In the nineteenth century, the ocean often swallowed ships with only a single newspaper notice marking their non-arrival. These tragedies were felt acutely within the victims' communities but soon forgotten by the rest of the world. The story of SS Portland's loss and what transpired after is different. Certainly, the number of victims set it apart in the minds of New Englanders, but, more importantly, the epic nature in which it sank, disappearing without giving up most of its passengers and crew, kept it reverberating in the region's cultural history. These factors made the event fruitful fodder for storytelling and created a need to find out: What happened to Portland?
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