Near Donaldsonville, Louisiana, a Mississippi steamboat burns and six people are killed.

The steamboat Henry Van Phul, loaded with 3,465 bales of cotton and around a hundred passengers was heading down the Mississippi from Memphis to its destination of New Orleans when fire touched off by smokestack sparks was discovered at around four in the morning.  The crew were able to bring the vessel to the shore eight miles above Donaldsonville, Louisiana where it was completely destroyed but one crewman and five passengers lost their lives. Financial losses to boat and cargo totalled $350,000. (By John Osborne)