The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1882-12-02
on A RAFT In A GALE.

Thrilling Experience In n Gale on lake
Michigan-Four men of Schooner's
Crew Lost and -Four Others Left to Cling
for Thirty-one Hours to Gradually
Sinking Raft-One Becomes Maniac and
Dies-Bescue of the Others, with the
Water knee-Deep on the Raft.
MILWAUKEE, November Is
The propeller Wisconsin. on her arrival hero
from Grand Haven this morning, brought the
news OF the loss of the schooner Coilingwood
and her Captain and four of her crew in Thurs
days storm. When about two hours out from
Grand Haven the men on board the Wisconsin
heard cries for help comingup from the water.
The Wisconsins life-boat WAS manned and put
out in the direction from which the sounds
came. The boats crew soon came upon a raft
on which were found three half-frozen men.
They were taken on board the Wisconsin, and
proved to be the survivors of the crew of eight
men belonging to the schooner Collingwood.
Their names are: II. d. Sheldon, Frank Nc
Fee, and Nicholas johnson. The following is
Johuson's account of the loss of the schooner
and the remaining five of the crew:
The ColingwOod was loaded with cedar
poles, and was going from st. Helena to Chi
cago. She was miserable old thing, and was
almost unseaworthy. l understand the boat
was worth about $4,000, and the cargo about
5000 st. Helena is near the mouth of the
straits. During the gale Thursday afternoon
the vessel became water-logged, and we
worked the pump for all IL was worth. About
four O. clock in the afternoon the pump got
choked, and things looked pretty blue, l tell
you. The gale was blowing from the north
west, and about five o'clock the sea made the
vessel roll over. There we lay, right on the
broadside till the topmast went out,
when with great groan she Strengthened
up on her beams-ends and kept that
1.
the deck burst up, caused by the pressure of
the water against the cargo, and she rolled
over and went down head first The whole
crew, eight of u.s. were all hanging for dear
life to the taffrail, thinking that it would be
the last thing that would give way. After she
went down the sea washed over us. The Cap
tain and three other men who were lost were
seen floating with posts under their arms.
There was piece of deck about six feet
square and three of us got on that. Sheldon
got on another raft, the one we three were on
when we were picked up. Four Of us
finally got on to that raft. We suf-
fered terribly, the air being biting cold,
and a fierce gale was blowing. To
make matters worse the steward became
a raving maniac during Thursday night, and
il was all that two of us could do to keep the
poor fellow on the raft. All through the
night and during Friday the man fought us,
the water, but we dragged him out. About
four o'clock yesterday afternoon his strength
gave out, and after a last maniacal struggle he
died. We held on to his body for awhile, but
had to let it wash overheard. Finally, as we
had no way of fastening 1t to the raft, we took
some papers and things out of his pockets,
and among them was receipt for consider
able sum of money that he had deposited
with a Chicago store-kecper named Jacobs.
early yesterday morning all of us became
almost totally blind from the terrible expo
sure. That, of course only tended to aggra-
waite our sufferings. How we managed to live
so long under the circumstances the Lord only
knows. But we couldn't have lasted much
| longer. Last night we were so sleepy that IL
was with difficulty we could keep our eyes
| open. The raft gradually began lowering IS
the posts under it absorbed the water, and
| from dark on until the time we were found
we stood in water the whole time nearly knee
deep. If there had been any place to sit down
we would have gone to sleep and frozen 10
death. We continued walking from one end
to the other, and some one would occasionally
go to sleep while walking and step overheard.
The others would pull the unfortunate back
onto the raft. McFee walked off the raft three
| times last night and succeeded after great
trouble in getting him back each time. For
| thirty-one hours we didn't have thing to eat.
| L managed 10 ulE Il llttle DIT OF Oakum out or
the raft, and the three of us chewed this for
| twelve hours. McFee would have died in a
couple of hours if we hadn't been picked up.
| He was beginning to act crazy, and was so
numb that it was with difficulty that we kept
| him on his feet. If the Wisconsin hadn't come
| along just when she did it would have been
| gOod-by with us, for we couldn't have lived
much longer and we real zed also that the
raft was gradually becoming wate rlogged and
| sinking"
But little is known concerning the lost men.
| Captain WiletS was sixty years of age, and a
| resident of Kingston, Canada. The name of
| the steward who persisted on the raft could not
| be ascertained. The other pc sons lost con-
| sisted of two Norwegian sailors and boy. All
are supposed to have been Canadians.
| The clerk of the Wisconsin said that it was a
| little peculiar, but by the merest accident the
| boat had been driven quarter of point out
| of the way in coming across, and this unusual
course caused them to find the survivors of
| the crew.
The survivors of the wreck were found on
| the boat, and they proved a sorry looking lot.
| Their hands, feet and limbs were badly frosted
| and swollen, and II was with difficulty they
| could walk. Mr.. Sheldon, the mate, said the
| sufferings of himself and companions during
| the long time they were drifting around at the
| mercy of the cold waves were terrible in the
| extreme and that words were inadequate to
| describe what they had gone through.