Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1868-04-15
TERRIBLE DISASTER,
STEINER SEA BIRD BURNED.
sEvENrY-F1vE LIVES LOST.
From the Milwaukee Sentinel April L It'll

From the Milwaukee Sentinel April l It'll .s
Our community was Stalled Yesterday
morning by report from the telegraph
!. operator at Waukegan that bhrnino
steamer was discovered at 7 a. NJ. about
four miles south ofithat place and six
miles off the land Later reports brought
/ full confirmation Of the news. The i'll
fated steamer proved to be the Sea Bird.
Of Goodrich = line, which left here for
/ Chicago at ] / o'clock last Wednesday,
I night. four hoers behind her usual time.
having suffered detention at points north
/ by reason of bad weather, The Sea }ird
had on beard about thirty passengers
from Sheboygan, Manitowoe and Two
Rivers. and took about twenty from here
! making, with the crew about seventy
five persons that are known to have been
on board She make landing at Ra-
cine, where she left three passengers and
took en- about two hundred barrels of
/ -four, bat no passengers. She started
from Racine in good order, bat when she
was nearly opposite Waukegan and about
Eve miles out she was observed by parties
on shore to be on fire. Whether the fire
resulted from an explosion of the boilers
or frora other causes is rot known, but
the fact that so few were saved points
strongly to the former superstition
There were four boats on beard, capable
] Of carrying 10 persons, which could pro-
badly have been launched, and proved
the salvation of the entire number on
board had no explosion occurred to destroy
the boat on cut off communication with
them. A dispatch from Waukegaf, also
states that a heavy explosion was heard
at sea shortly before the steamer was OBJ
served to be on fire. This seems to be
the most reasonable suppostion. aa
At half-past niue O'Clock the wreck,
which was burned to the waters edge.
was floating towards the southwest, near
/ ly four miles from shore. When the
+ Chicago train passed at half past ten
clock the wreck had aoated to withia
two miles Of the shore, and was still smok-
] ing considerably. At half past eleven it
was observed to give lurch leeward, and
I to sink below the surface. A vessel pass
ing by picked up Mr., A. G. Chamberlain,
Of Sheboygan Falls, and. Edwin Henne-
berry, a deck hand from Sheboygan, who
were IN the water Ali others, including
! the passengers and crew, were lost # =
The schooner Cornelia arrived at Chic
/ age at 4:l5, with the two only survivors
of the i'll fated steamer. They report
some zoo passengers on board all of
whom persisted. The only persons saved,
of all the passengers and crew, are Albert
! G. Chamberlain, a merchant Of Sheboy
gan Falls, and Edwin Henneberry, one of
the crew. zi i1#a.
Mr. Chamberlain states that Wien
picked up by the CorneIia, he was lashed
to bow spirit by a rope about his waist
in which position he could observe
everything that was going on. When
askedaif he thought there were any on
board left alive, he stated to the rescuers
that there was one man at the stern, of
the boat This was Henneberry, who
was found floating on gang plank and
saved. Therewerei families on board, and
the cries Of women and children, and
even of men, powerlesss to help either
themselves or those dependent on them,
| were heart-rending in the EXTREME Mr.
| Cham berlain says it was the next thing
to the horrors of death to hear and see
what he heard and saw The fire, he
believed, originated from the stoves
! The Porter took cut ashes and is suppos
ed to have scattered some live Goals among
/ 4 L al, l. IL .
discovered in The after past of the boat
between 6 and 7 o'clock this morning,
when the boat was nearly abreast of
Waukegan, some eight miles from shore
! The vessel burned to the waters edge,
and the hull foated near the shore oppos
ite Rockland station, where it sunk
Mr.. Chamberlain says few were actually
burned to death, but nearly all jumped
overheard and were Immediately over
whelned in the heavy sea that was roll
ing. Henneberry's hands were both
frozen while he hung on the after davts,
and Chamberlain S hands are badly bruls-
ed and scorched. When the fire was dis
covered the boat was imprudently pu: to-
wards the shore, which the wind being
northeast, sent the flames forward and
soon had the machinery SO much heated
+ that the engines stopped. i#s .saa-ae ~.
Captain Goodrich thinks that if the
boat had been stopped at once, and small
7 boats lowered, all or fnearly all, might
have been saved The value Of the Sea
Bird was $50 900; no Insurance. A deep
feeling Of gloom pervades the community
on account of the disaster: Various re-
lies of the wreck float ashore9at -Wauker
gan and Rockhnd, but no bodies as YET
Arrangement are being made to .recov-.
er, aad to. take careiof all as may be found.
/ The statement which these two persons
made as to the number Of lost, fixing it
/ DC thntr Id ut 10S rrnd1,nnd a ,nrr; 10