The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1909-01-28
Fishing Tug 'Gunderson Brothers
Goes on Beach South of City
During the Dense Fog
VOLUNTEER SAVERSWORK
Several Tugs From Kerosha go to the
Assistance Of the Beached Vessel
but Men are Forced to
Spend Night on Beach

The little fishing tug "Gunderson
Brothers, owned by Barnett and
Meyers, the fishermen, and used for
fishing off Kenosha, went on the beach
few hundred yards south of the limits
of the city just before six O'Clock
Thursday evening and the little vessel
was so firmly beached that the best
efforts of several tugs and the volunteer
life saving crew under Captain Foun-
tain failed to dislodge her and the
crew were forced to spend rather a
rough night on board the boat. The
tug was released from the beach just
after eight o. clock this morning and
was not seriously damaged as result
of the night on the beach.
There was absolutely no sea so that
the tug was not in any great danger,
| but the owners feared that the wind
might change during the night and a
heavy sea- come up and with a heavy
sea the tug would have been in great
danger Of pounding to pieces. The lit
tie boat was in charge of Captain Ford
Barnett and crew of six men and
had been out in the lake during the
afternoon to lift some nets. Late in
the afternoon Captain Barnett pointed
her for home, but dense fog was COM
ing down and the captain seeking to
be safe was running in pretty close to
shore. just before six o'clock the fog
became so dense that it was impossible
for the captain to see more than a few
feet ahead Of him and during this fog
j the tug ran on the beach. She was in
only few feet of water, but the force
of the impact was so great when she
!, hit the beach that she turned over on
her side. The engineers at once began
to give signals of distress and Captain
W. =. Barnett, knowing that the sig
mails came from the Gunderson, took
a party of men and went out in the
William Engel, but it was found i'm
possible to get close enough to the
| beached vessel to aid her. After the
return Of the Engel Captain Frank
Fountain of the Kenosha Life Saving
Crew got volunteer crew and went out
in the surf boat. The life savers could
do nothing to release the tug last night
and the men on board were in absolute
~ no danger and all of them seemed
to be willing to remain on the boat for
the night and for this reason no effort
was made to take them off, Early this
] morning the Tugs Sport and William
iEngel went out to the tug and found
that she had not been damaged any by
her night on the beach and notwith-
standing the fact that rain fell in tor
rens during the night the men on board
had been comfortable in the engine
room of the beached tug. The work
! Of pulling the tug off was started again
this morning.
| This is the second time this winter
that Barnett and Meyers have had a
similar accident. Not a great while
ago the Tug William Engel went on the
beach a few mile south of Kenosha
and at that time she was so firmly
beached that she was not released for
several days and it was finally neces-
sary for the company to secure dredge
to aid in releasing the tug. The Gun
derson Brothers is the smaller Of the
tugs owned by the company, but she
is rated as one of the staunchest little
crafts on the lake and is valued at
about $4,000.