p. 4. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=83178971

Lytle, William M., compiler, from Official Merchant Marine Documents of the United States and Other Sources; Holdcamper, Forrest H. (Editor, and Introduction by). Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1807-1868. “The Lytle List.” Mystic, CT: Steamship Historical Society of America (Publication No. 6), 1952. Accessed 8-16-2020 at:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015018039084&view=1up&seq=8&size=125

New York Herald. “The Mississippi Disaster. Particulars of the Explosion of the Steamer W. R. Arthur.” 2-2-1871, p. 5, col. 1. Accessed 11-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/new-york-herald-feb-02-1871-p-5/

New York Times. “Further Details of the Terrible Occurrence…” Jan 30, 1871, p. 5. Accessed at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C0CE1DE173AE63BBC4850DFB766838A669FDE

New York Times. “Steamboat Disaster. Another Terrible Scene of Death on the Mississippi.” 1-29-1871, p. 1. Accessed 11-5-2020 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1871/01/29/78756984.html?pageNumber=1

Sanders, Capt. Don. “The River: Passing chilly winter day pursuing mystery related to 1871 steamboat explosion…” Northern Kentucky Tribune, 1-12-2020. Accessed 11-5-2020 at: https://www.nkytribune.com/2020/01/the-river-passing-chilly-winter-day-pursuing-mystery-related-to-1871-steamboat-explosion/

Simonds, W. E. (Editor). The American Date Book. Kama Publishing Co., 1902, 211 pages. Google digital preview accessed 9-8-2017 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=JuiSjvd5owAC

United States Central Publishing Co. Important Events of the Century: 1776-1876. NY: U.S. Central Pub. Co., 1876. Google preview accessed 1-22-2018 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=OGZt1HGsgmEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Way, Frederick Jr. (Author and Compiler), Joseph W. Rutter (contributor). Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994: Passenger Steamboats of the Mississippi River System Since the Advent of Photography in Mid-Continent America (Revised). Athens OH: Ohio University Press, 1999.

Weekly Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “Another Steamboat Disaster…” 2-28-1871, p. 7. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=120026948

Wisconsin State Journal, Madison. “A Terrible Steamboat Disaster,” Jan 30, 1871, p. 1, col. 6. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=57757756