Around 2 A.M. on September 8, 1860, the steamship Lady Elgin collided with the schooner Augusta in the waters of Lake Michigan near Waukegan, Illinois. The freighter began to sink less than a mile from the shore. Hundreds of passengers began screaming as they leaped into the water. Edward Spencer was a student at a nearby seminary, and he ran down to the beach to see what he could do. A strong swimmer, for six hours Spencer swam out and back, pulling people ashore, battlin