Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1907-10-18
MYSTERY IN DISASTER.

w y LIN ILE b1SAS LEN
There is much mystery in the disaster
OF the Cypress. She was a staunch new
vessel and marine men say that the wind
OF last night was hardly strong enough
to have caused an accident to the boat.
The belief is that the Cypress became
disabled through an accident to her ma
chInery aid that the boat drifted help
less on to rocks off the coast and foun-
dered.
The beach is being patroled by resi-
dents and the life-saving crew with the
hope that something more may be learned
OF the disaster or if any are still alive
they may bt rescued. There is little
hope, however.
AS there are changes on each trip of
lake steamer the names of the victims
cannot be learned as the payroll OF the
Cypress was on the boat. The men who
are known to have been Oh the vessel
are:
GAIT. F. B. HUYCK of Sheridan. n Y.
FIRST NATE JOHN SMITH, Cleveland.
SECOND NATE c. J. PITT.
ENGINEER J. j. NOORCROSS, Tona
cooks W. NJ. DUNDoN and wife.
1t is believed that the Cypress was in
agencies. 1t is believed that the total
insurance on the lost boat will aggregate
$215,OOO as the company undoubtedly
carried insurance to the limit.
VESSEL A NEW ONE.
The Cypress was bound for Buffalo
with iron ore. She left Superior at 9
o'clock Thursday morning.
The lost steamer was built at Loraln,
O., by the American Shipbuilding com
pany and was launched August II. The
new boat was christened by Miss Hazel
Arnold of Marine City. The dimensions
of the steamer were 40 feet long over
ALL 80 feet beam and % feet deep.
On September 20 the Cypress left
Lorraine on her maiden trip, going to
Duluth for iron ore under the command
of Capt. Huyck. The Cypress was the
fifth of eight steel steamers which the
American Shipbuilding company has
Steamship company This construction
was part of a deal by which the Ameri
can Shipbuilding company secured the
Shipowners DrydOck company in Chi
cago. Most of the bondholders of the
latter company took stock in the steam
ship company for their holdings. While
the steamship company worked in close
company, which had just completed a
big plant near Buffalo, its stock is very
widely held around the lakes
WESTERN RESERVE DISASTER.
The Cypress went down not far from
w
serve foundered i'll 1892. As with the
Western Reserve, there is only a single
survivor. The coincidence is made still
stronger when it was remembered by
marine men today that the sole survivor
Of the Western Reserve was also the
mate of the steamer. The Western Re
serve was the first steel steamer to
founder on the Great Lakes and the dis
aster resulted in general strengthening
of steel ships from that time on. Since
the Western Reserve went 10 the bot
tom of Lake Superior, however, there
have been number of steel ships lost
on that lake, in nearly every case the
entire crews being lost. Among the ill
fated steamers have been the Bannock-
burn. Hudson and Ira Ii. Owen.
VESSELS PLATES SPRUNG.
The steamer George Stephenson of the
Pittsburg Steamship company reports
that she had passed the Cypress
late yesterday. A red streak was dis
tingushable in the water behind her,
indicating that her plates had been
sprung and that the iron with which the
ship was loaded was discoloring the
water.
Capt Harbottle of the steamer Ste
phenSon says his vessel passed within
$50 feet of the Cypress-so close that he
was able to see that the matches of the
latter ship were not covered with the
customary covering to keep out the
ter. a heavy sea was running and the
decks of the Cypress were continually
awash with the big combers that broke
over her rails.
SAW LIGHTS GO OUT.
The water poured into the hold
through the matches so rapidly that the
pumps We're unable to keep the vessel
afioat
Late last night the lights of the yes
sed near Deer park were visible to the
crew of the Stephenson and then they
suddenly disappeared When told of
the disaster to the Cypress by the lock
men here the captain of the Stephenson
was convinced that the lights were those
of the Cypress.
OFFICIAL DISPATCH ON WRECK
WASHINGTON, D. c.. Oct. 1.-THE
news of the steamer Cypress disaster on
Lake Superior was telegraphed to the
lifesaving service here today in the fol-
lowing official report from the Deer Park
station:
steamer Cypress, ore Laden. foundered