STORM ON LAKE MICHIGAN.

"We left Manitou Island, Lake Michigan, at 4 o'clock p. m. September 25, 1841, on the steamer Chesapeake, which contained three hundred passengers, six of whom were members of the Church, a large quantity of freight and coal, eighty cords of wood, eighty mules, besides pigs, chickens, geese, ducks, etc.

"We continued our journey towards Chicago without any interruption, until half-past eleven p. m., when we were overtaken by a tremendous storm of wind and rain; it blew a hurricane, and the lake became as rough as it could be by the force of wind, and such a scene as quickly followed I never before witnessed in my travels, either by land or sea. The captain, officers, hands, and most of the passengers expected to go to the bottom of the lake. To have judged from outward appearances I should think there were twenty chances of being lost to one of being saved, yet I did not once expect to be lost, for I believed the Lord would by some means save me and my wife and child, who were with me, from a watery grave.

"We were some forty miles from land when the gale struck us, and I was awakened from a sound sleep by the cry, 'We are all lost.' The first thought that entered my mind was, 'No, we shall not be lost.'

"I immediately leaped out of my berth and went to the upper deck. I saw we were in imminent danger of being wrecked; the bow of the boat was heavily laden, and frequently engulfed by the heavy waves that washed over her; there were judged to be fifty tons of water at a time on her bow; at one time her bow ran under water, and some thought she would never rise; the water set the mules and all the live stock afloat; washed away the partition; and the mules, pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese, were all hurled in one mass down into the steerage cabin, mixed pell mell with sixty Irish passengers, men, women, and children; at that moment the roaring of the wind, the rush of the waters the peals of thunder, the flashes of lightning, the braying of asses, the squealing of pigs, the quacking of ducks, geese and chickens, the praying, screaming, and swearing of men, women and children, created a confusion of sounds which rent the air, and sent a gloomy thrill through the heart.

"We immediately went to work, and helped all the passengers out of the water, and from among the beasts, upon the deck, so their lives were preserved, while all the fowls, pigs, and part of the mules were drowned or killed; many tons of water rushed through the boat, until the water stood nearly to the boilers; it drove the firemen from their places.

"About this time, when the boat was laboring against the wind and tide one of the wheel chains broke, and the boat rolled over to one side. I again heard the cry that 'all was lost,' but about thirty of us caught hold of the two detached pieces of chain and held them together until the engineer mended them with wire.

"It took three strong men to manage the wheel; while the boat lay upon her side, it washed away a part of the state rooms; orders were given to clear the boat of everything that was movable; all the wood was fastened with stanchions; on the side that was down, the stanchions were knocked out by the passengers, and forty cords of wood tumbled into the sea at one surge; this caused the boat to right up, and we expected every moment our state room would be washed away. I left it three times with my wife and child, and stepped upon the main deck, expecting to see it washed away; and to add to the horror of the situation we were wrapped in darkness, as all the lanterns were dashed to pieces.

"The men at the wheel labored hard for five hours to turn the boat round before they accomplished it, so that they could run before the storm. At length daylight appeared, and with it a cessation of the storm in a measure. We returned to Manitou Island at four o'clock, being twenty-four hours out, mostly in the storm."