The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1872-10-17
Loss OF the Propeller Lac La Belle Of
The Engieman Line.
SHE FOUNDERS AND GOES DOWN
OFF RACINE.
A Considerable N umber of The Passen
gers and Crew Saved.

The statement OF Mr.. Dow, the agent of the Engle
man Company at Grand Haven, is the most COM
plete account we have met with
Statement of ar. Do,e.-The Lac La Belle left
Milwaukee on time at p. III. Sunday night, with
twenty-three passengers and five hundred tons OF
freight. There high running, but the
steamer made very good weather. Sat up with the
Captain in his for about an hour. During the
the was there the captain remarked; Il am
afraid the boat is going TO rock too much re-
Piled laughingly LET her rock. Wore here first"
/ then retired TO my rCom Think had slept about
two hours when was awakened by the crashing OF
glass. few minutes later the clerk Mr.. Sanderson
through the cabin and raped on sill the state
room doors, shouting, 'Turn out and help roll the
ght overheard. The headlights in. If
you don't all help work you'll ali go to the Eottom.I
turned ont as speedily as possible with the rest and
went below. When got there, found the propel-
Ter headed for Milwaukee. EAery one on board ex-
cept two worked with will rolling freight
overheard. Met Captain Thompson and asked him
what he thought OF the situation. He replied: 'We
have got lose the boat I'm afraid. If keep
L think The engines at this time still work
ing and the boat making slow progress toward Mil
waukee. We had ten pounds OF steam and were FIR
ing with lard and other fatty substances. Alter all
of the freight, except little forward had been rolled
overheard, went up forward on the promenade
deck 1 heard the captain tell the wheelsnan keep
her head to the sea, if she got into throughs we
lost. He ordered them to mind the wheel
avery moment
her Roadway, would not steer, and fell off into the
trough of the The helm was dashed snishps
as long as seaI1 lasted. Soon after tn hand-pun'ps
were manned, Captain Thompson spoke to me, say
ing: "Ned. if we can keep her pumps going and
lower the water which think we can do, we will be
able raise steam and get the Belle into Milwaukee
About half an hour afterward he took me forward
sinking under u.s. but save lives He
then sent for the lookout man. Capt Charles
Scott with instructions to have him go upon the
hurricane deck with men, and get the boats ready to
lower away to leeward. This order was obeyed with
eacrity, and the boats all lowered without acct
dent The first boat, intended for ladies and other
passengers, was taken possession Of by an engine
greaser, who armed with carving Knife kept every
body out but his companion greasers. L told the
rufian he must take these ladies and mauy more
the boat would hold and haul out of the way for
the other boats. 1 managed to put in Mr.. Rich and
his daughter also woman who Isuppose to have been
Mrs Smith, and erlitte The boat i'll charge
of Monroe the colored cook, the second to leave.
The Captains boat and my boat left about the same
time. We had to use force to induce the captain to
| leave the ship When We left there were half doz-
en- persons board the sinking steamer who refused
to trust themselves in small boats. One Of these
S. VI yener, Tobaeconist West Water street,
/ with Ruembeli & Hoya He last on the
promenade deck, in the bow of the boat, Another
the second cook, who stood in the forward gang
/ way. There Were also or two persons the
promenade dee k. saw nothing of them after the
| steamer sank. The Lac la Belle went down stern
forward few moments after We left. She appeared
to break in two the pipes, throwing the engine
out and lifting the cabin into the air with such force
to shiver it to kindling wood. The last object
the rsck the figure Of the Goddess of Lib
erty which surmounted the pilot house, with small
on the Fourth Of July last The figure floating
in an erect pos tion and the flag fiutterng in the
wind All of the officers and most of the passengers
were cool and collected. Rebscca Campbell the
chambermaid, robed herselfin her best garments.
tried to frighen her by telling her that she must
swim. Mr.. Kearney, the first mate, sporively asked
her to give him her money she would not have
any farther for it. But remained unmoved.
and finally took position in the bow OF the captain
boat, and at times directed them how to steer Our
boat kept with the wind and sea, making about
fac or six miles an hour. When about eff Yauke-
gan, yesterday, al hafpast one, p. we picked
up by the schooner Floretta, bound down from Chca
go with gran which carried us between the points
of Milwaukee bay, where embarked in our boat
and rowed into the harbor, reaching Engleman5
dock at halfpast two O'Clock this morning The
boat in which saved the only one,by the
way that did net capsize when the Nilcakec strand
ed at Grand Haven.
For time it supposed that the boat had taken
large number of passengers, but the plain, strait
forward of Clerk sanderson dispelled this
deusive idea and it appears that only eight or
ten lost their lives OF this number appeared
to have become paralyzed with fear and oonster ma
ton, and they could even he inducea to take to
the boats the ladies had done. Those in charge of
the launches to avoid danger through the sinking Of
the sroaner, consequently obliged to leays them
to their fato.
Through the admirable management of Captain
Thompson and his aides the boats were we'll manned
and provisoned. OF those who trusted to luck upon
parts of the reck seaman named Nelson was fortu-
nate enough to be rescued by the Propeller Cuba.
The cargo of the Lac La Belle consisted of nearly
$4,000 bushels of barley in bulk, forty tons in bag,
200 barrels OF flour 80 bbls. of pork, 25 bills of
whskey, 20 tons of feed, and sundries to add an
aggregate Of five hundred tons