The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-05-25
One of the Survivors Overcome by His
Terrible Experience and Now
Raving Maniac.
STORY OF ENGINEER MURPHY
WHO WAS PICKED Up BY A TUG AND
LANDED AT EAST TAWAs.
Crew of n Dredge Badly Frightened
No One Found on the Wrecked
Schooner MontmOrency.

EAST TAWAS. Mich. May 24-The wood
en- steamer Baltimore foundered in Lake
Huron. near Au Sable. this morning. and
twelve of her crew of fourteen were
drowned. Two men were washed about in
the lake for several hours lashed to a
piece of wreckage and were finally picked
up by the tug Columbia and brought in
here. George McGinnis, a deckhand, one
of the rescued, went crazy from his exper-
ience. The other survivor, Thomas Muir
ply, of Milwaukee, second engineer, was
able to tell the story of the disaster.
The dead follow: Capt. NJ. II. Place, mas
ter of the steamer; Mrs. NJ. IL. Place, wife
of e master, stewardess; Michael Breath
en-, first mate: John Denders, second stew
ard; Edward owen and c. w. Sears, wheel
men; George W. Scott and Herbert Win
ming. watchmen p. Marcoux, chief engi-
neer; William Barker and p. Kruger, fire
men: August Anderson. deck hand.
1t was some time after the Columbia had
brought the shipwrecked into port before
Murphy was revived sufficiently to tell his
story. The Baltimore foundered about 6
o'clock this morning. and he was in the
water until late in the afternoon, exposed
to the buffeting of furious northeast sea.
I'VE were bound from Lorain TO Sault
Ste. Marie said he, land had in tow a
large steam drill and scow. When off
Thunder bay last night Captain Place saw
that the steamer was making bad weather,
for the waves had smashed in the engi-
neers quarters and the washrooms and
the water was running into the hold. Cap
tain Place decided to turn about and run
for Tawas for shelter. Everything went all
right until we were off Au Sable when the
steamer struck heavily on the bottom. The
seas broke over her at the same time, and
carried away the deckhouse, then the after
cabin, and finally the smokestack fell Both
rails forward broke in two just aft the
forward deckhouse, and we knew that it
was only few minutes before the steamer
went TO pieces
1t is every man for himself, nowr
shouted Captain Place. The look of despair
on Mrs. Places face | shall never forget
1t awful. We took the captains ad-
vice and every man started to save himself
as best he could. Some of the boys took to
the rigging, but McGinnis and l lashed our
selves TO a ringbolt in piece of the after
cabin and we were washed overheard short
ly afterwards. The strain was too much
for McGinnis and he went crazy before we
had been in the water very long. He tried
to throw me off the wreckage, but | talked
to him and encouraged him to hold on.
Twice he tried to drown us both The CO.
lumbia finally came along and picked us up
just as | was about TO give up hope. | am
afraid all of the rest of the crew were
drowned, including Mrs. Place" Murphy
was in the water from o'clock this morn
ing until o clock this afternoon.
The tug Columbia lost a drill scow and six
men on board just before she picked up the
men from the Baltimore. The Columbia
went out again this afternoon and found
the drill making good weather. The men
were taken off it and they were badly
frightened, the scow had neither boat
nor life preservers. The scow was then
towed in here. The scow, with timber on
it, was not recovered. and it is thought il
went ashore.
Captain Memo, of the steamer City of Hol-
land. claims that the gale was of the
worst in fifteen years. The Holland came
through it from Harrisville and made good
weather.
Captain Place resided at Lakewood, a
Cleveland suburb. The Baltimore was
owned by z. II. Fleming & Co, and ran in
the Baltimore & Ohio line between Fair
Iort and Chicago. She was worth S40OO
was POI feet keel. by thirty-five feet beam,
capacity about 1000 tons of freight. Her
last cargo was load of coal from Lorain
O., TO Washburn, Wis.