Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-10-15
DISASTER ONLAKE MICHIGAN
L Ofth La BelIe-Particulars Of
the PriVati0ns and Suiferings OF
her Passengers and Crew.
Some Of the Life Boats not yet Heard
frOm-Probable Loss Of Many
LiEes-StOry OF the See
Ond Engineer.

MILWAUKEE, October l4.-A private
/ dispatch to Mr.. Engelura, from Racine,
/ saws only one ofthe Lac La Bellies boats
/ has been heard from. -Four or five boats
/ started to the southwark and one TO the
nOrthward. The others course Is not
/ known. One of the boats, well filled
principally with ladies and the captain,
is reported lost. A later private dis
patch from the same place, says boat
with eleven men has just come here
from the propeller Lac La Belle. She
foundered twenty miles of this morning
at six o'clock. The passengers think all
the boats are safe, and but few if any
persons lost. She belonged to the Egle-
maun Transfer Company.
Another boat load from the Lac La
Belle has arrived at Kendsha, including
the Captain, ii. w. Thompson, and the
purser, VIM. Sanderson. The Lac La
Belle sprung a leak at twelve O'Clock
midnight, and went down at two
o'clock in the morning. She was heavi-
ly laden with flour, grain sRd pork.
RACINE, Wis, October 14.-The sec
ond engineer of the Lac La Belle, who
was in oneof the boats which has arrived
here, gives the following account Of the
disaster: They left Milwau kee at nine
o'clock last night. About midnight the
steamer sprung leak, and made water
rapidly. There were about twenty-five
passengers on board, including seven
ladies and three children. The crew
worked hard all night, trying TO prevent
the vessel from sinking, and threw con
siderable Of her cargo overheard, but all
to no purpose. Finding the steamer
about to sink, they prepared to take to
the life boats, of which there We're
five. Into one of these five of the ladies
were put, with a good crew to manage
it. The men were, however, tired out,
having worked all night with nothing
to eat, and suffering from cold. When
the last boat left the steamer | saw five
of the men left on her when she went
down. / saw four of them in the water,
one cliugirg to piece of timber. think
they must have been lost, as we could
give no assistance without danger OF
swamping our boat. Two of the hve
boats drifted south, toward Kenosha
There were five boats in all, two lie
boats, yawl, and two small boats. We
got all the people into these boats with
the exception of five or six men who re-
fused to leave the vessel, and who, /
think, were drowned when she
went down. had in my boat
seven persons, Peter Wetter, NJ.
Warner and wife and Robert Fogg,
Louis Ochstem, Rebecca Campbell and
myself. We landed six miles south OF
Racine at six o'clock this evening, hav-
ing been over twelve hours on the wa
ter. During the forenoon, a propeller
with two smokepipes passed quite near
us, but made no response to our
signals, although l am confident she
saw US. Two of the five boats have
arrived here-mine, and the one COM
manded by the second engineer. Ny
boat, as stated, had seven persons in all
on board. The engineers boat had ten
Of the crew, including the first and
passenger and boy-twelve persons in
all.
w. Sanderson, clerk Of the Lac La
Belle, says: We left Milwaukee at nine
o'clock Sunday evening, having on
board nineteen full passengers and two
children, with a crew Of thirty-two
men, all told. About midnight, when
about ninety-five miles Off Racine, the
sea running heavily, We shipped q
heavy sea amidship which put out the
fires and stopped the engines. 1t was
blowing hard from the north, and when
the vessel was lost her headway thewind
swung her around and the heavy sea
strained open her seams, through
which the water rushed with such force
that in spite Of all efforts OF the crew it !
gained rapidly upon US, and about half
past five in the morning it became
evident that the steamer would go down. |