"April
9, 2002, will be the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of the explosion of
the Steamboat Saluda, in the Port of Lexington, on the Missouri River. To
this day, the explosion remains the greatest disaster, in terms of loss of life,
in Missouri River history. There were in excess of 100 people who
perished, out of less than 200 who were aboard when the tragedy
occurred.
"The
majority of those on board were Mormon (LDS) converts who had just emigrated
from the British Isles, and who had recently traveled from Great Britain aboard
the 'Kennebec' to the Port of New Orleans. They booked passage aboard 'The
Pride of the West' enroute to St. Louis. Short on money, and with few
alternatives for immediate passage upstream to Council Bluffs, two 'Church'
elders booked passage for the group aboard the somewhat rickety 'Saluda.'
(Steamboat pilots on the Missouri were typically paid 4 to 5 times the money
of their counterparts on the Mississippi River. This was attributed to the
difficulty in navigation on the Missouri River. One of the most difficult
sections to navigate on the Missouri at that time were the rapids around the
bend in the river, just upstream from the Port of Lexington.)
"When
the Saluda arrived in Lexington on April 4, 1852, the river level was extremely
high with ice floes, making the trip upstream through the rapids very difficult
for even the newest and most powerful steamboats of the time. Captain
Francis Belt tried for days to get up the rapids to no
avail.
"On
the morning of April 9, (Good Friday), at approximately 7:30 AM, the Captain
ordered the ship's engineer to load on all the fuel the boilers could
handle. He ordered that the safety valves on the boilers be tied down, and
ordered that no additional water be added to the boilers. The engineer
vociferously objected, and the captain was quoted, (famous in Missouri River
lore), "We'll take this boat around the bend or blow her to
hell." Reportedly, even sides of bacon were thrown into the boilers
to create immense heat and pressure.
"The
boilers grew very hot as the captain had anticipated, but the boiler on the
river side was dry. After the ship floated, stern-end into the current,
and made just over one complete revolution of the 'side-paddler's'
paddle-wheels, water was added to the dry, red-hot boiler. The starboard
boiler blew, followed immediately by the port-side boiler. Carnage ensued,
with bodies and pieces of the ship flying hundreds of feet into the air.
Several people on land were reportedly killed by flying debris. One little
girl was reputedly blown off the boat and into the air, landing in a tree,
incurring only minor injuries. The Captain's dog had been chained to the
ship's safe. The safe was found a couple of hundred yards ashore, near a
road on the south bank of the river, with the carcass of the dog still chained
to it. Captain Belt was found dead on the south bank of the river,
spread-eagled on the ground with his clothing having been blown off of his
body. Many were never found, eternally committed to the river and likely
churned beneath the cold water.
"A
very contentious relationship had existed between many Missourians and the
Mormon people. In 1838, Missouri Governor Boggs had actually issued a State
Order authorizing the killing of Mormons if they did not either leave the state
or denounce Joseph Smith, their leader and
founder.
"The
phenomenal response of the good people of Lexington is still praised to this
day. Businesses closed immediately after the explosion was heard and the
extent of the disaster was known. People went down to the Port of
Lexington to help in any way that they could. All doctors in town
responded, and a field hospital was established at Dr. Edward Arnold's home; a
home that still stands today. (Kenny & Bette
Maib's)
"The
town raised a significant sum of money for burying those deceased that could be
found, in a mass grave, along with numerous assorted body parts that were found
around the scene of the disaster. The injured were cared for in a number
of Lexington homes that still stand today. Many of those injured who were
cared for in local homes did not survive. Some children who were orphaned
after the explosion, and had nobody to care for them, were adopted by local
families. Descendents of some of these orphans still live in Lexington and
the surrounding area.
"We
are planning a Missouri River Steamboat Heritage Festival in Lexington on the
weekend of April 6 & 7. We will have dramatic recreations by
experienced reenactors, recreating the injured being treated by 'period' medical
staff, with 'period' medical/surgical equipment, along with reenactors on
horseback, and those representing the townspeople that responded to the
disaster. They will be utilizing the grounds of Dr. Arnold's former home,
where the original explosion victims were actually treated. (We are
indeed fortunate to have a wealth of Civil War Reenactors in the region who
perform/interpret at our Battle of Lexington
Reenactment.)
"We will have Steamboat artifacts on loan from
several museums, 'period' musicians performing at specific locations around
town, a 15-20 minute video of the Saluda Story shown continuously during the
weekend, historic homes tours, tours of the reenactor's 'settlement campground,'
along with other 'period' cultural, educational, and entertainment offerings
that are currently in the planning stages, as well as great food and
refreshments.
"This
will be the first year of what we anticipate will be an annual Missouri River
Steamboat Heritage Festival event. (It was not uncommon in the prime
steamboat era in Lexington, the late 1830's-1860's, for 35 boats to be docked in
our port at any given time, and for in excess of 150 ships to pass through our
port in a single day.) The 2002 weekend river festival, Lexington's
first, will be dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the Saluda explosion: those
who lost their lives, those who survived, and the people of Lexington, who
responded in a very compassionate and humane manner after this horrible
disaster.
