The Semaphore of December 22 says:
While the steam packet Le Claire was on its way from Marseilles to Algiers, with 400 passengers on board, it encountered a strong gale from the south-west. In the middle of the night a tremendous sea struck the ship, swept the deck, penetrated into the cabins and engine room, and threw every thing into the greatest confusion. In the midst of the general panic, while the crew were making every exertion to rid the interior of the boat of the superfluous element, a terrific cry was heard from the second cabin: “Help! help! the shark is gnawing me!” screamed, in a voice half-suffocated with terror, an unfortunate dramatic artist, who, awaking in a cold bath, had found in his arms a sheep, which had been precipitated into the cabin through an opening made to let off the water.
They hurried to the traveler, whom they found more dead than alive, immersed in water in company with the placid quadruped. This accident has thrown the poor artist into such a state of excitement and hallucination, that, in spite of all the consoling attentions that were lavished upon him, it has been impossible to counteract entirely the effect upon his nerves, and he still fancies himself pursued by a marine monster.
Cincinnati Daily Press, Cincinnati, OH, March 6, 1861