Thunderstorms all day today and into the night. It reminds me of what happened here September 2, 1905.

It was a dark day in the history of the Apostle Islands. Early that morning, the steamship Sevona sought shelter from the storm among the islands. Clawing its way through the tempest, the ship struck a shoal northeast of Sand Island. Seven crew members drowned in sight of shore.

Recollections of a Passenger

Miss Spencer's story of the wreck is as follows:
"It makes me shudder to talk or think of the terrible experience through which we passed. About three o'clock in the morning Captain McDonald knocked at out door and told us that he was going to seek shelter, and for us to secure all breakable stuff in a place of safety, as when the boat put about she would toss badly.

It was only a short time before the captain came to our stateroom again and told us to dress. This we did and a little later two sailors came and accompanied us to the after end of the boat. We were instructed to put on life preservers, which we did. No one seemed to be specially frightened, but a 5:45 came the terrible crash which broke the vessel in two.

We got into the life boat at that time, but the captain and the men could not come aft owing to the break. He hailed us through the megaphone 'Hang on as long as you can.' We did so, but the sea was pounding so hard, that we finally got out of the small boat, and into the large vessel again, all congregating in the dining room which was still intact.

The big boat was pounding and tossing. Now a piece of the deck would go then a portion of the dining room, in which we were quartered. During all this time, the men forward could not get to us. Finally, at 11 o'clock everything seemed to be breaking at once, and by order of the chief engineer, we took to the small boat again.

One by one we piled into the boat, leaving six men behind us. I never heard such a heart rending cry as came from those six. 'For God's sake don't leave us,' they cried, so two of the men who were in our boat got out and helped the six men get the port boat over to the starboard side so they could launch it. These men then left in their boat and our and our men came back to our boat, and we put off.

It was a terrible fight to keep the small boat afloat. And to the skill of the second engineer, Adam Fiden, we certainly owe our lives. He is an expert sculler, and kept our boat right, when oars on the side were practically useless. We knew we were in danger, but we obeyed his orders implicitly, and he finally landed us safe and sound.

When the tug Currie returned from Sand Island Monday afternoon with the six men who were in boat number two, it was also learned that the bodies of Captain McDonald and Nels Severson, wheelsman, had been found on the beach at Sand Island. Justice Davis was instructed to go there and hold an inquest. Upon their return to the island two more bodies had been found, Louis Darwin, first mate, and the other one could not be identified. The bodies were brought to Bayfield and taken in charge by Undertaker Sense, and prepared for shipment. The body of Captain McDonald was sent to his home ln Northeast, Pa., Tuesday and two more of the bodies were shipped to Buffalo Wednesday.

Harry Magnet, a sailor on the steamer W.H.Mack, arrived in the city from Duluth Tuesday evening and identified his brother, Otto Willett, the last one of the bodies that washed ashore from the steamer Sevona. He took the remains of his brother to Cleveland Wednesday.

A search has been made for the three remaining bodies but none of them have been found yet.

The bodies of the second mate and two watchmen are still missing. The survivors of the Sevona were sent to their respective homes Wednesday evening after being in Bayfield since Monday. Their expenses were all paid by the owners of the boat. Valued at $250,000, and insured for $160,000, she was a total loss."

The bodies of the remaining victims were all eventually recovered. Lying just below the surface, the wreck of the Sevona was determined to be a hazard to navigation, and so the Army Corps of Engineers dynamited the wreck in the summer of 1909. Nonetheless, significant portions of the Sevona remain today, and the wreck is a popular destination for sport divers.