The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-01
BARGE sUMATRA WENT DOWN OFF
THE GOVERNMENT PIER AT
MILWAUKEE,.
FOUR SAILORS DROWNED.
CAPTAIN, MATE AND COOK ALL
RESCUED AFTTR AN EXCITING
EFFORT.
SHE SANK LIKE A LOT OF LEAD.
Any Steps to Secure Their
Safety.

! MILWAUKEE,, Wis, Sept 3O-The
barge Sumatra, consort Of the B. w.
Arnold, from Chicago, with load of
| iron. roundered off the government
pier here this morning. Four sailors
were drowned. The captain, mate and
! COOK were rescued by the life-saying
crew.
The Sumatra was bound for MilWau-
kee, loaded with grain, and intended
picking up the Hattie Wells here. She
was leaking on her way up, and had
the pumps working all night. The
sea was running high, and the crew
mad great difficulty in keeping her
from sinking. When she reached South
Point she got in the trough Of the sea.
ana IN short time her matches were
washed OF and her rails carried away.
| The steamer sounded her whistle.
and the tug Simpson at once put out
for the wreck. The sea at that time
was running very high. and great
trouble was experienced in getting
near the sinking barge. Just as the
simpson reached the Sumatra she
foundered. The tug men succeeded in
rescu1ng the cook and mate from the
wreckage. The life-saving crew was
on hand, and worked hard to save the
other men on the barge, but all were
drowned. with the exception of the
captain, who was taken ashore by the
life-savers.
The Sumatra Is badly broken up
and only her mast can be seen out Of
water now. The wreck occurred
about a mile and a half out from the
harbor entrance. The members Of the
crew lost were:
ARTHUR RURNsTED. West Bay City.
CHARLES AZ HEMMER. West Bay City, Mich.
,. pAaTRIcK PETERSON. West Bay City,
PETER ANDERSON, West Bay CITY. Mich
The rescued are: Capt. Charles johnson.
west Bay City; John Burbeck mate of the
barge, West Bay City; Ira Purser, cook, West
The Inflated barge went down with
scarcely moments notice and, accord
ing to the statement Of Capt. johnson
ana the mate, the crew did not even
nave time to mount the rigging after
realizing that the vessel was founder
Ing. She seemed to go down like a lot
OF lead, all inside minute or two, was
the way Capt johnson described If
Inc captain jumped into the yawl boat
which drifted rapidly toward the heavy
breakers. The yawl was half full OF
water and was being knocked about In
a desperate manner. In the meantime,
the tug Simpson, towing the lifeboat
and crew. was making toward the
wreck against the heavy sea. Capt
Boutin. of the life-saving crew, dis
covered the yawl rapidly drifting
toward the breakers, and, at the risk
OF losing himself, crew and boat, quick
~ cut the line which attached his boat
TO the tug and began at once life
and death chase for the drifting yawl,
and her human freight. After a lively
run, the lifeboat overlook the frail
craft and rescued the single occupant
who was then found to be Capt. John
son. The pursuit of the yawl was
made with the lifeboat under sail, and
the members of the crew described the
race as something decidedly exciting,
dangerous and uncertain as to results
1--WE were continually being about
swallowed UP in the waves and every
minute we expected to be buried be-
meath the waves" said one of the crew
In speaking of the trip this morning.
The lifebOat crew then put about and
beat out of the breakers which were
washing over their heads every mo-
ment, finally making the harbor under
sail. The lifeboat was under water
about half the tine,' said Capt. Bou-
tin. Il have never before seen In Mil
waukee such breakers as those we en-
countered this time. At times the sea
pdoSeu cNtiTSIy over the mouse at the
light house station, and the piers all
along the harbor were entirely COW
cred by water at the time we were
out"
Previous to taking out the life boat
and crew. the tug Simpson made a,
trip to the Sumatra, having gone out as
soon as the warning whistle Of the
steam barge Arnold, was heard, and
rescued the mate Burdick, from the
sinking barge. One member Of the
Sumatra's crew was being rescued by
Robert Werley, the engineer Of the tug
Simpson, who was pulling the man on
board by the hair of the head when q
heavy piece of drifting timber struck
the unfortunate fellow and knocked
him beyond reach and he sunk before
the tug could again get near him.
Some heroic work was done in a short
space of time by Capt Caswell, and
his crew on the Simpson, but they, like
Capt. Boutin and his hfe-savers, were
working against fearful odds and were
only able to save the men named The
barge sank at 2:40 o'clock She went
down just three quarters of a mile off
the harbor.