Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1868-04-17

The following is the statement of Albert
G. Chamberlain, who was passenger
on board the steamer Sea Bird, which was
burned on Lake Michigan, about SIX miles
from the shore at Waukegan, on The morn
ing of the 9th: ca.
When we were off, about as near as
l can reckon, eight miles southeast
of Waukegan, I was awakened from
sleep by an indistinct rumbllng noise.
When / opened my stateroom door,
found everything in the direst confusion.
Tie tables had been set for breakfast, and
everything was ready for an early meal
The Mortified passengers were rushing IN
haste to the forward part OF the boat. NO
tongue can possibly describe the horror OF
the scene at this period. Men, women and
Children, many of them with scarcely any
clothing upon them, rushed toward the
forward opening. All sorts OF fearful cries
.saluted my ears. The screams OF the ter
rifed women rushing past en- dsshd6a1e, the
cries of the children, the heavy lmpreca-I
lions and shouts of the men, joined with
the cracking of the flames, the noise OF the
engine, and The roar Of wind and water
together-combined such scene OF con-
fusion that never had expected tolbe q
witness of in this world. Looking round
perceived that the after part OF the cabin
was filled with smoke, and noticed now
and again quick, angry forks OF flame
shooting through it, e'ee US s@ =.
The flames made such extraordinary
Roadway that itidid not seem to me five
minutes time before the whole hurricane
deck was afire. The lower decks We're, as
yet, untouched. aaY hgFs5a anizsi. "a
<6<E or rT dnoI nd
noticing the condition of things, went
down to the lower deck to see what
chance there was for safety in that direc-
ton. Here found a portion of the crew
making great noise, shouting to one an
other, and trying to get horse overheard,
with the assistance of which, L suppose,
they intended to make an effort for the
shore. Finding that / could not live here
on account of the smoke, i descended again to
the upper deck and helpedthe second mate,
Leander Packard, tear away as much as
we could of it in order to stop the progress
of the flames toward the bow. At this
time it, was quite broad daylight, and i
should judge between 6 and Z o'clock.
There was a very heavy sea, and it seemed
to be increasing in volume / stood among
the crowd that was hudoled together near
the. forward part. Of the bow, and it was
while standing here that noticed Captain
Morris, without hat, and in his shirt
sleeves, talking with some of the men. He
appeared to be quite calm, and formed a
remarkable contrast in appearance to the
frightened and panic-stricken men gath
cred about him. i53s,g assysN qvtga'3
IS i made my way through the crowd as
far to the forward part of the bow as pos
sible, knowing that that would be the point
which the fire would reach last.
4 Many had jumped, before this time, in
to the water, and must have soon persisted
from the cold. aI go 81 - ka5s Sis
IS was now on the deck forward of the
pilot-house, on the starboard side, and
from the direction in which the wind blew
was entirely sheltered from the flames. qy
5sl AS soon as the cry of fire was raised,
and it was found to be making such rapid
Roadway, there was q simultaneous cry
from many tHead the boat for the shore"
In carrying out this order, the helmsman,
either through the excitement of the Occa-
sion, or because the after machinery of the
wheel had already received damage from
the fire, put the rudder hard aport. This
kept the vessel turning around; but che
had hardly made more than one circuit
when the engines stopped working, and
by this time the hurricane and upper decks
had completely burned of. H s,t.a,e1
About one-half hour after | had left my
state room, there were not more than ten
men remaining on the wreck. -
By this time I had worked my way to
the most forward part Of the vessel. /
pulled down the halyar from the flag
staff and doubled them twice, intending to
run the cord through the staple of the
post and lower myself down. 65.
The men below me, who were holding
on to the sides of the bow, were dropping
off one after another, overcome by either
the heat or cold. roI ~ saaese sd4 fsF
= The last act of the second mate was to
take down the flagstaff and jump over
board with it. -.,.,,f - ). -.ss a. 49,.
During all this time there were dead
bodies floating around the vessel, and many
live persons could be seen battling with
the waves and desperately clinging to
chairs and pieces of the wreck. Hfs Ri
q At this time we were about eight miles
from land. The wind was blowing from
the east, and we floated slowly toward the
shore. 3 sns .ssl e4i q IS aa fa6m Ii
81 Shortly after the mate jumped over
board my seat on the forward post became,
from the approach of the flames, intolera-
BILE. therefore lowered myself over the
bow of the boat, holding ON to the pro-
jecting rim of one of the vessels timbers
with my feet.
AS near as can Judge, about three.
quarters of an hour after l bad reached
the forward deck, was surprised, on look
ing around, to find but one other but N.Y.
self upon the wreck This other individ-
ual, who think was one of the crew, sat
on the rim running round the boat just
forward of the gangway. The sides OF the
vessel were burned right up to where he
had placed himself, and the heat soon be-
came unbearable. He cried out to me to
throw him rope, say ing that he could not
swim or he would jump into the water. |
told him could not help him as my rope
was not long enough. Shortly after this,
he jumped.into the water, SWAN to the bow
of the boat and caught hold of rope a
few feet below where I stood. He held on
to this for some three or four minutes, and
then, completely benumbed, let go, and /
saw him no more, Then hauled up the
rope and reeved it through the anchor
chains below the ring TO which had the
halyards hitched. After fastening it in
this manner, / coiled it twice round my
chest. In a very few minutes / found that
theupper end of the rope was burning /
reached up my hands and blistered them
somewhat in trying to put the fire out.
Seeing that this was of no avail, and
that the rope was likely to burn out of the
ring, which was beyond my reach, took
the other end, which was coiled round
my body, and fastened it in the
anchor chains below the level of the fire.