The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-10-31

Tranedies Of The Lakes

fmiThc rescue q. q sorch DAKOTA i.aa ii TIC latest Of
tn { Great Lake t.aged4c-. tac sinking OF tie steamer
E..1'ssc IL. draws an -.tention ho-c 70 the t~o appalling
| iryr.l disasters OF a week no, usually accorded the s.li:-
t.zs Of vessels on -.e inland seas. FoInderlns q lake
mats is a pcr.ectly normal occurrence in the seasons
- ,inclcIncacy. The men who 70 down With them gencr-
/ " ar strangers here. However. when somebody who
L,fof tho community Ct Of a neighboy.ns community CT
lsbithc same state is drowned or rescued, then the sig
yt.cancc or tho lake tragedies become apparent and
ave quite another inaprcosien.
,.or the less Of tho mon who navigate the great inland
MS there Is a tradition also of hcroisn and endurance
VT dcadcns the impress Of the a-iulness Of these ship
81 ~ disassel !. They and the hideous toll OF them arc SO
'ttcr OF fac. from yearly repetition.
II so the sinking of the Wisconsin and Of the car ferry
t,:lwau.cc with the less Of so lives s2t taeir wonted at
p htion the country ovc., ccrdng closcr TO the commune
) which contributed !, the human disaster and re-
wing casual s.ludders from thc-e not included in tho
scdy.
E:,nc who does moi live near the Great lakes may. to
yin with, be slightly puzzled By this story Of a ship
Locked car ferry. On the Atlantic md Pacific coasts a
W ferry Is about as exciting a craft as a mua-scow. I.
@,,imply o long, open barge. OH which trains arc carried
loss the harbor. But not on Lake Michigan.
all tic ships that sail that occasionally tempcstous
lily OF water, the car ferry is the one that runs into tho
sst excitement and danger. 1t is a full-sizcd steam
.p, in the first place: a h%ish-sidcd craft of steel. with
exchanging bows and considerable breadth Of beam,
tic capable Of sailing any sea On the globe.
IN the second place, it is about the only lake steamer
1t follows its schedule all winter.
ND he regular lake freighters seek snug berths when
:vemocr comes and lie there until April. The car ferry
7;eps a. it. And CT all the jobs calculated to make q
ssorman old before his time, cruisin: about Lake Mich
IN in the dead OF winter is enc of the very best.
ss::Slale Micniean's wilte: storms would do credit to Cape
I'm. The lake, more often than not, is damned full Of
y:s$Sk ice. The winds como bowling down all the way
,c:syn Hudson's bay, bringing snow. sleet, fog and other
'o:Nnaccs. Trying to bring a ship to harbor at the end Of
:. hit in a January storm. when the swirling snow makes
~ lighthouse invisible and all error Of 100 yards in d.
7:tion will put you on a reef. to be battered by 25-foot
e'clbers, is no soft task.
9: tut the ferries have a tradition-"damn the weather,
Il ferries always run"-and they live up to 1t. Once In
'Iuihle, in wintertime, a car ferry gets stranded in the
Wy miles from shore, and stays there for a few days, or
eek or more: but that's all part Of the job. Once in
s:,rcat while something goes wrong below. as it did with
-. Milwaukee; one Ct the freight cars breaks loose and
rs rampaging about like a malevolcnt trip hammer. In
SIT case the sailors arc very lucky if they ever see their
ifncs again.
rate the car ferries arc real sailors, and they bring
II ships through with splendid regularity. But it's no
~s!i,kling's job.
= he world is full of callinps like that: callngs in which
g: Ugh tradition demands that danger be ignored and
comfort forgotten. The men who follow them arc
iiIocs. But We never notice them-until, once in q
335s::.lc. something like this Lake Michigan tragedy occurs
calls them to our notice.