The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-07-05
EXCURSION srEAMEn c4Ps1zrs.
Terrible Disaster in Salem Bay During
 Yesterday,s storm.

Yesterdays storm.
 Beverly, Mass, July 1.-The small excursion steamer Surf City with about sixty passengers on board, while half way over from Salem Willows to her wharf here, a distance of about two rife squall about o'clock tonight and capsized. Of those on board large majority are reported to have been res- cued by boats from both the Salem and Beverly shores, but no less than six bodies have been recovered at dark, and as it is known that many rushed into the cabin before the squall it is thought that twice as many are still | confined there As one or two of those taken ashore are in critical condition | it appears likely that the list Of dead | may reach a score. The following bod | ies were recovered from the wreck: Mrs. Catherine D. Weber, 25 years old, of Bverly; Miss Grace Shell. thirteen years old daughter of Arthur Shell of Beverly; three year old son of John Kenney of Beverly: two unidentified women, one unidentified six year old
 boy.
 | Of those rescued Miss Bertha Lovett of North Beverly, Hazel Herzey, one year old, of Beverly; Miss Emerson of Danvers, and an unknown two-year- old girl are still in a critical condition. Otto Carris, fireman was also bad | ly scalded. The Surf City is a small screw steamer with two decks and has
 been making trips in Massachusetts
 bay for a number of years. This year
 she was put on the Baker Island line,
 making half dozen trips a day from this city, stopping on each one at Salem | Willows. She came up from Bakers i Island, about o'clock and left Salem Willows at 6:05.
 Captain Dalby, her commander, saw signs of squall as the boat left the | Willows, but thought he could make her wharf here before it struck. He | had just reached the Beverly Bar when
 the storm struck the boat, and at the
 same time lightning bolt struck the
 beacon at the end of the bar. Amid | the terrific din of the thunder which
 followed the lightning flash and the
 fearful whirl wind, the little steamer
 careened over to starboard and went
 down, so suddenly that event the com mander had the greatest difficulty in getting out of the pilot house. The boat sank in about fifteen feet of water, | her hurricane deck being loosened in | the gale while all those on board were
 either thrown into the water of the bay
 or struggled desperately to get from under the decks or out of the cabin of
 the boat.
 l The steamer was seen to go down by persons on both sides of the bay and
 boats immediately put out to the wreck, reaching her in a few minutes. Those in the water were quickly hauled
 aboard, some being taken to the Rev. erly shore while others were taken to
 Salem. This scattering of the survi-
 vors led to the greatest confusion and for long time tonight it was difficult
 from the conflicting stories to ascertain | just how many persons were on the
 boat The scene, while the work of
 rescue was going on, was fearful one,
 as over half of those on board were
 women, and many clung to the top of
 the hurricane deck and supported
 themselves until the boats came, while
 others grasped the flagstaffs and even
 the smokestack. The suspense before
 the first boat reached them was awful,
 for though the time was but a few
 minutes, it seemed eternity to those in
 the seething waters Darkness closed
 down on the ill-fated boat with the tide
 rapidly rising above her smokegtack
 and it is hardly probable that any
 more bodies will be found before to-
 morrow morning. Nearly all those on
 board are said to have come from this
 side of the bay, and tonight there was
 a wild scene about the city looking for
 the missing. Tn most cases they turn
 ed up, but at a late hour a dozen or
 more were unaccounted for. The disas-
 ter was the most terrible that ever oc-
 cured in Salem bay.