Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1922-08-25


my will of him. With all the lakes to
trade in, he had to pick out for his that
traffic which / already had chosen for
my own. But l fought him fair, Fa-
ther-I fought him fair, and l would
have continued to do that to the end
"T was at Manistee Father, in the
end of the season-December fifth of
1895. The ice had begun to form very
early that year and was already bad;
there was cold and high gale. had
laid up one of my ships at Manistee,
and l was crossing that night upon
tug to Manitowoc, where another was
to be laid up. l had still third one
loading up on the northern peninsula at
Manistique for last trip which, If it
could be made, would mean a good
cause of Stafford's competition, had
been only fair. After leaving Manis-
tee, it grew still more cold, and l was
afraid the ice would close in on her
and keep her where she was, so deter
mined to go north that night and see
that she got out. None knew, Father,
except those aboard the tug, that had
made that change.
"'At midnight, Father, to westward
of the Foxes, we heard the four blasts
of a steamer in distress-the four long
blasts which have sounded in my soul
ever since We turned toward where
we saw the steamers lights; we went
nearer and, Father, it was his great
ship-the Miwaka We had heard two
days before that she had passed the
500; we had not known more than that
of where she was She had broken her
new shaft, Father, and was intact ex-
cept for that, but helpless in the rising
sea
The priest broke off. 1.-THE Miwaka !
did not understand all that that had
meant to him until Just now-the new
ship OF the rival line, whose building
meant for him failure and defeat
'"There is no higher duty than the
rescue of those in peril at sea. He
Benjamin Corvet, who told me this
sWore to Ine that, at the beginning
none upon the tug had any thought ex-
cept to give aid. A small line was
drifted down to the tug and to this a
hawser was attached which they
hauled aboard. There happened then
the first of those events which led
those upon the tug into doing a great
wrong He-Benjamin Corvet-had
taken charge of the wheel of the tug |;
three men were handling the hawser
in ice and washing water at the stern.
The whistle accidentally blew, which
those on the Miwaka understood to
mean that the hawser had been Sc
cured, so they drew in the slack the
hawser, frightened Unexpectedly by the
pitching of the sea, caught and crushed
the captain and deckhand of the tug
and threw them into the sea.
Because they were short-handed
now upon the tug, and also because
consultation was necessary over what
was to be done, the young owner Of
the Miwaka, Captain Stafford, came
down the hawser onto the tug after the
line had been put straight He came
to the wheelhouse, where Benjamin
Corvet was, and they consulted. Then
Benjamin Corvet learned that the
other owner was aboard the new ship
as well-Ramsdell-the man whose
money you have just told me had built
this and was soon to build other ships.
I did not understand before why learn
ing that affected him so much.
"'Stafford wanted u.s. (this is what
Benjamin Corvet said) to tow him up
the lake; would not do that, but
agreed to tow him to Manistique. The
night was dark, Father-nO snow, but
frightful wind which had been increas-
ing until it now sent the waves wash
ing clear across the tug. We had gone
north an hour when, low upon the wa
ter to my right, l saw a light, and
there came to me the whistling Of
buoy which told me that we were pass.
ing nearer than I would have wished,
even in daytime, to windward Of Boul-
der reef. There are, Father, no people
on that reef; its sides of ragged rock
60 straight down forty fathoms into
the lake.
81 looked at the man with me in
the wheelhouse-at Stafford-and
hated him. put my head out at the
wheelhouse door and looked back at
the lights, at the new, great steamer,
following safe and straight at the end
of it's towline l thought Of my two
men upon the tug who had been
crushed by clumsiness of those on
board that ship; and how my own
ships had had name for never losing
a man and that name would be lost
now because of the carelessness OF
Stafford's men! And the sound Of the
shoal brought the evil thought to me-
Suppose had not happened across his
ship; would it have gone upon some
reef like this and been lost' l thought
that If now the hawser should break,
/ would be rid Of that ship and per-
haps of the owner who was on board
as well. We could not pick up the tow
line again In so close to the reef. The
steamer would drift down upon the
rocks"
Father Perron hesitated an instant.
II bear Witness" he said solemnly,