The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1868-04-17
TERRIBLE DISASTER.
81
Stmr. Sea Frd8ur4ed
off Wafk8@. ]
9F>LHE.
OF THE SURVIVORS.
Frm the Nil saukes Srutinel.
CHICAGo, April 9.

CHICAGO, April Q.
The steamer Sea Bird. -bonnd FROM Man,
ltoHoc 70 Chicago, met With terrible dis
aster. this morning.. When off Waokesan,
about half past SIX 20 CLOCK, the fire was
seen issuing frelna pile of miscellaneous,
freight stored around the after guards out!
side the 4adies Cabin In rem minutes
tniethelentife stern 6f4he boat vas wrap
ped IN hatnes..H From the statement Of bns
OF ,therescued, it-appears that ail obo1rd
.becane aeniofaliEed, 'ttsn the oaEcefs,s qno
& fiioas ibding m a6aH5 3owtr the boats The
only survivors, as4 ar as ki1swri, 'tsse A..4ps
ChatBbsrlain and e dlsia I'd Henncherry, pas.
'sengers from Stebeyga T.. The LATTER III akes
the fellos ing statement: 'A35iF sisl 7ge
! There were iii all about ono hundred
.nefsoBsoa Board Finctulingeisht or ten IL.
dies and sever s9gcisht chfldren.. q About
five O check tAis morning 4 saw smoke aris
Iingson the main deck ,b7beio " Ct &c ladies'
cabin. 'fhsf'e we're a4of of tubs and some
straw living near, and thu FIRE got among
tilem1 right away r 4 cried /" Fire 2" and
the crew and passengers rushed from their
rooms. There was great confusion, and
tbs fire spread so rapidly as to convince
me thatit had been burning a long time
Within i've minutes the after part Of the
boat was in flames lido not think that all
thesladies had time TO get out Of their state
rooms, aud some of thenf and the children
must have been burned. ~ An effort was
made BY portion Of the crew to reach tic
email boats, but they failed 81 ha. 1TE5, ~
Dir. Chamberlain states that about half
past six clock he was looking over the side
of the boat, and saw the porter come out of
,b, lad ,ast t.r xu,,h q, - L.
ashes, and. going to the bhlwarks, near
whore quantity of miscellaneous freight
was stored, thiow the contents overheard
In aboHt1a quarter Of an hour he heaid the
alarm of fire, and saw the flames issuing
from this pile of freight 1t seems not
more than ten minutes before the wh6le
after part OF the steamer was in flames It
is his opinion that when the porter threw
the Goals overheard the wind drove some
of them back into the freight He heard
no explosion, and thinks that if the fire had
caught from boiler explosion it would
have been discovered sooner zl i4a
Captain Yates of the schooner Corne-
liza, states that when off Waukegan he saw
the burning steamer HeJwas distant from
her four or five miles /; he bore down on
her and succeeded in rescuing two passen-
gers, one OF whom was in the water, the
other on the steamer lie thinks it not
possible that any others were saved. He
learned from one Of the survivors, that 'af
ter theasteanicrl took fire the helm was
dashed hard a>port, causing her to whifli
round and round as long as the engines
work The Cornela did not leave the
wreck untifit was burned to the waters
edgc. She arrived in Chicago at 4:l5
p. M, With the only two survivors of the
i'll tated steamer, agn fa# aa
Mr.. Cham berlan states that when
picked up by the Corncha he was lashed to
bowsprit by rope about his waist. in
which position he couh observe everything
that was going on. When asked if 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. TLis was
liennerby, Who was found floating on a
gang-plank and saved There were six
ianiiiies on board, and the cries of women
and children, and even of men, powcrless
to help either themselves or those depend
ent upon them, were heartrending ia the
extreme. Mr.. Chamberlain says it was the
next thing to the horrors OF death to hear
and see what he heard and saw. When
the fire was discovered the boat was nearly
abreast of Waukegan, and some eight
miles from shore. The vessel burned to the
waters edge and the hull floated near the
shore opposite Rockland station, where it.
sunk. Mr.. Chamberlain says few were &C
tually burned ito death, but nearly all
jumped overheard and were Immediately
overwhelmed in the heavy sea- Henne-
berry's hands were both frozen while he
hung GA the after davits, and Chamber,
lain's hands are badly bruised and
scortched. y -jgoa ngi oaa E7l8 So aeH