The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-06-16
TELLS HOW CRAWFORD
AND KNOX DROWNED
F.' II. Lord, Who Was There,
Relates AssfuI Experience
on ShoaI Lake

Death from drowning or exposure
looked F. H. Lord, a Minneapolis rail-
road official, in the face for fourteen
long hours in the icy waters of Shoal
| lake, Manitoba, but Lord escaped as
though by miracle and was in st.
/ Paul yesterday to relate his thrilling
experience to friends of John c. Knox,
of Jackson, and John Crawford, of
Lakefield, who. We're. drowned during a
/ gale which swept Shoal lake last Fri
| day.
| LORD is the singlel survivor of par
| ty of three Minnesota men who went
TWO weeks ago to Manitoba to gather
birds eggs, his two companions having
Deen swept from a small overturned
rowooat to which they chung for some
hours after their craft had capsized.
His long stay in the ice cold waters of
the lake, his subsequent wanderings in
/ the wilderness in the region of the
iake and his long tramp to the nearest
/ telegraph station all combine to make
a chapter in his life which will never
| be effaced
Lord Is contracting freight agent for
the Grand Trunk railway at Mime,
! apolis, and reached his home city yes
terday on his return from the scene
/ OF the double fatality in Manitoba. In
81. Raul yesterday he met County At
torney E. T. Smith, Of jackson. where
John Z. Knox was practicing attor-
| ney, and told him and others the story
| of the accident.
Story Of the Drowning
"Shoal lake is. large body of water
IN the wilderness of Manitoba" he
said 1t is forty miles long and eight
miles in width at its widest point. and
the lake is noted as rendezvous for
wild water fowl, Our party. which
! consisted of Knox, Crawford and NV
sel1, started Friday morning to row
from the mainland to a small island
| ABOUT three or four miles distant from
the shore. There was some wind When
we left, but it Increased to a gale when
Werwere n1ile.and half distant from
snore. AT the first blow, our boat
shlpped tubfnl of water. then more
| came in and finally the boat went over
All three of us were thrown into tha
water, out we. grasped the bottom of
the upturned craft and held on in the
nope that we would be blown ashore
or the improbable contingency that we.
might be picked UP. The capsizing of
me boat occurred at about 8: 80 or g
oclocH. Inc water was intensely cold
and crawford, who could not swim.
was placed astride the upturned keel.
hnox and / tried vainly to swim
ana push the boat shoreWards. hut
about 1880 o'clock our hearts sank
When Crawford gave a faint cry and
cropped off his position on the keel. He
mao become so exhausted by his peril
suecumbed, and we sawsSno more of
nlrn %hen ne slid into the water. ar.
Knox Lets Go and Sinks -
a
for it would have been practicable IN
SANITY fatal to have relaxed our holds
on the boat. We chung to our last hope
OF safety. Every minute seemed an
nour, the waters chill penetrated to
the. very, marrow gfoouFn bones and the
oay seemed an eternity. With every
Struggle to retain our holds orr
strength seemed to grow less and
along IN the afternoon,I should think
II must. have been about. Q: 80 O'clock
1 saw poor Knox relax his hold and
ran Imply away from the boat.
HOW l ever managed to hang to
me poat Will never be able to tell but
al ABOUT II o'clock that night the
boat drifted ashore at a nIace calIa5
Nurray's Point, and I found safety. So
Denumbed was / that I Law on tbe
pank Tor hours, and not knowing the
country wandered about all night he
lore finding shelter. When DAYLIGHT
Idnle round settlers cabin, where
was given nourishment and put in a
warm bed. / was so thoroueblv ex-
nauSted and benumbed that for hours
l was In a state of practical collanse
respiration, under the influence of TIE
warm surroundings, poured from nv
pouy IN streams and half-doZen cot
ton-Wool blankets which the farmers
wife provided for my covering were
soaked through Sleep finally came to
me and l slept continuously all day
SATURDAY and a part of that night.
sunday started to walk to Reaburn. a
distance Of thirty miles, and from
there sent the kilograms which in
formed the relatives of the Minnesota
men of their bereavement
Bills Washed From His Pocket
Lord had some $40 to $50 in bills in
MS vest pocket, but the effect of the
waves bursting over the boat was such
that this money was washed out of his
pocket. In his trousers pocket he had
seven or eight silver dollars and a SO
gold piece, and with this money he
paid the people who cared for him, and
IL gave him the means with which to
reach Winnipeg
The survivor of the tragedy still
shows the effects Of his awful expert
ence, and declares that he weighs
twenty-five pounds less than when he
undertook his northern trip.
T. y. Knox, member of the Mime
sofa state revision commission and
father of John c. Knox, went to Win
nipeg Immediately upon the receipt of
the news of his sons death by drown
ing, and has arranged to prosecute a
search for the recovery of the bodies of
the two men. but it is said that on ac-
count of the continuous low tempera-
ture of the waters of the big lake it
is doubtful If the bodies will be re-
covered. 1t is believed that the water
is very deep at the point where they
sank
The place on the lake where the
drowning occurred is about seventy
miles from Winnipeg and is a part of
Manitoba little frequented by people
other than the few small farmers,
mostly Ieelanders, who live on it's
shores. But one mail goes in each
week, the objective point being
Catholic mission in that section of the
province.