Doomsday: History's Most Dangerous Podcast · Brad Choma

The Yukon Riverboat Disaster of 1906 | Episode 101

·38 min·2 clips

One man created the greatest cattle-based pyrotechnics display.

This episode details the deadly 1906 explosion of the sternwheel steamboat Columbian on the Yukon River. The host of Doomsday narrates this forgotten disaster, focusing on human error and survival. The story centers on a crew member's catastrophic mistake and the captain's desperate response. The Columbian was transporting 21 cattle, 150 tons of food, and nearly 3 tons of blasting powder to mining settlements. A 19-year-old deck boy, Philip Murray, smuggled a Winchester rifle onboard and showed it to fireman Edward Morgan. Morgan accidentally discharged the rifle after tripping over deck ropes while eyeing some ducks. The bullet struck the tarp covering 6,000 pounds of blasting powder stored on the forward deck. The resulting explosion, equivalent to about 3,300 pounds of TNT, obliterated the ship's midsection in a fireball 80 feet across. The blast threw men into the near-freezing Yukon River and ignited the wooden vessel. Captain J.O. Williams, a seasoned pilot, cleverly ran the crippled ship aground to allow survivors to escape. The intense fire, reaching 1,000 degrees Celsius, incinerated the cattle cargo, creating a horrific smell that shifted from barbecue to acrid burning hair. Injured survivors faced a 30-mile nighttime trek through wolf and bear territory to reach a telegraph station. The official death toll included Philip Murray, who died from his burns, and mate Joe Welsh, whose body was later found partially eaten by a lynx. The stowaway, Ernest Winstanley, survived severe burns because his full-body woolen underwear absorbed some of the explosion's heat. Edward Morgan, who fired the shot, was blown off the boat and his body was never recovered. A coroner's jury placed no blame on the surviving officers, as those responsible had already perished. The wreck's machinery was salvaged for another steamer, and a memorial was erected in Whitehorse. The host sourced this story from a listener in the Yukon, Johnny Wilkie, who suggested the tale. The narrative is framed as an extreme example of a clumsy mistake triggering a deadly chain reaction. The host delivers the story in a vivid, conversational, and darkly humorous style, emphasizing graphic sensory details and historical context. The tone is educational but leans into the morbid and absurd aspects of the catastrophe. Listeners who enjoy detailed historical narratives about industrial accidents and human survival against the odds will be captivated. Those sensitive to graphic descriptions of burns, injury, and animal death may find this episode distressing.

As heard by us

A 1906 Yukon River disaster where bad gun handling turns a duck encounter into cattle-based fire and fallout.

The 1906 Yukon River story frames a remote northern journey as a lesson in how quickly bad awareness and unsteady hands can turn routine trouble into disaster.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play for a 1906 Yukon River disaster where ducks, a gun, and cattle collide into a spectacularly bad day on the water.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Doomsday: History's Most Dangerous Podcast