The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-02-11

|1 had covered with tafpaIilin. He H'd not have the strength to pull .no body of Coast ouardsman Earl Cunningham from the skiff and he
 Nit it there.
 Brown was one of five men who Ntt out fishing on the lake Satur. Nny morning. The ice beneath them broke away from the shore pack and they were carried out into the lake. Short on-lookers saw their plight and coastguardsme fought their way out through the iceneld in Q skiR. They could only take three of the five, and Brown and his fatl1er.i-law volunteered to wait.
 Gene Bears, Cleo Lapeer, and LlcydA LApeer were taken ashore. 4 Gnpw storm came up as night fell GoAstguardsman Cunningham vols u1iteered to take the gkiR back for the other two. When he reached them darkness already had fallen, tho snow storm had turned into Q blizzard, and return was impossible.
 Not Afraid At First
 we were not afraid at first" Brown said weakly after the Indians had given him whiskey. we thought we surely would reach shore all right. Then the wind grew stronger and we could make no headway. We slowly lost ground and then 1t became hopeless but we kept on using the oars to keep warm. We had no idea where we were or where we were going.
 "As the night wore on, Cunning ham and my father-in-law got sleepy and I had to shake them to keep them awake. I kept telling them that if they went to sleep they'd freeze to death. I'd heard that was the first sign when you was freezing to death-you got sleepy. They didn't seem to care, but I did. I'm young man and l wanted to live.
 First l shook them, then I start. cd to beat them. I kept telling them they were going to die and they didn't seem to care. began slap ping them with my hands. It kept mo from freezing and 1t made them more around and kept them from freezing too.
 Were All Worn Out
 we got through Saturday night some way, but we were all worn out. They frightened up some when daylight came, but both of them were losing ground and I was losing ground myself.
 We moved around aS much as we could and we stayed close to. gether 50 that the heat of our bodies would keep us all warm. The day dragged by. Our skiR was locked in ice. It was impossible to move 1t, probably because we all were very weak then. We talked some about whother we were going to be res- Cued and we told one another we would be, but felt 1t was up to us: that no help could come from shore in that snow and through that wind. |
 Darkness came again and there was no rescue, of course. Cunning ham and my father- Jaw just sat in the skiR and they seemed to give up hope. It was dark and I couldn't see them. I tried to talk to them, but they didn't answer. stood up, moved around, kept thinking that they were freezing to death. didn't want them to die no more than wanted to die and found & stick in the boat and I began beating them with 1t.
 Beat Them with Stick
 I'd beat one, then I'd beat the Other ono for Q while. At first they responded, telling me not to do 1t, but kept right on. I didn't hit hard, just hard enough, thought, to keep their blood circulating. Hours must have passed. It was still night, black, couldn't see. They responded more and more weakly and finally Cunningham didn't move and I felt in my heart that he was frozen and was dead.