Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1894-05-26
Winds AND WAVES

Play Havoc with shipping In Laks
MichIgsn-Heroic Work by Iife-Saving
Crews-SeveraI Vessels Driven Ashore at
Chicago In Sight OF Tens nf Thousands
Of IIorriiied Spectator-Fears Enter
tained for Other Craft.
CHICAGO, Nav ls-Lake Michigan
has not been lashed and churned for
months as she was to-day by the fierco
wind that has been sweeping down
from the north for the past thirty-six
hours. Late tonight it is believed
that twelve or fifteen lives have been
lost along the shore off this city and
its suburbs. The only other point re-
porting loss of life is Milwaukee,, where
six of the schooner Cummings crew
were drowned this afternoon before
they could be rescued by the life-saving
crew. Half dozen schooners and
smaller. craft have foundered off this
city during the day; score or more
are dsmantled and stove in, making
an almost hopeless fight against the
gale and the huge waves that every
few minutes sweep over them, endan-
gering the lives of those who are still
on board. 1t has been day of heroic
effort and great suffering for the life
saving crews scattered along the shore.
At least thirty vessels are anchored
outside the harbor waiting for the
storm to anbsde. All are more or less
damaged and the signals of distress
that have appeared among them from
time to time during the day have kept
the life-savers busy.
Twenty. five or thirty men have been
brought IN, all exhausted and suffer-
ing intensely from exposure and cold.
In several cases help arrived too late,
and a corpse was found among the
| half-conscious sailors who, benumbed
by the cold and una BILE to protect them
selves, were almost beaten to death by
| the furious waves. At midnight the
storm has not abated, and every hour
increases the peril of those on board
the numerous vessels outside the har-
bor pulling at their anchors and in
imminent danger of being brought into
collision with each other or OF being
pounded to pieces on the beach.
Scenes of horror that chilled the
blood of thousands, of spectators were
enacted in the harbor for two miles be.
low the Illinois Central depot in the
early evening. AS the storm increased
in violence during the afternoon the
waves grew mountain high, dashing
over the breakwater, deluging the
tracks and enveloping the passing
trains with torrents of spray. Out in
the harbor dozen three-masted
schooners. heavily laden with lumber
from Michigan, were riding at anchor.
A few minutes after o'clock three OF
the number hoisted signals of dis
tress, and citizens on shore tele'
phoned to the police and fire
departments as well as to the
life-saving station at Jackson
park. A few minutes later the three
masted Evening Star, of this city
parted her chains and came for the
shore like a rocket. She struck The
heavy piling of the break water an(
her timbers crushed in as though they
were egg shells..*fAs the vessel struck
the six sailors eh~~-.' '"~~ne
lvi v,,vt, 1IvvS: rive landed on .
pile of scrap iron, going down on al
fours but sixth. a Norwegian namet
Olson, missed land by a couple OF fee
and went down into the waves Th'
cheers that had broken from Thousands
of spectators turned into groan a
the man disappeared from view.
Hardly had the Star struck whel
there was a shout from the throng o
excited on-loollers, and it was seel
that another three -masted schooner
', had parted her ropes and was coming
ashore. This was the Jack Thomp
. son, also lumber-laden. She followe'
the path of the Star, and came helm
,, on on the previous unfortunate
= The shock precipitated into tn
. water the timber on the star
> board side, and upon which the fiv
, members of the crew were standing
;, Four of the them cling to big planl
to which they held on like grim deatf
3 meanwhile yelling at the top of thei
:. voices for help. The fifth man coul
8 not be seen for a moment, but wa
- finally discovered hanging by on
II hand to a spar couple
hundred yards north. BY tn
time the lifeboat had arrive
from jackson park, but it was evider
that any attempt to launch it woul
h only result in its being crushed
n pieces, and the crew turned their a
tention to the rescue of the men in I'll
water Several unsuccessful efforts
i cast lines were made, but finally
! rocket was thrown across the raft ar
% caught by one of the sailors.
10 The throng held its breath as Il
g rope was slowly drawn in, for
10 seemed as though every wave wou
n wash the unfortunatcs back into Il
waters; but when the land was reacht
70 and the benumbed men were helps
8. ashore the rescuers were rewarded
IN a roar like reverberation of artiller
" In the meantime the other memb
of the crew had been washed into
- pier abutting Twenty stree
y. -. where he managed to cling to the p
~ ing and was pulled up by some OF Il
~ spectators.
~ Shortly after 8 o'clock the tw
masted Murphy, lumber-laden, can
at ashore within fifty yards of I
,g Thompson. She was driven so clio
"a to land her crew had little difficulty
en- jumping ashore. The waves swe
as the decks of all three vessels cle
at and within an hour the beach for
on couple of miles was strewn with lu
Der.
ha The Evening Star and the Thomps
ia were breaking up tonight.
100 Intimidation without Violence.
ur CANNoNsBURG, Pa, May lS-Fo
hundred striking coal miners from