The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-25 00:00:00

" STATEMENT OF THE CLERK.

"The Lady Elgin left the port of Chicago at half-
past 11 o'clock for Lake Superior. Among the pas-
sengers were the Union Guard of Milwaukie, com-
posing a part of some 250 excursionists from that
city. At about half-past two o'clock this morning
the schooner Augusta, of Oswego, came in collision
with the Lady Elgin when about ten miles from
shore. The vessel struck the steamer midships
gangway on the larboard side. The two vessels
separated instantly, and the Augusta drifted by in
the darkness. At the moment of the collision there
was music and dancing going on in the forward
cabin. In an instant after the crash all was still,
and in half an hour the steamer sank. I passed
through the cabins. The ladies were pale, but
silent. There was not a cry or a shriek—no sound
but the rush of the steam and the surge of the heavy
sea. Whether they were not fully aware of the
danger, or whether their appalling situation made
them speechless, I cannot tell. A boat was lowered
at once, with the design of going round upon the
larboard side to examine the leak. There were two
oars belonging to the boat, but just at that moment
some person possessed himself of one of them, and
we were powerless to manage the boat. We suc-
ceeded once in reaching the wheel, but were quickly
drifted away and thrown upon the beach at Winetka.
Only two boats were left on the steamer. One of
them contained thirteen persons, all of whom were
saved. The other bore eight persons, but only
four of them reached the shore alive, the four
others being drowned at the beach. Before I
left the steamer the engines had ceased to work,
the fires having been extinguished. The force
and direction of the wind was such that the
boats and fragments of the wreck were driven up
the lake, and would reach the shore in the vicinity
of Winetka. As I stood upon the beach, hopelessly
looking back upon the route we had drifted, I could
see,lin the gray of the morning, objects floating upon
the water, and sometimes, I thought, human beings
struggling with the waves.—ll. G. CLAVYL, clerk
of the Lady Elgin."
" NAMES OF PERSONS KNOWN TO BE ABOARD THE
STEAMER.

" The following persons left the Tremont House
last evening, and took passage on the Lady Elgin :
F. A. Lumsden, wife, two children, and servant, of
New Orleans; W. Garth and wife, Miss Anna
Garth, and Miss Amanda Garth, of Paris, Illinois;
Mr. Seuptelben, of the firm of Smith and Seuptel-
ben ; T. C. Hana, Mr. Pearce, of the firm of Good-
man and Pearce; Mrs. Barrow, Isaac Kingsley, of
Milwaukie ; James Cosgrove, Mr. Fitzpatrick, of
Kenosha, Wisconsin; Mrs. Ketts and four children,
Mr. Bond and two children, James Bellows, of
Mineral Point, Wisconsin; A. Buckingham, J. C.
Pollard and lady, of Milwaukie ; Herbert Ingram,
member of Parliament, and proprietor of the Illus-
trated London _Yews, and his son Herbert; Edward
White, Fanny Burns, Charles Smith, of Chicago;
George Morton, of Superior City ; George L. Simp-
son, of Juliet; Mr. Locke, of Sheboygan ; Otto
Leverince and wife, Mr. Nickel, Mr. Phillips, of
Milwaukie ; John Horan, Deputy United States
Marshal for Wisconsin.
"None of the above named have yet been heard of.
" The 'books and papers of the steamer are all
lost. After the collision the steamer floated south
to Winetka, where she sank.
" MORE OF THE LOST.

" CHICAGO, Sept. 9.
" In addition to those reported lost yesterday are
the following:—Prank Chamberlain, Mrs. Sarah R.
Newcomb, Mrs. Thos. Kennedy, Mrs. Susan Han-
lon, Miss Ann Bulger, Patrick Hanlon, Wm. Foley,
Paul Foley, Edward Malone, James Malone, Dan.
O'Leary and child, Stephen Cuddy, James Gilvery,
Otto Levering and son, Miss Amelia Ledder and
niece, Charles L. M'Loughlin, Thomas Evis-
ton and wife, Bessie Fanning, Kate Fanning, Alice
Pollard, John J. Pollard, Win. Noyes, Mrs. John
Jersies, Miss Agnes Keough, Mary C. Duffle, Mrs.
William Hanlon and three children, George P.
Arnold, Mr. Johnson, George F. Oakley, the wife
of Captain Barry of the Union Guards ; Thomas
Bohan, wife and child; John Kelly, Samuel Brown,
and Policemen Dewers, Smith, Delaney, Schecker,
Hoffern, and Rice—the latter with his whole family;
Antoine Rice, Michael Murphy, N. M'Grath,
Martin Dooley, Frank Caspers, William Wilson,
Mr. Ralph, James Smith, D. Downe, Mr. Mona-
ghan, daughter, and son ; William O'Nej, Terence
Conley, Alderman Crilley and family, John O'Grady
and wife, Mr. Rodney, A. Corbitt, Constable Fahey,
John Hoaran, Stephen Hoff, Hugh M'Garry, Con-
stable Burhus, Edward Burke, George Churchill,
William Churchill, Charles Egarts, Edward War-
ner, Charles Johnson, R. E. Commonford, Moritz
Parssens, M. Fitzgerald and sister, Peter Lynch,
Mr. Pomeroy, Thomas Shean, wife, and two child-
ren, John Cosgrove, James Smith, Henry Parsons,
T. Hamel, Thos. Nevill, Philip Best, Patrick Couley,
James Couley, Samuel A. Downer, Eli Plunkington,
Harry Bishop, Augustus Bishop, Patrick Welsh,
Mr. Keefer.
"All the above are of Mil waukie. Bridget Foley,
L. T. Minston and wife, Margaret Codd, Bridget
Codd, of Chicago ; Elina Cullen and Elizabeth
M'Laughlin, of Watertown.
"No accurate list or number of the persons on
board can be given, but the following is estimated
as nearly correct :—Excursion party, 200; regular
passengers, 50; steamer's crew, 35. 0 f these, bu
98 are saved.

