The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1868-04-16
LATER.
About 100 Lives Lost f!
FULL PARTICULARS,


The only survivors Of the steamer Sea
Bird, as far as known are A. G. Cham
berlain and E. Hennebery, both from
Sheboygan. They report some one hun
dred passengers on board, all of whom
persisted.
Mr.. Chamberlain thinks that the por-
ter took out the ashes from the stoves and
scattered Goals among some straw on the
floor, from which originated the fire: He
says that few were actually burned to
death, but most all jumped overheard
and were drowned in the heavy sea which
was rolling at the time.
When the fire was first discovered the
boat was imprudently headed for the
shore, the wind being north east sent the
flames forward and soon hid the ma
chinery.
The engines became so heated tina
they stopped at once, and the four small
boats which were capable of carrying 10
persons could not be lowered. Had they
been, all or nearly all might have been
saved
Various portions of the wreck are
floating ashore at Waukegan and Rock
land, but no bodies as yet Arrange
ments are being mace to recover and
take care Of all such as may be found.
Chicago, April O.
The Sea Bird mot with terrible dis
aster this morning. When off Wauke-
gan, about half-past six o'clock, fire was
seen issuing from a pile of miscellaneous
freight stored around the after guards
outside the ladies cabin In ten minutes
time the entire stern of the boat was
wrapped in flames From the statement
of one Of the rescued, it appears that all
on board came demoralized. even the of
ticers, no efforts being made to lower the
boats
Tie only survivors as far as known are
A. Z. Chamberlain and Edwin Henne
berry, passengers from Sheboygan. The
latter makes the following statement:
There We're IN all about one hundred per-
sons on beard, including eight or ten la
dies and seven or eight children About
five 0 clock this morning | saw smoke
arising GA the main deck, below the Ia
dies cabin. There was lot of tubs and
some straw lying near and the fire got
among them right away | cried fire
and the crew and passengers rushed from
Their rooms There was great confusion
and the FIRE spread so RAPIDLY as to con-
vince me that 1t had been burning a long
time. Within five minutes the atterpart
of the boat was in Games. | do not think
that all the ladies had time to get out of
theirsstate rooms, ano some of them and
the children must have been burned. An
effort was made by portion of the crew
to reach the small boats, but they failed.
MIR Chamberlain states that about
half past six clock he was looking over
the side of the boat, and saw the porter
come out o. the ladies' cabin with a
scut,le of Goals and ashes, and going to
the bulwarks nearwhere quantity of mis-
ceilaneous freight was stored, throw the
contents overheard. In about quarter
Of an hour he heard the alarm of fire and
saw the flames issuing from this pile of
freight. 1t seems not more than ten
than ten minutes before the whole after
part OF the steamer was in flames. 1t 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 If the fire had
caught from boiler explosion it would
have been discovered sooner.
Capt. Yates of the schooner Cornel;a
states that when off Waukegan he saw
the burning steamer. He was distant
from her four or five miles; he bore down
on her and succeeded in rescuing two pas
sengers one of whom was in the water.
the other on the steamer He thinks it
not possible that any others were saved.
He learned from one of the survivors.
that aftey the steamer took fire the helm
was Iashed hard-a-port causing her to
whirl round and round a. long as the en-