St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-09-02
ONLY ONE SURVIVOR.
Steamer Western Reserve
Breaks in Two on Lake
Superior.
She Founders, and Crew and
and Passengers Take to
the Boats.
One Boat Capsizes at Once
and the Other Gets Near
ly to Shore,
When 1t Capsizes, and All
Drowned but One
Man.

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich, Sept. l.
The fish tug E. Nj. B. A. arrived down
tonight, having as passenger Harry
Stewart, OF Algona, wheelsman, the
only survivor from the mammoth steel
steamer Western Reserve. wncn foun-
dered Tuesday morning about O'Clock,
sixty miles above White6Sh Point, on
the course to Keewenaw.
The Western Reserve, up-bound and
light, left the 500 canal Tuesday after
noon. having on board as passengers
Capt. Peter Minch, her owner, his wife,
children and his wife's sister, besides
the regular crew of twenty-five hands.
The rest of her short history and the
sad fatality is best told in the words of
Stewart. VINO is the only one left of the
twenty-seven SOULS to tell the terrible
tale:
'Everything went well until about
sixty miles above Whitelish. when the
nrst warning any one OH board had of
impending danger was terrific crash
about 9 d. m., caused by the huge craft
breaking in two and breaking the main
mast about half way up the rigging.
She took in water fast from the staIt,
and the yawi boats were lowered. Capt.
Aiinch, his family aud the officers and
crew of the boat to the number of seven
teen got into the wooden yawl and the
others took to the metallic one. The
Reserve
Sank in Ten Minutes
and before she had hardly gone out of
sight, the metallic yawl capsiZed. The
other went to her assistance. but only
Succeeded in resculng two of her Occu-
pants, Capt. Myers son and the Stew
ard.
The nineteen survivors started for
Whitefish, sixty miles away. The wind
was about west when they started. but
yeered to north, making considerable
sea. But the yawl weathered the
breakers all night and until the next
aorBing, when. about ten miles from
Llfe-saving Station No. 10 and about
mile from the shore, it capsiZed.
Stewart says that he saw none of the
occupants after that. He struck for the
shore. but the cries of the children,
screams of the women and moaning of
the men were terrible for a few mo-
ments, when all became silent. Stewart
was in the water two hours. de struck
shore about ten miles above the station,
and had to walk there before reaching
any one to render him assistance. A
search failed to find trace of any other
survivors of the wreck, and there Is no
question they were all drowned.
The Western Reserve was one of the
largest crafts on the lakes. and has only
been on the Lake Superior trade little
over a year. She was owned by 2. q.
ON her.
List of the Lost.
CLEVELAND. O.. Sept. 1.-The West
ern Reserve left Cleveland last Sunday
afternoon for Two Harbors. Mimi. for
iron ore. On board, in addition to the
crew, were the principal owner, Z. &.
Ahnch, a wealthy vessel man of this
city: his wife, his son Charlie, aged ten
years; his daughter, aged six years: his
sister-in-law, Mrs. Engleby, of Yer
million, o., and the latter's daughter
Bertha, nine years old. They were out
for recreation. The list Of the crew. as
nearly as can be obtained, is as follows:
Albert Myers, of Vermilllon, O.. cap
tain; Fred ingalls,, first mate; William
II. Seaman, Of Cleveland, chief engi-
George Davis, assistant steward; Daniel
Forbes. lookout: Carl Myers, wheel
man; Harry Stewart, wheelman;
Robert Simpson, oiler. The fol-
lowing persons are supposed to
be the renal rder of the crew, the
names being taken from the last regis
tered list: Charles Leban. second
mate; Bert Steward. S. T. Hatten. fire
man; John Latcham, fireman; Horace
Borough. fireman.; Martin Klausen,
oiler; Daniel Stickney, r. Longfeld,
Albert Davenport, Daniel OConnell. NJ.
Coffee and John Wilson, deck hands.
The Western Reserve was one OF the
largest and finest of the new steel steam
erS on the lakes. She was built by the
Cleveland Shipbuildng company, and
launched Oct. 20, 1890. She was owned
by the p. d. Alinch estate and others of
this city and was valued at S220.000 i'll
Lioyd's Inland Register. The Western
Reserve was 300 feet long and Al feet
beam. She was considered a thoroughly
staunch and seaworthy boat.
A dispatch from Deer Park says that
three bodies and yawl from the
wrecked steamer Western Reserve were
cast up by the waves near there today.
One of the bodies is that of Capt.
Minch, the owner of the lost steamer.
He was identified by watch found on
his person. The two other bodies are
unidentified, one being that of pretty,
dark-haired lady.