Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2016 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== The Milwaukee Journal Saturday, September 10, 1910 31 LOST IN WRECK OF FERRY PROBE STARTED TO LEARN THE CAUSE THREE BODIES BROUGHT TO THIS CITY - ONE OF THE VICTIMS WAS A MILWAUKEE MAN - BREAKING OF GLASS PORT HOLE SAID BY SURVIVORS TO HAVE LET IN THE WATER. The breaking of the heavy glass covering of a port hole below the water line by the force of the waves is the reason given for the sinking of PERE MARQUETTE CAR FERRY NO. 18 by the survivors of the ill-fated car ferry and the officers of ferry No. 17. In spite of the constant working of the pumps it was found to be impossible to keep the rush of water out. An investigation was made Saturday morning into the cause of the disaster by United States Steamboat Imspectors Frank Van Pattern and William Collins. Simon Burke third mate on the fated ship, and the officers of car ferry No. 17 were in consultation with the inspectors. "I am not sure as yet as to the cause of the accident," said Inspector Van Patten before the consultation. "The vessel, I believe, was recently inspected in Ludington. One thing sure, it was not the fault of the men in charge. Their work was of the heroic order." Car ferry No. 17, whose crew did such good work in rescuing, reached Milwaukee shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday, bringing three of the bodies with it. The bodies were at once taken to the morgue. With the exception of the twisted stanchion which held a life boat that was destroyed, the huge ferry did not show any ill effects of the storm. The revised figures given by the purser of No. 17 make it thirty-one lost and thirty-three saved. AN EXPERT OPINION. "It seems hardly possible to me that the breaking in of a porthole could have caused such a disaster." is the opinion of R. G. Butler, 198 Martin-st, regarding the reported cause of the sinking of PERE MARQUETTE CAR FERRY NO. 18. Mr. Butler is probably one of the best authorities on car ferries in Milwaukee, and had considerable to do with the construction of the ill-fated vessel. "One reason that seemed to me might be possible was what we call a 'follow-on' sea, that may have flooded the open stern, and put out the fires in the boilers. Still, Capt. Kilty was too good a seaman to allow himself to be caught in such a way. "Car ferry No. 18 was a sister ship of the Milwaukee on the Grand Trunk line. The two vessels were built at a cost of $405,000, of solid steel construction. If a porthole had been broken it seems to me that the inrush of water would have been discovered before any serious damage could have resulted. CAPTAIN WAS CAREFUL. "It could not have been carelessness. I knew Capt. Kilty, and know that he was one of the most skillful and cool headed masters on the lake. "Not long ago while entering Ludington dock, he gave the sig- nal to the first assistant engineer to back into the slip. The Corey signal system is used on the vessels and record the sig- nal with a dial indicator. Instead of backing up, the engineer ran the boat forward into a pier. Capt. Kilty at once sent a mate down to see what the indicator read. The chief engineer was then called, and shown the indicator which read 'astern' while the engines were still moving forward. In this was the responsi- bility for the accident was at once fixed where it belonged." LIFE SAVER'S OPINION. "I do not think that the boilers exploded on the ferry No. 18, but I think what was supposed to be the explosion of the boilers was the noise that the boat made when it sank," said Capt. A. J. Henderson, inspector of the life saving stations in this district. "I think that the cars must have broken loose and run towards the prow of the boat and caused it to spring a leak. As all of the officers and most of the crew are dead I do not believe that the exact cause of the accident will ever be known." BODIES BROUGHT HERE. The bodies of three of the dead were brought to Milwaukee and taken to the morgue. They are: Joseph Brezinski, first mate of No. 18, aged 35, whose home was at Manitowoc, Wis. Survived by a wife and five children. John