Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1884-12-18

A NUMBER Oh Oyster Boats Cap~izsd ON
the ChesapeaKe Bay, and Forty Sailors
Drowned--Thfcs YdanE Girls Perish in
a Rqrning Candy Factory at Detfcit
Mich. N+
bxtrIstonE, Nd, Dec. is.--The first in
formation OF q terrible loss of life during the
storm OF Tuesday night ON the RappalfeIt-
mock River and the lower bay was received
here yesterday upon the arrival OF the
Steamer Mason j.. Weems whose OH
GERS gave Bfitf particulars Of tho
catastrophe. The victims weie, for
the most part, colored men, who were
longing for oysters IN the Kappa
hammock when the gale burst upon them
The wind blew hurricane and the waves
quickly rose TO height OF twenty or thirty
feet, tossing the small canoes, In which
the mbn were ellngIns, like cookie shells.
The loss Is estimated as Kigh as forty, and
seventeen dead bodies have already been
recovered.
Up to noon the weather had been per-
fectly calm, and there was no indications or
the approaching hurricane until about two
o'clock, when a stiff breeze began blowing,
and before the occupants of the frail boats
could seek ports of safety the gale burst
oyer Them with terrific fury. One after an
other OF the tatides was sWamped and the
unfortunate occupants SWEPT away
in the turbulent waters. Many of the
men chung 10 the upturned boats
with desperation that only the knowl-
edge that death was staring them
in the face could give But one by one
their strength wits exhausted, and they were
engulfed The water was ffeeslIis cold.
A few of them-powerful swimmers-mans
aged TO breast the waves and swim ashore,
but such instances were rare. The fleet OF
canoes numbered fifteen IN all :. The men
started from the Lancaster side to sell theft
oysters. Among the party were three or
four white men. Two OF the corpses were
found near Mill Point.
The latest reports place the loss of life at
fully fotty. The storm ragged fercest i'm
the lower bay and on tho lalppahafindck
River. 1t approached from the northwest
striking the lower portion Of the bay. Its
track from the west shore continued across
the bay and up. the Rappahannock River,
sweeping every vessel in it's wake. The
greatest loss of life occurred near MOn0skin,
on the Rappahannock River. At the time
Bevetal Vessels were hard at work and their
Small craft were almost filled with oysters.
The men tried to scud before the wind, and
managed to do so, but for few minutes
only. Many of the boats filed with water
and others capsized. During the storm the
people of the village gathered along the
shore, but nothing could be done to save
the unfortunate men, and fully twenty-five
were drowned in sight of the village.
One colored man, whose name Is said to
be Hawkins, was saved by clinging to the
sdeiof capsized pungy. He was at first
supposed to be dead, but he recovered
shortly after being found -Four men were
discovered III the Carbonon branch and
three on the Middlesex shore of the Kappa
hammock. James Scott, colorcd, wa:
dgQwged, lRY the eapfieiqqGR efi 4 Ncnpaf hifa,
Incoming steamers report wrecks all
along the shore in the wake of the storm.
Captains who were I'm say that 1t was the
most severe storm they have met for many
years. The wind blew at the rate of sixty
miles an hour and the waves ran fully thir-
ty feet high. Captains of the Bay Line OF
steamers say that not half the loss of life or
of the damage done by the storm has been
reported, The tug Ehrnan, of this city,
fesctled Captain Zeigler and his ere W of five
men from the sl6Op Augustus Two min
utes after the rescue the vessel sank.
DETROIT, Mich., Dec. 13.-ShOrtly after
five o'clock last evening the girls enr
ployed In the second story of Gray
Toynton IL Fox's candy factory, cor
neT Oh DdJcS anu NOOuDIluBb SlIteLS
were terrified at the discovery of fire
breaking out in the rear of the room where
they worked. A rush was az once
made for the front of the building for the
fre-escape. In descending the ladder one
girl fell and was slightly hurt Three were
seen standing by the window, but the
danes burst Through and -direyer them b back
flames were subdued, when their bodies
were discovered lying near the window.
Their faces were burned black, but theil
bodies had not been touched.
The names of the girls burned are Fran
ces Messmore, aged fourteen; Annie Lynch,
aged twenty-eight, and Ellen Colgate, aged
seventeen. The loss and damage to adjOiIr
ing buildings is $1,000, fully covered by in
surance. The fire originated in a cellar
| where there was a quantity OF packing ma
terials, but the cause of the ere Is unknown
There had been no fire in the cellar. The
| Coroner impaneled a jury and adjourned
until Wednesday afternoon.