" CAPT. MALOTT'S STATEmnNT.
" Copt. Malott, of the schooner Augusta, states
that when he first discovered the steamer's lights,
both red and bright, he supposed her to be from a
quarter to half a mile distant, and steering N.E. ;
it was raining very hard at the time ; we kept
our vessel on her course east by south, until
we saw a collision was probable, when we put the
helm hard up ; struck the steamer two or three
minutes afterwards, just abaft the paddlebox on
the port side ; the steamer kept on her course, her
engine in full motion ; headed the Augusta around
north, alongside the steamer, but they got sepa-
rated in about a minute, when the Augusta fell in
the trough of the sea ; all the head gear, jibbooms,
and stanches were carried away. We took in sail
and cleared away anchor, supposing the vessel
would fill. After clearing the wreck and got up
the foresail, we succeeded in getting before the
wind and stood for land. We lost sight of the
steamer in five minutes after the collision." Mr.
Beman second mate, states that " At half-past two
a squall struck us ; five minutes more saw the light
of the vessel one point off port bow. I sung out
" Hard aport ; the vessel seemed to pay no atten-
tion and struck us forward of the paddlebox, lar-
board side, tearing off the wheel,* and cuttinr,
through the guides into the cabin and hull. We
were steering N.W. by W., a point to windward.
Our course at that time was N. NV. After striking
us the vessel hung for a moment and then got clear.
I went below to see what damage was done, and
when I got back the vessel was gone."
"EFFECT OF TIIC NEWS ON TUE PUBLIC MIND.

" When the intelligence of the loss of the
steamer with the excursion party reached Mil-
waukie yesterday it spread like wildfire through
the city. The telegraph office was thronged all
day with relatives and friends of those on
board. Many who presented despatches were
in tears, and the most intense anxiety and excite-
ment was manifested in the countenances of all. In
the first ward of that city, it is said, there is
scarcely a house or place of business which has not
lost some inmate or employee. All the survivors
unite in according to Capt. Jack Wilson, common-
der,praise for his great brayery and daring through-

out. Ho was foremost in confronting the danger,
and earnest for the safety of the passengers. He
was drowned within 100 feet of the shore.
" Nearly 100 persons arrived within 50 yards of
the beach, but were swept back by the returning
waves and lost. Up to nine o'clock to-night only
21 bodies have been recovered, most of which have
been recognised by friends as those of residents of
M waukie."

The Boston Daily Courier of September 11 says
—" We have further accounts of the disaster on
Lake Michigan. The schooner Augusto, has been
libelled for 40,000 dollars, and has been taken in
charge by the United States Marshall. Seventy-
seven bodies have been recovered, among them that
of Mr. Herbert Ingram, member of the British
Parliament. Mr. William Harner, of Philadelphia,
was among the lost."
The following is the statement of Mr. Michael E.
Smith, of Ontonagon, who was saved on a portion
of the hurricane deck :—" I was asleep in the mate's
room at the time of the accident. The watchman
came in and told the first mate that a vessel had
run into the steamer's port side, just forward of
the wheelhouse and stove a hole in her. Tho
mate and myself went directly on deck. Found
Captain Wilson there. The steamer had on board
some 150 to 180 head of cattle. The captain ordered
the cattle to be thrown overboard, and they were
thrown over by the crew. The first and second
mates went in the lifeboat to stop the leak. They
found the hole so low that they could not get at' it.
The steamer was listed over, but they could not get
at the leak. The captain ordered all the passengers
to get life preservers ; I think most of them did.
He then ordered the crew to take axes and break
open the state-room doors, so that none should be

left in them. I think nearly every passenger got
out, although I pulled one out as we floated by the
state room. A short time after this the engine fell
through the bottom of the vessel—l should think
15 minutes after the schooner struck. The hull
went down immediately, leaving the hurricane deck
floating. A great portion of the passengers were
on the hurricane deck when the hull went down.
The most of them jumped off very soon, thinking
the vessel would sink. The hurricane deck was

separated into five pieces ; there were 25 on the
part on which I was ; the captain was on this ;
there were some military from Milwaukie and six
or seven ladies—the other four pieces went off with
a number on each. We held cabin doors for sails,
and came down smoothly as far as Winetka. When
within a few rods of the shore the raft capsized ;
some of us got back on her, among them the captain
and myself ; the captain got some of the ladies back
on ; a big sea came and washed us off. The captain
was the last man on her. I heard him cheering
the passengers ; another sea came, washed him
off, and he was drowned. Of the 25 who were
on her only eight were saved. After the life-
boat was launched a yawl, which was aft, was
launched ; two boats were launched from the
hurricane deck. I knew only two men on the raft,
the captain and Mr. Wald, the clerk of the Na-
tional Mine, at Ontonagon. When- it became light
in the morning the four rafts were in sight, and
a great many floating on pieces of the wreck."
The lake in every direction was filled with frag-
ments of the wreck, to which some 50 or 60 hu-
man beings were clinging when the reports first
arrived. Only a few of those reached shore. The
surf ran fearfully in shore, and in almost every
instance, when the rafts came within a few rods
from the shore, the heavy rollers would capsize
them within sight and hailing distance of those on
the shore.