The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1897-11-18
THE IDAHO SINKS.
Wreck Of Lake Erie Freighter
Costs Nineteen Lives.
TWO MEN CLING HOURS TO A SPAR.
When Saved They Were So Cold and
Benumbed That They Had to Be
Pulled by Force From Their
Perilous Position.

BUFFALO, Nov. Sin one OF the
worst storms on Lake Erie the steamer
Idaho of the Western Transit line foun-
Long point, very dangerous promon-
tory about 65 miles west Of here. or
the crew but two were saved. These
clung to a spar for eight hours, when
they were discovered by the lookout on
the Mariposa of the Minnesota line. The
captain OF the Idaho was among those
lost
The names ~ the drowned men are:
Alexander Gillies, captain. Buffalo;
William Clancy, chief engineer, Buff
falo; John d. Taylor, steward. Buffalo;
Nelson Skinner. first assistant engineer;
Louis Gilmore, watchman Richard Nc
Lean. wheelsman; Robert Williams.
wheelsman; A. ]. Richard, lookout;
Henry Thomson, lookout; Conrad Blan-
ker, fireman; William Gregory. fire.
man: John Healy assistant steward;
Frederick Miffort, oiler; Edward Smith,
deckhand. Rochester: M. Bell. deck
hand. The names of three Of the men
drowned are unknown to the steamship
company. One was fireman, another
a deckhand and the third porter.
The names Of the two men saved are
Louis La Force, jr., second mate, and
William GIL. a deckhand living at 1877
Kent street. Rochester.
1t is not known at the office of the
Western Transit company where the
greater portion OF the dead men hailed
from. The Idaho went out of commits
sion three or four years ago. but this
summer she was thoroughly over
hauled. After her overhauling she was
placed at the disposal OF the Naval
ganization used as the flagship during
the @. A. X. encampment in August.
At the close of the encampment she
went into commission again as a
freighter.
The captain Of the I'll fated steamer,
Alexander Gillies. was one of the most
widely known Of the lake seamen. He
was Al years old and knew the lake
waters like book. His brother, Dom
aid Gillies. is captain Of the steamer
Harlem.
When the big steel steamer Mariposa
arrived In port with the news Of the
disaster to the Idaho, and having on
board the two surviving members Of
the crew. Captain Root Of the Mariposa
had this to say regarding the storm on
the lake and the rescue of the two
men:
1T was one Of the worst gales ! ever
experienced in all my years on the
lakes. We started from Chicago with
toad Of oats. All the way down the
lake We had fight with the storm. and
thought once or twice Of putting In
somewhere until 1t blew over. I'm glad
didn't, for I fear that II nad these
two men who came down with me
would have gone to join their mates
by this time.
II was on deck when my first mate.
Myron Chamberlain, came to see me
and told me that he had sighted a spar
off to the north and that ne thought
there were a couple Of men clinging to
It. He pointed 1t out to me. and when l
got the glasses on II I could distinguish
the men plainly. We were running un-
der a good head Of steam at the time,
and put on more and headed for the
spar.
when l got near / was puzzled how
to help the men off. for could not low
er a boat in such storm. Finally cir
cled about the spar until ! ran along
side, and my men picked the poor fel-
lows on. They had to drag them away
from the spar by force. for they had
been there so long that their arms had
become almost dead and were twisted
about tho mast and almost frozen fast
to Il. When we 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 harbor."