The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-04
cHIcoRA's HULL OFF CHICAGO.
IL Not n Mirage, Is Men Are on n
Life Raft by Her side in the lee.

Life Raft by Her Side in the lee.
Chicago, Feb. 2.-Great excitement pre-
vailed for hours this afternoon and even
ing among the people along the Illinois
shore Of Lake Michigan from South Chi
cago to Whiting. Ind. on account Of a
general circulation Of the report that the
hun Of the steamer Chicora was floating
outside the ice fields between those places.
and that the forms Of human beings could
be discerned moving on the hull
The search so far conducted, while IL
has not led TO the discovery Of anything
in the shape of wreckage or RATS with
living persons on board. has not been eX-
haustiye on account of the darkness over
taking the searchers on the tugs which
were dispatched to the place Of excitement
as soon as the news was received. How
ever, the tugs Protection and Calumet
which were sent from this city to Whit
ing to verify the reports, win resume the
search tomorrow morning
The crews on the tugs say they spled
in the gathering gloom which obscured
their vision an object which looked like
the hull of a vessel or a raft, and that on
their trip from Chicago they encountered
hummocks of snow-laden ice with num-
erous gulls thereon, which might easily
be mistaken for part of a vessel occupied
by human beings by the hundreds of per
sons who lined the lake shores.
The object which gave birth to the most
intense excitement and feverish hope in
three states was first spied off South Chi
cago at 10 o'clock this morning 1t ap-
peared to be ten feet high and lbO feet
long and it was lying between large ice
foes. 1t was floating south.
The police were first informed that they
called on the life saving crew to get out
the boat from Jackson park. An attempt
to reach the supposed wreck in the ine
boat was frustrated by the pack ice, which
was wedged against the shore for miles.
The fire boat Chicago made a similar ef-
fort, but had to abandon it after hghting
the ice for an hour.
At o'clock the tugs Protection and CAL
umet were ordered from the Chicago river
! to make the trip to Whiting The Calumet
| remained at South Chicago while the Pro-
! lection crunched the ice for several miles
! beyond Whiting, which is twenty miles
| south of this city. At O'Clock the Pro-
/ lection returned and said that the only
| tangible thing that had been sighted was
! a plank covered with gulls and ducks.
! The coal supply of the tug was not suft-
cient to continue the search and it's ma
! chinery got out of order so II had to whis-
| tie for help from the Calumet or the
/ search would have been continued in the
dark for a little longer.
/ The most remarkable thing in connec-
ton with the alleged discovery is that
scores of marine men with glasses, and
other people equally reliable under ordi-
| nary conditions, declare positively that
/ they could see men moving on a raft or a
vessels hull The object was also seen by
| the people of Hammond, which is several
| miles south Of Whiting.
Newspaper bulletins I'm the city added
to the popular excitement, everybody hop
ing, even against their cooler Judgment
that the report was true, yet at the same
time doubling that human beings could
live for two weeks in freezing weather
| which has prevailed.