Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1868-04-25

4 vvO Fishing Boats Cspsfzsd fin an Ici
DrifG and Five Mos Drowned.

OrlHE anu Five MOS Drowned
An extra of the Goderich Signal,
dated Monday. 9th inst, contains a
narrative of the drowning of five in
habitants of that town. The details of
the accident, as furnished by Mr..
Leonard, are as follows:
'On Saturday morning last, the 4th
inst, seven fishing boats were manned
by their brave and hardy crews, and
put out from Goderich harbor to visit
their netting ground, some twelve
miles out In the lake. Mr.. Leonard's
boat and two others were stopped and
turned by that gentleman before they
had reached the open lake, his barom-
eter having indicated TO the practical
eye an approaching storm. At that
hour of morning, however, the super
fetal indications of fair day were
favorable, the weather was moderately
warm, with light wind from the
southeast, and showing a little; but,
about o'clock it cleared off to wind
ward, and as the sun shone out bright
ly, there was every probability, as the
majority of the fishermen thought, of
fine day. Reaching the ground
safely, the men got to work as usual. -
About three o'clock In the afternoon,
however, the wind gradually wore
around to the N N. W., and blew a
steady gale, laden with snow and ex-
tremely cold. Warned by the change,
Balm aud others dropped work at once,
and wisely determined to start for
port, which they succeeded in reaching
before they were shut off by an I'M
mense field of ice, which drifted rap
idly down the lake. In this way the
crews of four boats got into the har-
Dor safely, although with difficulty, as
their sails and running gear We're frozen
solid, and the men themselves nearly
frozen to death. Allen Murray's boat
was run on the beach mile before the
town, when men went to their assist
ance and succeeded In getting them
into the harbor. The two remaining
boats, whose ground was considerably
further south than that of the rest,
stopped at their work until they had
taken up their fish, which, with the
ballast and the fast growing ice, sunk
them deep in the water.
VIM. Murray's boat was manned by
himself, Donald Mcclellan, and John
Noble. a. Tolsma's was manned by
Peter Nicholson, Joseph Martin, and
Alexander Martin-all good seamen
trained by constant exposure to the
highest pitch of physical endurance,
Alas, poor fellows, how terribly that
endurance was tried. Murray turned
his prov bravely in the direction of
Goderich harbor, but the fierceness OF
the gale, the weight of the boats la
ding, and the frozen sails so hindered
his progress that he drifted far to lee
ward, and just as the doomed boat was
being surrounded ny the approaching
ice, Sne capsized, throwing the men
into the water. The survivor says that
they chung for some time to the mass,
the distance from shore being about
half a mile, and the water shallow.
Seeing favorable opportunity, Murray
said they must take to the ice. He
and Mcclellan got upon one large cake
of ice and Noble on another. When
last he saw his comrades, Noble says
they were between him and the shore,
but from the direction of the wind
they must have made slow progress.
A larger mass than that upon which
they stood dashed against Noble,
and shattered his frail foothold, but he
fortunately rolled off on the last one,
aud was by it almost carried to shore.
He dimly remembers falling back into
the lake twice from the shore ice, be-
fore he was able TO land, crawl to the
bushes and shout for help. Mrs.
Swaield ION Browns farm) heard his
cries, when he was at once taken into
the house and kindly cared for. He
has now nearly recovered. The other
two must have persisted miserably,
nothing having been heard of them
since.
The remaining boat must have be-
come unmanageable shortly after leav-
ing the fishing ground, for she drifted
helplessly In the direction of Bayfield,,
and was found in the ice yesterday,
Sunday about mile below that place
bottom up, and al hands were lost be-
yond doubt.
VIM. Murray leaves wife and three
small children.
Joseph Martin, from Ashfield, leaves
a wife and four little children.
Peter Nicholson, of GoderIch, leaves
a wife and three young children.
Alex. Martin has been married but a
few weeks.
Donald Mcclellan had no family.
May kind Heaven help the poor
wives and children.
The informant of the Signal thinks
Murray and his companions could have
been saved but for the heavy snow
which hid them from view.
This is truly the most awful calamity
of this kind that has ever occurred on
this shore.