The Charles Mix new era. (Wagner, Charles Mix County, S.D.) 1???-1911, 1910-09-16

L~udington, Sept. 10. - Thomas
Shields, the coal passer rescued when
the Pere- Marquette car ferry No. Is
vent down in Lake Michigan Friday
with a loss of twenty-eight men, gave
an account of the wreck tonight. He
is at the hospital and his story in his
W words is as follows:
wv went on the watch at 1890 ana
l notice that there was water coming
In from n of the glass ports. Then
l saw the mate, Joe Brezenski, and
n OF the wheelsmen come and try
to fixe the glass and iron that holds
the port in. Then Captain Kitty came
and they pushes clothes and rags into
the hole and the captain orders the
pumps put IN. There was a heavy
sea pounding, so l told one of the fire.
men that the water was rushing in.
about 1870 Captain Kitty tells us
we have got to shove the cars of so
as to tighten the ship. We had a
HI of a time getting them off. be-
cause they would stick and hang owe
but we got Twenty-Five off.
Then the captain told us to get the
post side lifeboats off. We loosened
all the life RATS so they would float
of when the boat sank.
1--WE had the flag at half mast in
the daylight, so No. II certainly knew
we were in trouble. No. II was get
ting pretty close to us and | was right
alongside of Captain Kitty when he
yelled to II that Is would not last
long. But No. II did not come along
side.
mo, she swung around our stern
and came 100 feet of us on the wind
side.
II heard Mate Walter Brown yell
to IL and say: For Gods sake what
are you doing? Why don't you get a
hustle on your Then II swung back
and came over on the lee side OF us,
but just stayed away. If they had
had any nerve at all they would have
saved every mothers son Of us.
II can swear to it that II could
have got us all of If the had come
alongside when they first came up,
but instead of that they hung off to
the windward."
Stanley Chubb, the porter, said:
mo. II came up on the port or lee
side, back of IS. She then came
ahead. but instead of swinging to the
lee side we were all thunderstruck to
see her swing to the windward. l
stood right alongside of Mate Brown
when he yelled through his hands to
II:
For Gods sake, come alongside;
where you going?
"Yet, they yelled back, What is the
matter?'
Anybody could see we were sink
ing and If II had pulled alongside
when she first came up, all could have
been saved"
The Pere-Marquette officials say
that Captain Kitty did not indicate to
II that he feared his ship in grave
danger.
They have given out theories as to
why No. Is sank. They saw they can
prove that the pumps could have TAX
en- care of any water that might have
dashed through the dead light The
ONLY other plausible theory advanced
is that the water came in through a
crank boxing or from a lossened
plate.
81 sifted the case to the bottom"
said Superintendent Trump today,
but found nothing that would ex-
plain the disaster"
That yesterdays wreck of Pere
Marquette car ferry No. Is and the
loss Of twenty-nine lives was not due
to a storm, to overlooking, or to a
breakdown in the vessels machinery
and that the real cause Of the disaster
will never be fully determined. is the
conclusion reached by General Super
intendent w. D.. Trump, Of the Pere
Yesterday to investigate the wreck.
According to the report sent by Mr..
Trump to Pere Marquette h%eadquar-
tiers in Detroit today, Captain Russell
Of steamship No. II, was merely ask
ed by Captain Kitty of No. Is to stand
by when he arrived at the scene, Cap
tain Kitty evidently not believing his
vessel was in immediate danger. Cap
tain Russell, however, observed that
No. IS was sinking and lowered his
lifeboats Just before No. Is went to
the bottom.
According to Mr.. Trump there were
sixty-two people on board No. Is. The
sixteen above the regular crew were
four employees of the Chicago Naviga-
ton company, with Seymour e. Coch-
rane, vice president Of the company,
and a corps of extra s%crubbers, car
pet ayers, ETC., who were working
while the boat was moving in order
to save time. Mr.. Cochrane was saved
but his four employees were lost.
The first intimation those on board
No. Is had that anything was wrong
was when the wheelsman, about 4 a
M, found that the vessel was not re-
spending quickly. The compartment
aft the engine oom was then found
to contain a considerable among OF
water.
Distress signals were given al the
vessel continued to sink, and life
boats were lowered but not cut away
from the ship. Captain Kitty contin,
ued to head the steamer for the wes1