Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-11-08
r,rob, IN a Furious Gale on Lake Erie, tht
Steamer Founders.
NINETEEN OF THE CREW DROWNED.
rhrIlling story of the Disaster and suffer
ing, as Told by One of the Two
Survivors.

,,yors Louis Laforce, the Junior sec
ora mate. and William Gill, a deck
hand. The latter is 20 years old, and
has sailed the lakes since he was
youth. He is more intelligent than the
average seafaring man. and his story
81 the disaster, as told early this morn
inc is a thrilling one. Here is his
narrative:
I'VE left here Friday night, bound
Cor chicago, with cargo OF general
trnerehnndise. Everything seemed all
,Ight until we got outside the break
water. and then we were struck by the
,rnrst storm ] ever saw. When the
erat big breaker struck us we were
tnssed up in the air like a top, and
a second later a big roller came over
The mort bow and rolled down amid
sbips foot deep. The wind shrieked
and howled, but we did not pay much
attention to the storm. We had felt
with the mate and decided that he
cnnld weather 1t, and he kept on his
course.
against the gale, 1t appeared to be
eating worse every minute. The waves
we're running high and the wind threw
the tops from the breakers like dust.
1--WE nlONeu ElOMly tiit hNANS
Wind and sea, and when we were well
m the lake we found that the boat
was making water. 1t kept coming
caster and faster and the bilge pumps
were nut to work but the water gained
and every minute the ship kept getting
less buoyant. and the rollers continued
breaking over her.
1--WE were near Long Point at this
time. and the captain started to put
in there with the intention of Bleaching
The ship. But the water gained so
ranldly that 1t was too late. She was
already laborlng, and the two men at
the wheel could do nothing with her.
Two more men went to work with
them, and finally they brought her
around and headed her toward land.
cant, ellis started the pumps, ordered
Inc men to get the fire buckets, and
NE formed line and began to bail,
but n was of no use. The water gained
on the pumps and the buckets and coon
the water put the fire out.
when 1t was found that the power
was gone and the Idaho could not be
moved we knew we could not hve IN
The trough of that fearful sea, and the
only hope left was to run out the an
CHOIR and bring her head up to the sea
and let her ride out the gale. Every
seaman realized the danger of attempt
ing to do that in the face of hurri-
cane. and when Capt. ellis decided to
do it, he ordered the lashing OF the
boats cut and told the men they were
free to take one last chance for their
lives.
AT the word the anchor dropped
from the bow and the chain began to
nav out, but the sea was too heavy,
and instead of the anchor catching
with firm grip and bringing the ships
head up to the storm with jerk, 1t
went too slow and simply tumbled into
the trough of the sea, which broke over
her in torrents. In an instant she was
as helpless as a log, and she was tossed
here and there and taking every wave
aboard From port to starboard the
great mountains of foaming water
poured rolling into the hold and adding
to the quantity aleady weighing her
down. The load was too much, and ar
ter a moment when we all felt that we
were lost the ship keeled over to the
starboard and went down, stern first.
what became of my mates / don't
know remember that the boats had
been loosened and that some of the
men were ready to take to them If the
vessel went under, but no boat could
have lived for a minute In that terri
Bile sea, and If any of them did get in
the boat II was simply swamped as
soon as the first wave struck II. Maybe
AllEg Alu llOA ltuNt llt sup III tilis
was near the spur, and when the stern
Of the vessel began to go under | went
for the rigging and went up as fast as
! could Another man went with me
The second mate-and i thank the Lord
that he was with me. or / would have
gone mad during all the long hours
that | was up there hanging on and
trying to keep off the frightful cold
that was slowly killing us both.
"IlpTR n rolling and fro
The vessel struck the bottom and slow
ly righted TO an even keel and then a
second later she rolled over to one side.
thought she was going all the way
over, hut she did not. She settled on
The bottom and, though the waves
rolled her from port to starboard, the
spar remained out Of the water, with
my mate and myself cllnging to It.
AT this time the hail and sleet was
coming down in n cutting sheet. and
we were covered in ice In few min
utes. for though the top of the spar
On which we We're hanging was
twenty-five feet above the water, the
plg waves struck us and broke over us
and the hail cut us like shot. knew
y was about three o'clock when we
vent down. and 1t seemed to me that
DAYLIGHT would never come.
When daylight came we could not
zee a sail anywhere near us, and the
yea was as bad as ever. Hour after
nour We waited there. and then we saw
we Mnriposa coming. For n long
uine we did not know whether she
would sight us When she finally
sighted US and we saw her head for
us, J tried to tell my mate, but could
,ot and he looked at me with happy
, %ok on his. face. 1t was terrible
uMe TO us before she came up to us.
i .nd then I knew we were not safe yet,
\ .t NE sea was running mountain high
and the hlg steel boat was rolling like
s, skill Every wave sent her up In the
when the Mariposa got within a
..aole'lenFth of us, a man with n
sSpHong voice yelled TO us to hang on.
4 DON'T give up he yelled, and Well
sst you off soon The boat clrcled
aIonnd us, coming as near as she
spnld' but when she was within few
,uus big roller swept her far out and
sne went on to starboard. rolling hea-
KY when she got In the trough of
wv sea. Then she came back again
tsnd again she missed us. On the third
omp around she ran right along side
.ur spar, and ms she went past q dozen
zen reached for us. An instant later
W. We're dragged from the spar and
O'rrt the rail of the Mariposa.'
4 ine second mate, Louis Laforce,
\ a.. =, HuIToWlnR story 10 the crew OF
i w Martposa. He said that in the
hn OF men from the hold. one of
sn' a Waterman. was trampled to
oaath: The crew was frantic to get
ut OF the place. Six or eight, he said,
,btS nave been drowned like rats in
~ Iold. They were not warned of
dir sinking of the boat. The first long
tllp " the stern was the first intima-
ws n they had that the final danger
no, ~ hand and then they made n
49, rush to get on. deck. The
uatehMnV wan tnn rrnnn 70 LII thnr,