The news & observer., 1897-11-09
CREW OF STEAMER IDAHO
lONLY TWO OF THE TWENTY
ONE WERE SAVED.
THEY WERE RESCUED FROM a.MAsT
The Steamer Went Down in Great Storm.
Stories of the Captain of the Rescuring
Steamer and ef the Two
Man Rseriied
Men Rescued.

| Men Rescued.
| Buffalo, N. Y.e Nov. THE follow.
ing are the names of sixteen of the nine
teen men who lost their lives on the
steamer Idaho, which sank during the
gale on Saturday morning above Long
Point, on Lake Erie: Alexander Gillies
captain, Buffalo; George Gibson, first
mate, Buffalo; w. M. Clancy, chief en-
gineer. Buffalo; John d. Taylor, stew.
ard, Buffalo; Nelson Skinner, first as
sistant engineer; Louis Gilmore, watch
man; Richard Mclean, wheelman;
Robert Williams, wheelman; A. j
Richard, lookout; Henry Thompson,
lookout; Conrad Blanker, fireman.; Will
liam Gregory, fireman; John Healy, as
sistant steward; Frederick Miffort, oiler,
Edward Smith, deck hand, Rochester,
IN. Y: NJ. Belle, deck hand.
The names of three Of the men
drowned are unknown to the steamship
company. One was a fireman, another
a deck hand and the third a porter.
The names of the two men saved are:
Louis LaForce, Jr., second mate; Will
liam Gill, deck hand, living at 13T
Kent street, Rochester, n. Y.
1t is not known ut the office of the
Western Transit Company where the
greater portion of the dead men hail
from.
The Idaho went out of commission
three or four years ago, but this sum
mer she was thoroughly oyerhauled.
After her oyerhauling she was placed
at the disposal Of the Naval Veterans
Association and by that organization
used asa flag ship during the G. a. X.
encampment in August. At the close
of the encampment she was put into
commission again as a freighter.
The captain of the ill-fated steamer,
Alexander Gillies, was one of the most
widely known lake seamen. He was II
years old and knew the lake waters like
la book. His brother, Donald Giles, is
captain of the steamer Harlem.
STORY OF CAPT. ROOTS.
When the steamer Marriposa arrived
in port about midnight last night with
the news Of the disaster to the Idaho,
and having on board the two surviving
members of the crew, Capt. Root had
this to say regarding the storm on the
lake and the rescue of the two men:
"It was one of the worst gales / ever
experienced in all my years on the
lakes. We started from Chicago with a
load OF oats. All the way down the
lakes We had a fight with the storm,
and l thought once OF twice of putting
| in somewhere until it blew over. / am
glad | did not, for l fear that if / had
these two men who came down with
me would have gone to join their mates
| by this time. 1t was about 1870 yes
terday afternoon when / first learned of
the wreck of the Idaho. / was on deck
when my first mate, Myron Chamber
| lain, came to me and told me that he
had sighted a spar off to the north and
that he thought there were a couple OF
men clinging to it. He pointed it out
to me, and when / got the glasses on il
/ could distinguish the men plainly. We
were running under a good head OF
steam at the time and / put ON more
and headed for the spar.
/ when | got near | was puzzled how
to help the men off, for could not lowel
a boat in such storm. Finally / cir
Icled about the spar until / ran alongside
and my men picked the poor fellows off
They had to drag them away from the
Ispar by force, for the men had been
come numb, and were twisted about the
mast and almost frozen fast to it. When
I'VE got them on board we put them in
hunks and gave them some warm food
and soups, and had them feeling pretty
good physically when we reached har-
bor."
| A DECK HANDS THRILLING
TALE.
| William Gill, the rescued deck hand, q
swarthy, well built man, % years old,
has sailed the lakes since he was a
youth. He is more intelligent than the
average seafaring man, and his story OF
the disaster, as told early this morning,
is thrilling one. "We left here Friday
night, bound for Chicago, with cargo
Of general merchandise" said he. "Ev.
lerything seemed all right until we got
outside the breakwater, and then we
were struck by the worst storm that
ever saw. When the first big breakers
struck us we were tossed up in the ali
like top, and second later big roll
er came over the port bow and rolled
down amidships a foot deep. The wind
shrieked and howled, but we did not
pay much attention to the storm. We
had felt wind before. The captain con.
lsulted with the mate, and decided that
we could weather it, and he kept on his
course AS we headed up the lake, dead
against the gale, it appeared to be get
ting worse every minute. The waves
were running high, and the wind threw
the tops from the breakers like dust
We moved slowly against the heavy wind
and sea, and when we were well up the
lake we found that the boat as max
ling water. 1t kept coming faster and
faster, and the bilge pumps were put
to work, but the water gained, and every
minute the ship kept getting less buoyant,
and the big combers continued break.
ling over her. We We're near Long
Point at this time, and the captain start
ed TO put in there, with the intention
of Bleaching the ship. But the water
gained so rapidly that it was too late.
She was alreay laboring. and the two
men at the wheel could do nothing with