Schaufagel, cook, supposed to have lived in Milwaukee. Unidentified man, thought to be a coal passer or a deck hand. BODIES RECOVERED. Ferry No. 17 arrived on the scene just before No. 18 went down. The bodies recovered were: CAPT. PETER KILTY, Ludington. FIRST MATE J. BREZINSKI, Manitowoc. JOHN SCHAUFNAGEL, Milwaukee. MRS. MARION TURNER, Ludington, cabin stewardess. "DUMMY," coal passer, Ludington. S. F. SEZEPANEK, purser and wireless operator, Worcester, Mass. W. H. CUMMINGS, passenger agent. A. J. MACK, Chicago. L. BERTRAND, Ludington. THE DEAD. BAKKEN, OLE, wheelsman, Ludington, Mich. BERTRAND, N. L., passenger, Ludington, Mich. BOUCHER, SAMUEL, fireman River Bourgeois, N.S. BREZINSKI, JOSEPH, mate Manitowoc, Wis. BROWN, W. H., second mate, Ludington, Mich. CUMMINGS, W. H., Webster and Halsted streets, Chicago, passenger. DEMOREST, F., coal passer. HAYTHALER, MICHAEL, fireman, Forestville, Mich. HENFIELD, GEORGE, fireman. HIRE, PETER, watchman, Ludington, Mich. JACOBSON, JACOB, scrubber, steamer No. 17, Ludington, Mich. JENSEN, CHARLES, oiler, Ludington, Mich. KELLEY, TOM, stowaway, Detroit, Mich. KELLEY, ____, brother of Tom, stowaway, Detroit, Mich. KILTY, PETER, captain, Ludington, Mich. KLOSS, PAUL, fireman. LEEDHAM, E. R., chief engineer, Duluth. MACK, A. J., steward, Westfield, N.Y. MARLOWE, JOSEPH, scrubber, Ludington, Mich. PARKER W., fireman, Marine City. PETERSON, JOE, watchman, steamer No. 17 RHEINHURT, E., coal passer. RENNER, PAUL, second assistant engineer, Ludington, Mich. ROSENCRANS, CHALMER, assistant engineer, Northport, Mich. SCHAUFNAGEL, JOHN, cook, Milwaukee. SEZEPANEK, S. F., purser, 52 Gold-st, Worcester, Mass. TURNER, MRS. MARION, cabin maid, Ludington, Mich. WARNER, FRANK, porter, Chicago. UNKNOWN, outlook UNKNOWN, fireman UNKNOWN, oiler THE RESCUED. ANDERSON, ROY, deck hand, Waukegan, Ill. BECKFORD, RAY, second porter, Alpena, Mich. BUCHOLTZ, MIKE, coal passer, Ludington, Mich. BURKE, SIMON, wheelsman, Cannes Cop. Britton. CHARLESTON, VANNER, fireman, Buffalo CHUBBY, STANLEY, first porter, Ludington, Mich. COCHRANE, SEYMOUR B., 933 Sheridan road, Chicago. COOPER, GARVAN, first porter, Beardstown, Ill. DECKER, TONY R., deck hand, Grand Rapids, Mich. DONDONO, DAVID, scrubber, Ludington, Mich. DRINKWATER, ROY, 1003 Greenwood terrace, Chicago. FAY, JAMES, first cook, Ludington, Mich. JENSEN, HENRY, fireman, 1227 Racine-st., Racine, Wis. HARWOOD, GEORGE, scrubber, Ludington, Mich. KENNEDY, WALTER, scrubber, Ludington, Mich. KOBB, JAMES, water tender, Port Huron, Mich. LARSON, E. G., deck hand, Custer, Mich. MADISON, ANDREW, deck hand, Ludington, Mich. MEMROW, HERMAN, coal passer, Manistee, Mich. NELSON, CHARLES, second cook, Ludington, Mich. PAGE, AUGUST, deck hand, 178 Hight-st., Chicago PITTBROFF, MICHAEL, deck hand, Ricker, Sweden. PREBER, ART., cabin watch, 23 West Indiana-st, Chicago. POTVIN, FRED, cabin watch, Ludington, Mich. RILEY, JAMES, coal passer, Harrisburg, Pa. ROSE, ALVIN, fireman, Marine City, Mich. SHIELDS, TOM, coal passer, 138 Rush-st, Chicago. STANDING BEAR, JOSEPH (Indian), 703 Van Buren-st, Chicago. THOMAS, JAMES, coal passer, Ludington, Mich. TRUDELL, GEORGE, pantryman, Ludington, Mich. CHARLESTON, VANNER, fireman, 71 Main-st, Buffalo. (sic - repeated name from above) WALL, NORMAN, head waiter, Sanford, Pa. WIGGINS, RAY, fireman, Farwell, Mich. YOUNG, FRANK J., chief steward, Ludington, Mich. OPERATOR DIED AT POST. When car ferry No. 17 returned to Ludington hundreds of people, and a number of ambulances and carriages, were waiting to take the bodies of the dead to the undertaking establishments, and the half frozen survivors to the city hospitals. The body of Capt. Peter Kilty was removed first, followed by the bodies of Mrs. Marion Turner, S. F. Sezepanek, purser and wireless operator, who stuck to his post till death, in flashing the signal of distress, which resulted in the sav- ing of so many lives. Then came the bodies of A. J. Mack, steward; W. H. Cummins, advertising mananger, and N. L. Bertrand. Capt. Milligan, acting first officer of No. 17 said: "We had just reached No. 18 when it went down. It went down stern first and just as the