Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-11-05

Sable light all eyes are strained to catch a
glimpse OF IT, But that light. as powerful
as it is, may not be seen a mile away. So,
unwarned Of danger, the vessel runs too
close to the dangerous. reef-ridden shore
and is beaten to pieces This is what hap
pened some time ago within a short dis
lance Of the most powerful light on the
iakes-the Big Sable.
This is one way in which Superior claims
its victims. But there is another way. and
a more terrible one. The day may be clear
but It is bitter cold Waves and spray dash
upon the ship. and ton after ton, the little
ice devils" are formed. Ice clings to the
side of the ship. to the bow and to the
decks. 1t incases the rigging, and though
a dozen men work with axes and picks IT
accumulates faster than they can cut II
away. Within an hour after the temDera-
ture has suddenly changed the rudders Of
vessels have become useless. Inch by inch
the vessel is drew down. II soon grows
unmanageabe and though the crew works
desperately tightening 1t. II continues to
sink, Then comes the moment when the
crew must take to the boats, and shortly
after the ship sinks. In the majority Of
cases the men are never heard from again,
for the chances of life are small for those
who set out in small boats on wintry SUI
perior.
Such was the fate of the Algoma and
since the day 1t went down never a spar
nor rope of it has come to the top to tell
the story
Huron rs Graveyard.
Lake Huron has long been known as the
| grave Of the lumber barge and sunken
\ While tbare is a great deal OF
mystery about the ways OF Superior, there
! is more Of romance about Lake Huron. Not
| so many years ago on the shores along
| Lake Huron were numerous numbering
| camps, and each month hundreds of thous-
ands Of dollars were carried into the camps
| by boats In those days, too, lumber barges
without steam did nearly all Of the traffic.
and hundreds of them lie among the reefs
and shoals OF the lake. Millions of dollars
! in money have been lost in these wrecks,
and at least three great fortunes in ingot
copper have gone to the bottom there.
There are few ports of shelter along
| Huron, and in case of storm a captain
| must run before the wind or try to get
between the dangerous shoals on the Mich-
igan side. These shoals which stretch
from Thunder bay to Saginaw, have de-
manded a sacrifice of scores Of ships, and
| IL Was WIllt lINltb " pans llli phSAA ''ANi'
that the ship John Miner went to the bot
tom some time ago. For seven miles on
Point aux Baruues these treacherous shoals
intercept passing vessels, like a great trap
II was here that the City of Detroit sank
with $4,000 in money aboard tia treasure
that has not been recovered. These same
waters also bury the remains of the Water
Witch and the load of copper which it wa:
bringing down from the Michigan mines.
strange Features of Tragedies.
In the tragedies of the Great Lakes
many curious and romantic things occur
each year. For instance. after a fearful
storm, freighter went 10 the bottom II
Lake Superior only two or three weeks
ago. At the last moment the crew anC
six passengers five women and one man
took to the boats. Three boats set out
and in that fight for life Superior played
another of it's grim jokes. Only the five
women and the two men with them Cont
Of the latter a member of the crew reached
shore in safety
Once all that Superior gave up to tel
of another tragedy i'm which it has PLAYED
a part was bloody oar.
The big freghter Bannockburn left Du
luth two years ago with crew Of twenty
two men, From the day 1t left port it wa
| never Stcu aSdlllI anu hSNNl was q b'N
of one of its crew recovered. What hap
pened TO it remains a mystery.
Several years ago a three-masted schoone
left Duluth Then II disappeared as com
pletey as though the sea had swallowed il
Months passed, and the cold autumn spe
into mildly winter. One day a trapper in ON
of the densest parts of the Michigan villa
erness came upon a spectacle such as a hu
man being is seldom allowed to look upor
; Cast upon the shore was the ship and fror
it's keel to the mainmast peak ii was coate
with ice. on board were three men, froze
} stiff one of them a mass of ice. Where tn
rest OF the crew disappeared to is a mys
terry, though it is probable that they al
tempted to reach shore in a small boat an
foundered.
Last year the Cordorus and the Queen {
the West participated in most interestin
adventure during the late navigation sea
= son. The Cordorus, coming down from d.
luth one cold, clear morning, sighted Il
2 Queen of the West flying distress signal
? West continued to sail away from the Co
kdorus, and 1t was with difficulty that Il
2 latter gained upon it. The Cordorus Wa
{ about to give up the chase when a secor
. distress signal was run up by the Queen
=. the West. There was something mysterlol
a about this, and Captain Mckenzie of Il
Cordorus put on all steam. For over a
hour the odd chase was kept up. The
the vessels came within hailing distance.
why in Gods name don't you stop
you're I'm distress?" cried Captain McKel
zie.
I'VE can'tw replied the Queen of Il
Vests captain. Were weighted dow
with the little ice devils, and If we ste
our momentum. We'll sink like lead
Very cautiously the Cordorus ran alon
side and the crew of the other vessel can
aboard Ten minutes after leaving II