The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-04-07
TT1E:I1I..EGR.AP1:.HE3[TC. ! e. ]:
TERRIBLY TRUE.
The Reported Wreck Of an Ocean
Steamship.
White Cross Vessel On the Nova
Scotian Rocks.
One Hundred and Twenty Mine Per
sons Find Watery Graves
Wrecked in sight OF a SAFE EsarbOr
---List OF the Passengers---Da-
srr5ption of the Ship
latest Details.

HALIFAH, N. S, April Tt is now be
Heved that out of the 124 souls on board the
steamer Daniel Stenmann when she went
down oil The Sisters near Sambro, Thursday
night, only nine reached shore alive. They
are ROW on Sambro island, and consist Of the
captain, five of the crew, and three passen-
gers.
During the gale, which blew all day Thurs
day and Thursday night it is thought that in
attempting to make the harbor the officers of
the Ill -fated vessel miscalculated their rate
of speed and were carried past TO the rocks.
She must have struck with great force, and
doubtless sank before the passengers realized
their danger It is known here that ninety
passengers, mostly emigrants from Germany,
We're on board, twenty of whom were to have
landed at this port
Intelligence Of the disaster did not reach
here until late in the afternoon, when, atten-
ton being called to the &c stastrophe, the masts
of the sunken ship were observed from the
mouth of the harbor
tug was at once chartered and put out
for the wreck, but the sea ran so high that it
was impoSsi&e to reach the neighborhood Of
the catastrophe. Still later in the
day the government steamer Newfield at
tempted to reach the wreck, but the fog was
so thick that the undertaking had to be
abandoned. The Newfeld will make
another attempt Three steam-tugs made
gallant efforts to reach the sunken ship, but
got no nearer chan Herring cove, ten miles
away. Owing to the heavy sea prevailing
about the island the survivors will not
reach the mainland until this afternoon. A
Wreckn5 schooner with q crew of divers
Started Gtt this morning to recover the bodies
OF the drowned and such of the cargo as NAV
be worth saving. The most probable theory
is that the vessel struck a sunken rock and
foundcred on White Horse shoal close on
Sambro island. The captain of the Stein
mann lad only visited this port three times,
and was very probably ignorant of the dan
gers Of the coast of Sambro.
LaTER.-The Steinmann struck about 10
O'Clock Monday night on the Mad Rock shoal
between two and three hundred yards south
east of the lighthouse on Sambro island, in
dense fog and fierce gale. She Immediately
rebounded, but moment later struck on the
Gardner Shoal and has an immense hole
knocked in her bottom The water
poured into her in great volume. and she
sank within few minutes after first strik-
ing. SO far as isset known only one life
boat was launched, but how many it at first
contained cannot be even guessed at About
II the men on the Sambro island observed
the boat making the shore, and
guided it by torches around to a calm
cover. Its seven occupants landed safely
Five were of the crew and two pas
sengers. When daylight broke the only
portion of the wreck that was visible was
the topsail yard, to which two people were
seen to be clinging. A boat at once put out
and rescued the pair from their periIous posi-
! tion. They proved to be Capt Schoonhoven
and boy passenger, who had clung to a
submerged spar all night and were in such
an exhausted condition they would soon
have dropped into the sen At this writing,
| 10 n. m, the captain and other rescued per-
| sons are still in Sambro. The SEA is making
it impossible to get to the mainland Two
! divers left here in the schooner Thistle for
| the wreck
New YORK, April 7.-Funch, Edge & Co.,
agents for the White Gross line, of which the
| Steinmann was the best vessel, have re-
| ceived no particulars as to the actual num-
| Der Of lives lost They speak of the accident
as deploreble, as the vessel was one of
the best steamships aAoat. The orig
! inal name of the steamship Daniel ST einmann
| was the Kheiive, owned by Smeirer & Co,
| of Antwerp, who built her in 1875 for the
Baltic trade Finding her too large for that
service, she was laid up until purchased by
her present owners. Her length is 227 feet
inches, with breadth of beam Of "a feet
6 inches. Her cost was about S200,000 She
could accommodate 800 passengers between
decks, besides having ample cabin room. She
is l,7S5 gross tonnage, and was well pro-
vided with lifesavmg apparatus. Capt.
Schoonhoven, of Antwerp, was master of the
vessel, and was always considered an efficient
officer The Steinmann was valued at $780,
600, and was insured in Paris for the full
amount.
The entrance to Halifax harbor is perfect
archipelago of islands like Sambro Their
| coasts are rock bound and bristle with rocks
and cliffs. During southeasterly gaze it is
sure destruction for vessel to be caught tco
near this coast.