Mark Twain, in “Life on the Mississippi” writes about a similar disaster, caused when two brothers who were rival steamboat captains got into a race and one the boats’ boiler burst.
The original lyrics to “Oh Susanna!” contain a reference to a steamboat accident:
The bullgine bust, the horse ran off, I really thought I’d die;
I shut my eyes to hold my breathSusanna, don’t you cry.
as well as less politically correct language. “Bullgine” was the sailors term for a steam engine.
I thought maybe this was the boat on which Twain’s brother died so horribly.
For anyone who loves literature, boats, rivers and our storied past, Life on the Mississippi is a wonderful read. Possibly my favorite of his books.
When I was a kid I had a record of Judy Collins’ folk songs. One of the songs was The Bullgine Run.
Thanks for the history lesson.