The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1901-12-05
Men on Board the Caledonia Tell a
Terrible Story of Suffering While
Fighting For Their Lives.
PRAISE FOR SAILOR ANDERSON.
By His Bravery the Lives of His Compan-
ions We're saved.-Men Frozen to Bot
tom of Yawl Boat When Rescued.

Captain Michael Nicholson, Hans
Petersen and Nels Anderson, the three
Kenosha men who manned the schoon-
er Caledonia, which went down on
Lake Michigan near Glenn Island,
Mich, Monday night, returned to their
homes in this city Thursday evening
and they tell terrible story of their
experience with the storm in a small
boat.
The hands, arms and shoulders of the
men were frozen.whenthey were picked
up by Captain Peter Hansen of the
steamer Lorimie A. Burton. The Cal
edonia left Boyne City on Sunday
night. A stiff northwest gale was
blowing. When about an hour out the
crew noticed that the boat was leaking
The men worked at the pump all night
but at O'Clock in the morning they
we're convinced that it would be i'm
possible to save the boat and prepared
to take to the yawl.
Two hours later they left the
schooner. Then they were tossed
about for several hours in the little
yaw1. Captain Nicholson and Hans
Peterson suffered most from the cold,
and they were only kept up by Ander-
son, who is a big, powerful fellow, and
who kept at work scu11ing the boat and
cheering the others.
During the early morning of Tues
day they sighted a steamer, but it
passed without coming to their aid, as
the crew evidently did not see them.
A schooner also passed them while
they were battling with the heavy sea.
Finally about 8 o'clock on Tuesday
morning the steamer Burton sighted
them and they were taken aboard.
| 1.-THE men were almost perishing with
the cold and the crew Of the Burton
worked over them for several hours
before they were resuscitated. Even
today the men still showed signs of
the effects of the trip.
The story of the wreck and rescue
as told by Ne1s Anderson is as follows:
eve left Boyne City Sunday even
ing with 600 bushels of potatoes in the
hold and Christmas trees and slabs on
deck. When the tug towed us outside
| a heavy wind was blowing from the
northwest and we decided to go back,
| but our efforts to recall the tug were
fruitless. We then decided to proceed
| TO the west shore. It was only about
an hour afte~ward when we noticed
that the Caledonia was leaking and by
midnight the schooner had several feet
| of water in its hold.
The men went to the pump but the
| flow of water was. so great they were
una bic to stop it and about 8 O'Clock III
the morning we knew the boat had to
| be abandoned. We made preparations
to launch the yaw1 and gathered our
clothes and papers to take with us.
About O'Clock we left the schooner
and few minutes later it capsized.
From that time on we only saw it at
intervals. It was extremely dark and
I believe that it went down.
eve had drifted about the lake only
a brief period when a steamer passed
us. I think it was the Pine Lake. We
tried to signal it, but it did not see the
yaw1. Shortly after another vesse1-a
schooner by, and finally the
Burton came alongside. We left
Boyne City only a few hours ahead of
the Burton.
"Had the Burton not come upon us
when it did we would be dead, as none
of us could have held out another half
hour"
Captain Hansen said that the three
rescued men were almost frozen to
death when they were picked up.
"They had some clothes in the bottom
of the yaw1," he said, "and they were
frozen to the p1anking. The men owe
their lives to Anderson. He is a big,
husky fellow and he was scul1ing the
oar at the stern when we reached their
craft, and had it not been for the
words of cheer he offered his compan-
ions from time to time they would have
given up long before we reached
them"