Wabash express. [volume] (Terre-Haute, Vigo Co[unty], Ind.) 1841-186?, 1860-09-12

Of the most heart rending calamities that
has occurred upon the northern lakes. The
Chicago Press and Tribune has full psrtic
ulars, from which We make the following
extracts.
| Ofthe Milwaukee Union Guards. Caet.
Best, forty one rank and file, not six mem
bers. privates. remain alive; of the Milwau
kee City Band of eleven musicians who ac
companied them, there are but two survi-
vors. OF the gay excursionists, their fe-
male companions. wives and sweet hearts,
how few survive let the brief list tell.
The following are extracts from the |
statements Of passengers who were aboard !
the i'll fated vessel
STATEMENT OF LIEUT.JOH HART. /
SCUFF.
Mr. Hartscuff is Lieutenant in the u.
S. Army. aud is stationed at Fort Mack
nav.
was on board the steamer Lady Elgin
when she collided with the schooner Au-
rusta, asleep in my berth. immediately
Jumped from my berth and saw the schoon-
er floating away. Did not think any seri
[ Gus damage bad been done at fret, but
soon discovered that the steamer was sot-
Ting. Immediately left my berth, which
was in the after cabin, aud ran toward the
2 pilot house where / found Capt. Wilson on
I the hurricane deck. | asked him IL be
!, thought there was any danger. and h" r.
= piled tina: he thought she would float
y He told me where iheie were life prrservers
Z on the hurricane deck. aud | went and pas
4 sed them down to the passen ,ers in the
cabin till they were about exhausted
- whom / took one myself and wait.
ed on the hurricane deck. While
there quite n number on the deck, only a
d few OF whom were females bot how many
o came up, could not say, as it was very
dark. From quarter 10 a half an hour az
p" ter she was struck, she broke up the hurri
d cane deck floating off, and the hulk going
TO the bottom. with tr. mendous noise. -
st As she broke | jumped with my life pre-
>, server-a board six or eight feet long and
about one wide-into the water, which
I pulled with all my might TO escape from
l. the mass of the wreck After the confu-
m sion had some hat subsidized, l heard the
- voice Of Capt Wilson cheering and encour
aging the people on the wreck, telling
p them that the shore was but few miles off,
NJ and that il they kept calm aud obeyed his
directions they might all be saved.
heard him in this manner for perhaps ten
d. minutes, aud then | had separated SO lar
il from the erricane deck on which the
ic Captain aud large number were, that |
heard no more. All around me were mum
y" bers of persons floating on pieces of the
'h wreck, until IL became daylight When i,
d j.. became so light that could sec some dis
lance, / discovered large mass of tn,
ar wreck little distance TO the windward oil
n US, covered with people. then got or
quite large piece of wreck which wa.
a. floating near me, aud which contained no
ng other person, aud no person got on it after
did. The large mass to the windward
i, Of which have just spoken, nov began
o. to separate. then lett the piece was OF
IS, aud got on large piece OF the hurrican,
al deck, on which there were four other per-
7 sons-don't know who they we're On thi
fragment l remained until We reached
49, within about quarter of a mile ofthe shor
his when our raft broke up, aud two of the fou
M on it with me were washed off aud drown
ed.
- A moment after the remainder Of gu
party were washed off by heavy sea, ant
o. one more of our little party drowned. Ny
er remaining companion contrived TO regaii
". the raft. aud again took TO life preser
'o' yer which i found aioat, and on this
IS, floated TO the shore just below the bluffs
y
" From the time i was swept from the raft
l. until / reached the shore. j was severa
), times buried deep under the waves Whe
~ close into the shore, was thrown from m,
IL life preserver and went TO the bottom, an,
although the water was not more than tire
NJ or four feet deep, was so exhausted a. d
be unable to rise, aud crawled for some dis
e lance under the water until reached DIR,
Z; land.
l; Early in the morring / discovered
%. fragment Of the wreck a short distance
from me on which was woman aud thre
men. She was so much exhausted tina
IL: she seemed unable TO keep from dropping
n to sleep, although the exertions ofthe thre
!; men were continually 10 use to prevent it
" She was finally drowned while remaining
on the wreck. being unable TO keep he
head from the water. Her body remained
RS on the fragment Of the wreck as long as !
nv was IN sight. ! saw many pieces of tb,
wreck containing from two to four person,
10 capszed, almost invariably drowning al
n that were on them TO avoid the capsiz-
ing of our frail bark. l instructed the met
with me 80 to sit on IL as to keep the edge
under water. This prevented US capsizinl
~ and at the same time enabled US TO hoa
!" faster. we having in this way passed many
- Of the other RATS. saw one woman alop,
- floating on dining table. and a short i'm,
- after discovered her, the table capsized
'e and she disappeared under water for sew
eral seconds, but finally reappeared on IN,
e. =, surface clinging to the table, aud eventn-
ally, by great exertioDs. she regained her
r, seat upon the table When last saw heI
~ :. she was near the shore. and a. / heard OF
- woman being saved shortly after was
- taken 10 a house near by, | presume she
must have been the one BY my instruc
a. tons, our party most of the time turned
=, our faces from the shore, and thus faced
:, the waves and in this way were enabled
/, TO watch the breakers as they came to-
=, wards US AID be prepared for them. In
this way We We're several times saved from
,s being washed off. while almost every one
. near u. were carried from their frail barks
and persisted. Under one piece of the
wreck which was floating near us were
four dead cattle fastened to it. On this
were two or three persons. The buoyancy
Of the dead bodies of the cattle kept this
- piece of the wreck almost entirely out OF
water, aud when last seen, this peculiar
liie-boat was very near the shore, and the
a persons on it were doubtless saved.
when passed through the cabin on my
I. way to the pilot house, Immediately after
the collision, there was much confusion
there. Many of the passengers, owing to
the scarcity Of berths, were asleep on the
il floor, and when the collision took place,
!. the vessel listed so much that all rolled in
% pile on one side of the cabin. This
: caused much confusion, and when persons
from above commenced passing down Life
preservers, and those below commenced
s pulling down the doors and other floating
n material. the anxiety to obtain these pre-
servers was great indeed. About daylight
l saw one boat badly stove. bottom up, Six
t or sever men oh hanging to it. Whether or
e not they were saved cannot say.
q STATEMENT OF NJ. E. SMITH. OF
ONTONAGON.
l was asleep in the mates room when
the collision took place; but awakened by
: the loud crash, and went on deck as soon
as possible. The vessel with which we
collided had not clear of ne and Nan4ain