One passenger blamed it on a wager over cigars.
The steamboat Pearl — reportedly engaged in an impromptu race with another vessel on the Sacramento River — suffered a cataclysmic boiler explosion 171 years ago on Jan. 27, 1855, according to the Sacramento History Museum.
The blast near the confluence with the American River killed about 55 of the estimated 100 people aboard, including 18 Chinese citizens, the museum said…