Prologue; The Beginning; Saint John; The Royal Tar; To Portland; The Engine; The Menagerie; The Maritimes; Mogul; Last Trip; Fire!; Rescue; The Veto; Epilogue; Bibliography
Summary
<A name=""DOCS-INTERNAL-GUID-66160685-E0CC-0EAC-2758-115C75A2A987""></a> On October 25, 1836, the sidewheel steamer <span style=""font-style:italic;"">Royal Tar caught fire in Maine's Penobscot Bay. On board was a small circus menagerie returning to Boston from a summer-long tour of the Canadian Maritimes. Plagued by gale-force winds and rough seas, the usual overnight trip from Saint John, New Brunswick, stretched out to four days and, on the fourth day, disaster struck off the island of Vinalhaven. Thirty-two people and all of the circus animals perished in the
