Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-10-20
FURIOUS GALES BLOW.
81 LIVES LOST IN LAKE ERIE
DROWNED AT ONEKAMA.
Large Loss to Vessel Property on all the
Lakes-Tug Acme Sank In Lake HUI
ron-Several other Disasters.
WRECK of the Dean Richmond.

~
Richmond, off Dunkirk, n. Y. The
first that was heard of this disaster
was when the captain of the Helena
reported having sighted the Dean Rich
mond off Long Point, where she seemed
to be laboring under difficulties. Later
Captain Jack Tierney of the steamer
w. ii. Stevens reported at Buffalo he
sighted the Richmond In the middle of
the lake. One of her stacks was miss
ing and while he was looking the
other stack and spar went by the
board. She was laborlng heavily in
the trough as though her steering gear
had become disabled. Her cargo was
so tons of merchandise from Toledo to
Buffalo. She belonged to the Toledo,
st. Louis q Kansas City line.
Three unknown bodies, apparently
of sailors, were washed ashore a few
miles from Dunkirk. The sign board
of the boat, bearing her name, was
later found, and some barrels of flour,
which formed part of her cargo, have
also drifted TO land. The bodies on
the beach had life preservers on and
the men had evidently been killed on
the rocks after having succeeded in
reaching shore after hard fight with
the sea. Only one man survived and
Is were drowned.
Disaster at starke-six Lives Lost.
The big schooner Minnehaha was
beached at Starke, 10 miles north of
Onekama, TO save her from laundering
in deep water. The sea soon over
whelmed the wreck and drove the
crew into the rigging; the schooner
went TO pieces and but one, Captain
William Packer, was saved. The dead
are: John Rafferty,, mate; John Raj
ferty, Jr., sailor; William Ahlstrom;
Mary Keefe, cook; two sailors, names
unknown.
The wreck was first sighted by
man on the bluff at Starlle, who jumped
on horse and rode at "A furious rate
through the storm TO Onekama: tele-
graphed for the life saving crews at
Manistee and they came on special
train. The trip through the woods
woods was hindered by the storm and
fallen trees and il was midnight before
the crew reached a bluff overlooking
the lake. The crew from Frankfort also
arrived and three efforts were made to
get TO the wreck in life boats, but they
were driven back. Then a line was
thrown across the vessel, but there
was no one TO take it in and nothing
could bc done but patrol the beach to
aid possible survivors. At daylight
eager eyes pcered out on the lake.
There was nothing to indicate where
the schooner had stranded, mass of
wreckage being thrown up by the surf
on the beach was all there was left of
the wreck.
The lost schooner Miunehaha was
owned at Cleveland; valued at S25, 900;
insured for $4,000. She was built in
1850.
Numerous Vessels Ashore OF Missing.
The storm blew more than 60 miles
an hour on upper Lake Huron. Six
vessels went ashore near Cheboygan.
First the steamer c. +. Curtis and her
tow, the Isabel Reid, Il. $. Fassett and
Nelson Holland, between Point Sable
and Cheboygan, striking rocky bot
tom; then the barges Knight Templar
and Sweepstakes, went ashore between
Cheboygan and Duncan. The schooner
Volunteer went ashore on Lake Huron
about seven miles from Port Austin.
1t is believed that the schooner AHnt
Ruth, which left Alpena five days be-
fore the storm has been lost, nothing
having been heard of her since she left
port. She carried crew of five men
and was owned at Port Huron. Even
the staunchest and most powerful
steamers went in shelter and only one
steamer passed the Straits of Macki-
nav after the storm began. She was
the 500 liner Washburn.
The tugs Acme and Reliance were
towing 100000 feet of logs which
they were obliged to drop; water filed
the hold of the Acme and it was only
by the most heroic efforts on the part
of the Reliance that the crew of the
Acme was saved before she went down.
The raft is total loss.
Captain Daydall of the steamer
Neosho reported at Buffalo three
masted schooner sunk in Lake Erie.
The steamer Amboy wrecked off Buff
falo harbor and the cargo is a total
loss. The John Il. Mott sank in the
harbor. About 5000 feet of the south
end of the new Buffalo brealSwater
was carried away.
On Lake Superior the gale was felt
severely. Three boats are missing and
one ashore. Several had their cabins
stove in by the heavy seas, which
made a clean sweep over the decks.
The Canadian steamer ID. ID. Calvin,
with consorts Ceylon and Augusta,
left Fort William before the storm,
bound for Kingston. The steamer
Alberta left "a hours after them and
arrived at the 500. Her captain says
that he saw nothing of the missing
boats and the worst is feared. The
schooner Yukon. went ashore at Waiski
Bay. She is new boat, having come
out this year, was owned at Port
Huron and valued at $4,000. The
schooner Ironton went ashore at Bay
Mills and the steamer Castalia at Sail
ors' encampment, both probably total
loss. A large amount of wreckage came
ashore at Whitefsh Point which seems
| to indicate that some vessel had foun-
dered, probably with all on board.
The Jay Gould came into Bay Mills
with five feet of water in her hold.
The first mate, Ben Lewis, was caught
by wave and washed off the deck
AS the crew were throwing him line:
and life preservers, another wave from
the opposite direction caught him anC
landed him on the deck again with 6
| crash.
St. Ignace: Steamer A. McVittie, o.
the Vermont Central line went ashore
on Beaver Island with 500, 900 cargo
of merchandise. Schooner Chas. Craw
ford went ashore at Bots Banc Island