The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-12-09
LAKE PERILS.
Details Of Some Of the Results OF
the Recent Gale.
The Loss of the Tug A. p. Wright and the
Sufferings of Her Crew-The Sad Re
suits of an Improperly Dis
played Signal of Distress.

pldgc0 VI DlsIECoo'
MAyYsTEE. Mich, Dec. 1.-The following
additional facts regarding the loss OF three
of the life-saving crew are learned to-day.
Sunday night, when the wind began 20
blow a gale from the northwest, the
schooner A j. Dewey, Of Manistee, was
living at Pierport, waiting to load lumber
for Chicago. The tug a. P. Wright was
with her, and when the big seas were
driven inshore both were compelled tc
leave The tug got a line from the schOon-
er and started to tow her TO Manistee for
shelter. but the gale kept increasing III
violence and the vessel labOred so heavily
that she gave a sudden lurch, and the
strain on the hawser caused il to part.
One end was swept into the wheel OF the
tug. rendering her helpless, and the schOOn-
er was lost sight of il the binding snow
storm.
About three o'clock, after tossing about
in the furious seas for two hours, the tug
struck and rolled over on her side. The2
came the battle for life The crew cor
sisted of five men, as follows: Captain,
Sam Johnson; engineer, Thomas Vaughn:
lineman, Henry Danforth; fireman, AT
gust Hegerman: steward, Harry Darrell.
y
could, urging each other to be brave and
not give up in despair, and at one time
when young Darrell was about to relax
his hold the engineer put his arm arounC
him and held him up. Freezing waves were
sweeping over them and their clothing be-
came rigid with ice. After clinging To
the wreck for three hours, daylight came,
and with no signs of relief. The men by
this time were nearly frozen, and know
ing that they could not hold on much
longer, Danforth volunteered to make ar
effort to reach the shore. His cOmpan-
ions begged him not to further inperil
his life, but the brave fellow 5ilenced their
entreaties, and after divesting himself OF
his heavy clothing, struck out for shore.
He is powerful swimmer, but his mus
cular arms and iron will were hardly a
fair match with the foaming breakers
that Numbered along the beach. But he
fought the battle manfully and was
buoyeT up by the feeble cheers of his ship
wrecked companions, who eagerly
watched the struggling form Of the hero
as he rose and fell with the waves until
he gained the shore. Stopping but for a
moment to salute those who were still on
the wreck, Danforth made his way to a
farm house, and after uttering a few
words, fell fainting to the floor. He was
picked up and kindly cared for
and tonight is out of danger. The
farmer made out that a vessel was in dis
tress, and at once set off for Manistee.
He reached here with his horse reeking
with foam and in few minutes the life
saving crew were hurrying to the rescue
with their beach apparatus. On reaching
a point abreast of the wreck the hOwitzer
+raiDnI 70 limo on1 n we'll direct p6
shot sent the lifeline over the tug. TWAS
within easy reach of the men, and they
hauled the hawser aboard and made it
fast. The brooches buoy was then sent
out, and the first to come ashore was
young Darrell, who is only a boy. The
hawser had not been made taut out and
the slack permitted the buoy to sag
through the surf. Darrell was insensible
when he was pulled ashore, but is now re-
covering The others were safely taken
from the wreck, one at a time, Captain
johnson being the last. 1t was almost
noon when the work of saving human life
was over.
ANOTHER THRILLING SCENE.
In the meantime another thrilling scene
was being enacted sixteen miles south of
here About eight o'clock the Dewey,
having been driven before the gale. ar
rived off Big Point au Sable with a flag of
distress flying from her miZzen rigging.
The patrol at the llfe-saving station located
there sighted the signal and in few
minutes the entire crew were pulling
through the boiling seas. They had cover
ed about one-half the distance between the
shore and the vessel, when the flag was
suddenly hauled to the truck of the fore
mast The Dewey then stood away on her
course and the life-saving crew, realizing
that they had been tricked by vessel that
simply wanted tug, started to return To
their station. They had pulled but short
distance when their life-boat struck bar
and capsized The entire crew was thrown
into the sea and the boat did not right
again. Orrin Hatch and John Smith, two
surfmen. were drowned. 1t is thought
they must have been struck by the bow Of
the boat as both instantly sank from
sight, Captain Flynn, who was in COM
mand, climbed upon the bottom Of the boat
with the aid of surfman Ludwig.
He appeared to be injured and was
gasping as in great agony. The rest OF
the crew, Michael King, Matthew Yore
and Thos. Wishart, caught hold of the life
lines and held on until the boat dragged
ashore. Captain Flynn was taken into the
station, but he soon died. He was for
merly stationed at at the Manitous, and
was transferred to Big Point au Sable last
spring. He leaves a wife and two small
children Orrin Hatch was a resident OF
Ludington. Mich, where he leaves wife.
John Smith was single. His relatives live
at St Joseph. Mich, which was at one
time the home of Captain Flynn.
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