Destruction
On April 8, 1854, at 6:30 a.m., Gazelle had come over to Canemah from the long wharf built above the Falls on the western side of the river above Linn City. This was to be her first regular run after the trip up river where she'd attempted to assist the Oregon. That morning, she was bound for Corvallis. Gazelle had been at the Canemah dock for about ten minutes. To make a speedy departure, the engineer had tied down the safety valve to build up steam. About 60 people were on board at 6:40 a.m. when Gazelle's engineer, Moses Toner, jumped off the boat, on to dock, and took off running. About a minute later both boilers exploded. At least twenty people were instantly killed, and everyone else was injured, including four people who died later. The sidewheeler Wallamet had been lying alongside Gazelle, her works were seriously damaged, and her pilot J.M. Pudge was killed in the explosion. The whole town of Canemah came running to the rescue, and boats had to be launched to rescue the living people and recover the bodies floating in the river. Captain Hereford was injured but survived. The coroner's jury blamed the engineer's "gross and culpable' negligence in keeping too much steam, and allowing the water level in the boilers to get too low.
Read more about this topic: Gazelle (sidewheeler 1854)
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