The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-10-22
Four Me- Meet Awful Death in
Engine aoom of the Steamer
Maggie Marshall
COMPANIONS SWIM TO BEACH
Bursting Of Ten Inch Steam Pipe
Brings Death and Destruction
Crew Have Awful vigil
During the Night

(From Tuesdays Daily
One of the worst lake disasters ever
known about Kenosha was brought to
light just before noon this morning
when three men soaked with water
and all but exhausted, came to the
Kenosha llfe Saving Station bearing
the news tnat the bursting Of steam
pipe in the engine room of the steam
barge Maggie Marshall" Of MANS
tee, in the lake thirty miles off Ke-
nosha. just before eleven O'Clock, had
resulted in the death Of four men and
the complete disabling of the big
steamer. The vessel later drifted help
lessly in the heavy northeast seas IN
til it finally was anchored at a point
a mile east of the beach and i've miles
north oil Kenosha.
The Dead
= = = = = :
John Petersen, aged IS years, :
: of Manistee, Mich, chief eugi~ 3
neer of the boat. x
Charles Hick, aged 25 years, :
assistant engineer, and resi- =
. dent OF Menominee, Wis. =
< Reed Meyers, aged 80 years, :
fireman, residing at Manistee. =
Ernst Mickler, aged 25 years, :
q deck hand, residing at MANS *
= tee, Mich. =
= = = y \ y < :
There was none of the other mem
Ders of the crew injured.
The dead men were literally cooked
to- death by the escaping steam and
they remained in the charnal house of
death in the engine room of the boat
until dawn broke this morning when
they we4e carried to the main deck
and placed on the main hatch awaiting
the coming Of some aid
The boat which is one Of the largest
on the lakes, S owned by the Louis
Sands Salt and Lumber Company of
Manistee 1t had been in service haul
ing lumber all season and had made
the last trip from Manistee to Chica-
go last week. The steamer was in
charge Of Captain Andrew Olesen Of
Manistee and carried crew of 10
men. Monday night the boat left Chi
cage just after FIVE O'Clock and the
men anticipating the fact that they
would reach home either this evening
or tomorrow, were in high spirits and
they spent the early part Of the even
ing making merry Oil the decks Just
after ten CLOCK the engineer and his
assistants started for the engine room
to fix up the engine for the night and
with CHEEKY goodnight to the men
Petersen went whistling down the
main stairway with the others follow
ing. Ten minutes later there was an
explosion which was heard in all parts
Of the boat. The big vessel swayed
back and forth, but the Captain fore
saw the danger and ran toward the
in time to see the main valve of the
engine strike the stairway with awful
force breaking the stairway and cut
ting off any chance for the men in the
hold of the boat to escape from the
steam filled apartment. AS rapidly
as possible the men on deck saw that
it would be impossible to save the
lIves of the men in the engine room
and they began closing down the
matches assured that none of the men
would ever be brought out alive The
breaking of the steam pipe completely
disabled the machinery of the vessel
and she began to pitch in the heavy
seas and Captain, Olesen unable to do
anything, was forced to let her drift
for hours. Finally an anchor was
dropped and the boat brought to a
standstill within mile of the beach
off the Village of Berryville.
Flags of distress were at once hung
out and the bell was kept going all
through the night, but not once did a
friendly sail approach the boat. With
the coming of the dawn the Captain
went torthe engine room and found that
the steam had been partially cleaned
out Of the apartment and summoning
the other members of the crew the
search for the dead began. The bodies
of Petersen, Meyer and Brlcky were
found near the broken steam pipe, and
that of the other man was near the
fireman S hole !" The bodies were
all cooked and it is certain that the
men suffered terribly before death
ended their agonies. There was no
escape from the engine room and the
position of the bodies seems to indi-
cate that the men appreciated that fact
and abandoned themselves to their
fate. In the cold dawn of the early