The Dickenson County herald. [volume] (Clintwood, Va.) 1927-1930, 1928-05-10
MAlI-n.lE:N brave
10 titles OF ICE
EIc~~;or- Al in Days Work
for ET7.zz11n Link to
Lie Erie Isles.

Put in Bay. Oho.-It's all in the
days work for Lee Miller, twenty
-year-md island mail carrier.
whether II be smooth sailing over
calm waters or good ice or battle
with the wind and waves.
tnd because he gets through
whenever it is humanity possible, Mil
{ Ter is Just about the most popular
person in these parts. Daring, re-
sourceful, courteous, modest-and
young-he is evcrybody's hero-the
islands Lindbergh.
Miller won't talk much about him
self and his exploits. He has Il CHEEKY
greeting when he arrives with the
mail, but although he may have
battled for hours in making the trip
he says little, if anything, about it.
och, it wasn't so bad" is usually
the extent of his comment.
Travels Ten Miles of Water
Miller seems to have an uncanny
sense of ice and. water that serves
him well in negotiating the ten miles
of Lake Erie between the shores of
this island and the Ohio mainland
near Port Clinton.
just the ether day he was crossing
with number of passengers. All
were afooe Miller and his assistant,
Clayton Marsh, were dragging their
/ craft-an>- ironclad boat On runners
so that it can be made to travel either
water or iee-behind them.
The temperature was . below zero
when the party started for the main
land from Put in Bay and a south
west wind whipped across the frozen
surface of the lake with terrific speed,
making fur coats and caps and heavy
boots and mittens essential to endur-
ance.
Miller was walking ahead when he
suddenly called out that there was
weak ice ahead Most men in the
party could see nothing unusual, but
after advancing several hundred feet
it was observed that there was a
streak of blue ice" cutting through
the "white ice"
Directing the passengers to stand
by" Miller and Marsh, after drawing
their craft close to them, attempted
'run" They were not half way
over the "bIue ice" when they broke
through.
The two climbed into their iron
clad"-a boat at the moment-broke
the ice in a channel to the solid ice
some distance away and then, return
ing, picked up their passengers and
rowed them across.
In the course of this operation
Miller froZe his right cheek, for he
had been unable to protect it from
the icy wind. How he could detect
the thin ice so far ahead puzzled the
passengers.
Senses Weather Ahead.
One day last spring Miller started
from the mainland in a heavy truck
with two tons of coal for Put in Bay.
The ice was heavy and the day was
beautiful Near Green island, about
midway between Put in Bay and the
mainland. tire trouble developed and
q stop for repairs was necessary.
While the party waited Miller glanced
about into the seemingly clear sky.
+ "We1l use only a light truck tomor-
row for something is coming and we
may have trouble getting back" he
remarked
And so. next morning he started out
in light truck. 1t looked like a
beautiful day. Arriving at Port Gin
ton Miller sought permission to start
back at once with the mail, but this
was denied II was then eleven
O'Clock and the departure schedule
was II 40.
When he finally got started he
drove rapidly but already it was APP
parent that Il storm was coming and
he WAS out not more than three miles
when it broke with terrific fury.
Miller raced ahead hoping to reach
Put in Bay, but soon observed that
the ice was breaking and piling up at
Green island.
knowing that he could not reach
Put in Bay, Miller turned about and
headed for the mainland. AS he ap-
preached Catawba leland, near the
mainland. he discovered open water
The great field of ice had broken
away and was drifting out.
Daes Clil! thinking.
Miller knew that to remain on the
ice would probably mean the loss of
his life and that of his partner and
of a passenger as well as the mail.
He knew, FOO, that the water was not
more than? six or seven feet deep at
that point
I'm going to ditch her." he an
nounced promptly, and headed for the
/ open water. His partner and the pas
senger jumped and just as the truck
reached the water Miller also jumped.
The truck went down-just below
the surface of the water Miller swan