1906 A Grim Death Indeed.

Of all the accidents that can befall a person on a boat surely an explosion and fire is one of the worst. Three tons of black powder exploded on the Columbian's forward deck that fateful September day and the resulting fireball was carried the length of the ship by a downstream wind. Everyone in the immediate vicinity of the explosion would die, except for passenger Ernest Winstanley. He would be saved by his long underwear.

The Purser, Lionel Cowper had been burned over his entire body. As was the medical custom at the time of the accident, he had been wrapped in an oily blanket and given strychnine pills. In Whitehorse, when it became obvious that he was going to die, massive amounts of "opiates" were administered, but relief lasted only minutes.

ONE MORE ADDED TO COLUMBIAN DEATH ROLL.

Lionel Cadogan Cowper, late purser on the ill–fated steamer Columbian died at the general hospital yesterday at 12:45 p.m. from the severe burns received by him at the time of the unfortunate accident to that steamer which occurred on the evening of the 25th of September. Death came as a relief after such suffering as is rarely ever allotted to a human being...

SESSION TODAY

Coroners Jury in Columbian Case to Meet.

The coroner's jury called to investigate the cause of the late Columbian disaster and which adjourned from the 2nd instant until yesterday, pending a change in the condition of surviving victims, met yesterday but again adjourned until this afternoon when it is believed E.E. Winstanley, the only survivor of the seven men injured at the time the accident occurred, will be able to give his evidence. It will be necessary, however, for the coroner and jury to call on the patient at the hospital.

ONLY ONE LEFT

Winstanley Sole Survivor of Columbian Wreck.

E.E. Winstanley, the only survivor among seven victims of the explosion and fire on the steamer Columbian, which disaster occurred on the Yukon river on Tuesday, the 25th of September, is still at the general hospital at this place where, under the skillful treatment of J.P. Cade and careful nursing of the hospital corps, it is believed he will recover.

Winstanley displays wonderful fortitude and it is believed will be able to leave the hospital in another month or six weeks. His father Ernest Winstanley, arrived Sunday from Dawson and is spending much of his time at his son's bedside.

The bodies of Mate Welsh and Fireman Morgan, who fell or jumped into the river after being horribly burned, have not yet been recovered.

LATER

Today at 11:30 an artery in Winstanley's neck burst and this may tend to complicate his chances for recovery.

The Weekly Star, Friday, October 12, 1906.

VERDICT GIVEN

Coroner's Jury in Columbian Case Discharged.

Last Friday afternoon the jury empanelled by Coroner Pare to inquire into the deaths of John Woods, J. Smith, and Phillip Murray, having heard all the witnesses introduced, returned the following verdict:

"That these three men came to their deaths as the result of burns received in an explosion of powder on the forward part of the deck of the Steamer Columbian, and further this jury attaches no blame to any of the surviving officers or crew."

The bodies of Mate Welsh and Fireman Morgan never having been recovered, the cause of their disappearance and deaths was not a matter for the jury's consideration.

The Weekly Star Friday, October 26, 1909.

NO BLAME?

"No blame to any of the surviving officers and crew," after the huge headlines which trumpeted the news of the actual explosion this small one paragraph explanation was strangely subdued, and with good reason. The story which quietly went the rounds of the town was one which showed the fickleness of fate.

The young deckhand Phillip Murray had apparently had a rifle on board ship. A flock of ducks was spotted, and, in direct contradiction to White Pass restrictions, the loaded rifle was handed by Murray to ships fireman Edward Morgan, who wanted to take a shot.

While Morgan was positioning himself to shoot the rifle discharged (accidentally it was supposed) into the large cargo of black powder which had been placed under wraps on the forward deck. The gunshot caused the entire powder shipment to explode and the resulting fireball consumed the boat and brought about the deaths of the men.

Young Phillip Murray was the son of Frank Murray, a highly respected pilot on the Bonanza King. Indirectly responsible for the loaded gun Phillip had paid a supreme price, dying in agony from his burns. Fireman Edward Morgan who held the rifle had been squarely in the face of the explosion and had been blown off the boat.

There was no need for further punishment, indeed there was no one left to punish. Lessons had been learned and in the Weekly Star the story was allowed to come quietly to an end.

Ernest Winstanley was the only person in the near vicinity of the explosion to survive. The woollen suit of underwear he was wearing protected him from the flames. Except for scars on his wrists, ankles and face he made a full recovery.

BODY IS FOUND

Is That of Joe Welsh, Mate on Columbian

The body of Mate Joe Welsh, who disappeared at the time of the explosion on board the steamer Columbian, was found a few days ago on a bar in the Yukon River between Tantalus and Five Fingers and about 25 to 30 miles below where the unfortunate accident occurred.

A lynx was seen gnawing at something on the bar and investigation lead to the finding of the body which was easily identified as that of Welsh by the brass buttons of his vest which was a part of the clothing still on the body...

The Weekly Star, November 16, 1906.

As for fireman Edward Morgan, the man left holding the smoking gun, his body was never found.