"The
weekend event, will be sponsored by and under the auspices of, (for 501c3
not-for-profit status), the Lexington Historical Association, in conjunction
with the Lexington Tourism Bureau.
"The
Memorial and Commemoration portion of our four-day event will take place on
April 8 & 9. Monday, April 8, will include concurrent events in area
schools, studying the Saluda Disaster, its impact, its importance, and relevant
lessons that we can learn from today. We are anticipating a significant
contingent of visitors from Salt Lake City. We will offer coach bus tours
of LDS related sites of interest primarily north of the river in the Ray County
area. This will include box lunches for our guests during their day
trip.
"The
actual 150th anniversary will occur the morning of Tuesday, April 9, 2002.
We are planning a major memorial, commemoration, and dedication ceremony.
The original 300-lb. bell off the Saluda was found on the shore, undamaged after
the explosion. (In the months following the disaster, it was purchased
for $17.50 by the minister of the First Christian Church of Savannah, MO.
The bell has remained as part of their church for over 149 years, and they are
undoubtedly unwilling to part with this Savannah, Missouri, institution.
We, at the Historical Association, possess a steamboat bell that is the same
size as the Saluda Bell, was forged at the same foundry in Ohio, by the same man
whose name appears on the Saluda Bell, and which possesses the same relief
sculpture of the Greek Goddess Diana.)
"The Mormon Sites Historical Foundation has
expressed an interest in helping to finance the building of a bell tower.
We are considering several sites for this memorial. We will possibly offer
areas for dedications on or around the memorial site for individual families or
groups that desire honoring or memorializing specific groups or loved ones. The
site will also likely include a wooden platform area that would resemble the
deck of a steamboat, with an original door from the Saluda, (which was recovered
after the explosion), to be made a permanent part of this memorial. (A
door is a wonderful thing, acting as a metaphor. We go through a door to
go to another place. We will go through this door to look back on this
defining moment in Lexington's early
history.)
"We
anticipate planting a garden surrounding the memorial. Our location will
be a spot from which the river and/or river valley is clearly visible. We
will have area student participation in the memorial as well as Lexington's own
Wentworth Military Academy Honor Guard. The 7:30 AM commemoration will
begin with the firing of a cannon, symbolizing the boiler explosion aboard the
Saluda. We anticipate having a well known and respected guest speaker for
the occasion. We will invite Congressmen/women, Governors, and
Senators from surrounding states and all states through which the Missouri River
flows, in addition to the State of Utah. We will also invite the U.S.
Secretaries of Interior and of Commerce, since they would have domain over river
commerce. We will follow the Saluda commemoration and memorial dedication
with a breakfast/brunch for our visiting guests and
dignitaries.
"We
are also fortunate to have been offered the opportunity for publicity during the
Winter Olympic Games which will be held this winter in Salt Lake City. We
see this as the kind of event that would be a wonderful feature story on, for
instance, CBS News Sunday Morning. It seems to possess all of the elements
that would provide a wonderful segment. A member of our board, The Saluda
150 Committee, owns an advertising agency, and we will be working toward gaining
additional national exposure for this event.
"The Memorial and Commemoration Events to held on April 8 & 9,
organized under the Saluda 150 Committee umbrella, will be sponsored by and
under the auspices of, the Lexington Community Betterment Association, another
501(C)(3) organization. We are utilizing two separate organizations for
different events to keep the funds for each separate. There may be
individuals, corporations, or foundations that wish to contribute to one of the
events and not the other. For instance, some may be interested in
contributing to the Memorial and the actual Commemoration, but may not wish to
be a part of the weekend festival. Other corporations may wish to be Corporate Sponsors for
the weekend festival........and so on..
"We
are hoping for a large turnout for our event. We will have parking in
areas around Lexington's periphery, with buses constantly running the loop,
bringing visitors to the various sites of interest and back to the parking
lots.
"We are in the process
of contacting a guest speaker of national renown for the Sesquicentennial
Commemoration of the explosion of the Saluda, and the dedication of the
permanent Saluda memorial, Tuesday morning, April 9, beginning at 7:30
AM. .
"The
Saluda 150 Committee would be very receptive to any suggestions for our
event."
The committee is in the
process of raising funds to erect a permanent memorial to the Saluda disaster.
We hope the Mormon church will take a strong leadership role. If you would like
to contribute, in any amount, please send a check to "LCBA's Saluda
Memorial Fund." You may mail it to me at: Susan Worthington, 1611 South
St., Lex MO, 64067, and I'll see that it gets to the right place. All
contributions are deductible according to current IRS regulations. LCBA is
Lexington Community Betterment Association, a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit
organization.
TLC #23: Aug. 5, 2001