Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-04-28

Milwaukee, April 2O-The dreadful
storm Of last night carried away the
house built on top Of the crib at the
mouth Of the tunnel, about three fourths
of a mile from the pumping works al
the foot Of North street, and fourteen
men were drowned
f., The shore Of the lake is streWn with
, tlmDerS, boards, tools and articles OF
! clothing worn by the men in the ill
! fated crib.
The catastrophe is supposed to have
! occurred about five o'clock this morn
/ ing. At day break a man at the pump,
, ing station was notified that the house
on the crib had disappeared. The news
was soon known to the public and it
/ was an anxious crowd that stood on
! the shore and looked seward. Some
/ of the spectators relatives were the
men in peril.
The sea Was the most awful one any
body in the vicinity had ever seen.
The waves were fully fifteen feet high
and dashed oyer the crib with terrific
force.
All that was left OH the crib was a
couple OF posts that supported the
house. Two large boilers, an engine,
two puaps, an air compressor plant
had been washed off.
Shortly after O'clock one of the spec
tators who was looking at the crib eX-
claimed: 4 can see a man. Others
strained their eyes and sure enough
they could gee a man moving cautiously
about Oh the crib. ] was only by cling
ing TO a few remaining timbers that
he was saved from being washed off
by the waves,
The men waved their hdndkerchiefs
10 let the man know he WAS seen and
those looking through glasses could see
the man on the .erib answer the signai
waving one of his hands While with the
other he chung to the pump Cor life.
From her sta ton in the hight house
At the north point, Mrs. G. S. StebbilHs
witnessed the destruction Of the crih
house and relTtes a thrilling story.
The tug Welcome was dispatched tC
the scene and, on account. of the fright
ful sea, she took a life boat with its
crew Of five iD tow. Tie battle of the
Welcome against the angry waves was
watched by thousands OF peopSe on the
Shore.
When Capt Peterson, after an al
most superhuInan effort succeeded in
reaching the crib by means Of a rope
and with a life preserver around his
body He was met by 8 horrible sight
One man, James Miller, was still alive
and c1fnging to the post above. About
dim were the corpses OF two or three
comrades.
The list of drowned is as fellows:
John Mcbride, engineer, Of Chica go;
Michael Dyre, of Milwaukee; Williams
Pruesner, fireman, Of Chicago; George
Gregg, lock tender, of Milwaukee;
James Murphy, miner, Of Milwaukee;
Joseph Pezo1, miner, of milwaukee,;
Gustav Lonovitch, miner, of Milwaukee;
Peter Scener, miner, Of Milwaukee,;
William Marion, miner, Of Chicago;
Charles Johnson miner, Of Chicago.
John Healy, miner, of Milwaukee;
Frank Brown miner, of Milwaukee:
John Donovan, miner Of Chicago; Bd-
ward Cambryan, (colored steward, of
Chicago.
The huge waves beat against and over
the government break-water mercifess-
~ and literally demo1ishing about fifty
feet of the superstructure, causing near
! W 100000 damage.
The rescue of the only survivor was
a brave piece of work by mgr Olson,
Of the Hye-savfng crew. Olson went
into the crib, which was almost sub
merged and momentarily swept by huge
seas, and secured the exhausted man.
He strapped him to his back and then
j jumped into the lake and was drawn
! aboard the life boat. When the tug got
In sight of the pier three men were
clinging to it, but two were washed
away l>nfore the fve-saving crew, which
accompanied the tug, could reach
/ them
A trying scene was enacted on the
beach at the water pumping station
while the slow work Of attempting to
rescue the jeopardized men was in
/ progress. The aged father of Dwyer,
| one of the victims, was running about
on the sand like one bereft of his SEN
crib machinery was crying and wiring
/ ses, and the wife of the engineer of the
| ing her hands distractedly. The help
i lessness Of the would-be rescuers both
on the lake and on shore was some
thing agonizing to those who had rela-
tiyeS on the crib.
! There was great excitement on shore
when morning broke and it was discov,
cred that the crib house was gone.
Watchers could see no vestige either OF
the crib or the house that srIrmounted
it and but faint traces here and there
of the government breakwater that
was hidden in the mountains of surf
that broke over it. The entire prospect
as far as the eye could reach was one
awful spectacle of seething, boiling,
roaring pillows that seemed to unite
with the clouds in the bay On the
beach were two undertaken crafts
that had vainly sought shelter behind
the breakwater and the shore was
strewn with the wreckage. About 20C
feet of the breakwater, which was
thought to be stanch enough to with