The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-11-11
An AWFUL LAKE DISASTER
NINETEEN OF THE CREW OF THE
WRECKED STEAMER IDAHO
q DROWNED ON LAKE ERIE.
A NIGHT Of THRILLING EXPERIENCE
Rescued Deck Hand Tells IA Harrow
ing TaIe--Crew Fought Desper-
ateIy Against the Angry,
EnguIHng Waves.

Buffalo, Nov. THE following arr
the names Of sixteen of the ninetee
men who lost their lives on the steame
Idaho, which sank during the gale o
Saturday morning above Long Point o
Lake Erie:
Alexander Gillis, captain, Buffalo.
George Gibson, first mate, Buffalo.
William Clancy. chief engineer, Buf
John ID. Taylor, steward, Buffalo.
Nelson :. Skinner, first assistant en-
gineer.
Louis Gilmore, Waterman.
Richard MCLEAN. wheelman.
Robert Williams, wheelman.
A. j. Richard, lookout.
Henry Thompson, lookout.
Conrad Banker, fireman.
William Gregory, fireman.
John Healy, assistant steward.
Frederick Milford, oiler.
Edward Smith, deck hand, Rochester.
NJ. Bell, deck hand.
The names of the three others drown.
ed are unknown to the steamship com.
pany. One was fireman, another Il
deck hand and the third a porter. 1t
is not known at the Office of the West
ern Transit company where the greater
portion of the dead men hailed from.
William Gill, deck hand, who was
rescued, told his story of the disaster as
follows:
1--WE left Buffalo Friday night, bound
for Chicago, with a cargo of general
merchandise. When we got outside the
storm i ever saw. When the first big
breaker struck US we were tossed up in
the air like top and a second later Il
big roller came over the port bow and
rolled down amidship Il 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-
could weather it, and he kept 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 higher and the wind threw
tops from breakers like dust.
"We moved slowly against the heavy
seas and wind and when we were well
up the lake we found that the boat was
taking water. 1t kept coming faster
put to work, but the water continued to
gain. 49,.
eve 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 rapidly
that it was too late. She was already
laboring, and the two men at the wheel
could do nothing with her: Two more
men went out to work with them and
finally they brought her around and
headed her toward land. nam |
Cant ellis started the pumps and or
dered the men to use the fire buckets and !
we formed a line and began to bail her
out. hut il was no use. The water !
gained and soon put the fires out.
when it was found the power was
gone and that the Idaho could not be
moved. we knew we could not live i'll
the trough of tina. fearful sea, and the
only hope left was to run out the anchor
and bring her head up to the sea and let
her ride out the gale. Every seaman
realized the danger of attempting to do
that in the face of hurricane, and
when Capt. ellis decided to do it he or,
dered the lashings of the boat cut and
told the men they were forced to take
one last chance for their lives. /
cat the word the anchor dropped and
the chain began to move out. but the
sea was too heavy, and instead OF the
anchor catching with firm grip ana
bringing the ships head up to the storm
with n Jerk it went too slow and SIM
ply tumblcd into the trough Of the sen,
which broke over her in torrents.
"In an instant she was helpless rs
IOg. ana Sne WIS tOSoCu iCiS 'hN eA'''N'
taking every wave aboard.
"From port to starboard the great
mountains of foaming water poured,
weighing her down. After moment
the ship keeled over to the stnrboard
and went down, stern first.
"What became of my mates L don't
know. remember that the boats had
been loosened and some of the men were
ready to take them If the vessel went
down, but no boat could have lived for
a minute In that terrific sea, the first
wave would have swamped it. When
the stern began to go under | went for
the rigging and went up as fast ms
could. Another man went with me, the
second mate.
"There was rolling to and fro and
the vessel struck bottom and slowly
righted to an even keel, and then 4 sec
onL later she rolled over to one side.
thought she was going all the way over,
but she did not. She settled on the bot
tom, and though the waves rolled her
from port to starboard, the spar re-
manned out of the water with the sec
ond mate and myself clingiug to it,
twenty feet above the water.
Shortly after daylight the steamer Mari
posa came along and sighted MS. When
hn Nur rot w nll