water closed over it there seemed to be an explosion, either of steam or by the compression of air, which blew the cabin entirely off the boat in fragments, and these pieces of fragments undoubtedly saved the lives of a number of the crew." A boat manned by four of the crew of No. 17 was lowered but was drawn under the wheels and two of the four were drowned, and the other two picked up. Capt. Milligan then took charge of another boat, which picked up fourteen of the persons hanging on to timber of the wrecked vessel. A third boat was launched, which saved thirteen more. Car ferry No. 20 and a tug from Sheboygan, carrying the Sheboy- gan life saving crew, arrived on the scene and picked up other survivors. Three bodies were picked up by the tug and carried to Milwaukee. No statement can be learned as to the cause of the accident, as all of those who might know are dead. James Fay, the cook, said, "I don't know what the trouble or cause was. When I woke up she was settling at the stern. Water was coming in at the stern. She was settling rapidly and seemed to stand up, her bow out of water. I went down, I think forty feet and when I came to the surface she was gone. Those who know the cause are dead. I certainly do not." RACED FOR IT. The vessel steamed out of Ludington at 11:30 Thursday night and during the next five hours the weather was good. At 4:30 Friday morning, Capt. Kilty received word that his ship was taking water aft to (sic) rapidly for the pumps to keep up with the inflow. The captain then put on full speed and headed the boat for Sheboygan. The steamers pumps were worked and every means to save the craft resorted to, but the captain soon realized that the ship was doomed. He ordered full speed ahead hoping to reach shallow water be- fore the boat foundered. At 7:30 the ship could no longer float and the bow was lifted high in the air, the stern settled and she sank swiftly with a noise like an explo- sion she went down, just as No. 17 came into view. The scene presented to No. 17 was of numbers of people strug- gling frantically to escape. Seymour Cochrane of Chicago, one of the survivors said in conversation with his brother, "The exact cause of the acci- dent is not known, but I understand that twenty-nine cars of general merchandise which comprised the cargo, and which were supposed to be safely anchored on the four tracks of the boat, broke from their fastenings and foundered the boat. But the exact cause may never be known, for all that knew went down. One of the wheelsmen was saved, I am told. but which one I do not know. All the rest of the crew went down and they died bravely. The officers are the only persons who knew, and these poor fellows cannot tell." LIFE SAVERS' TRIP. August Oleander of the life saving crew, who had charge of the motor boat that went to the rescue of the car ferry 18 Friday, gives a description of his trip: "At 8 a.m. Friday we received word that the car ferry 18 was disabled in mid-lake. The wind was a gale of thirty- five miles an hour. It was 3 p.m. before we reached the place of the accident, thirty miles east, half north, of Port Washington. We went to Port Washington for gasoline and left there at 9:30 for Milwaukee. SHEBOYGAN TUG HELPS. Sheboygan, Wis., Sept. 10 - The Sheboygan life saving crew and the tug Peter Reiss returned to port at 7 p.m. yesterday from the scene of the Pere Marquette No. 17 disaster. Capt. Dionne of the life crew reports that no evidence to indicate the cause of the disaster could be found. The life saving crew picked up six bodies while at the scene - five of men and one of a woman. All wore cork jackets except one man. A gold watch found in the pocket of one of the men had stopped at 8:10, and after water was allowed to run out of it, it began running again. Six yawls were found floating about, besides three large life rafts, each capable of carrying forty people. The bodies picked up by the life crew were transferred to one of the car ferries on the scene. It appears that those on board had barely time to slip into cork jackets, and, that, though they jumped in time, they were carried under by the suction of the sinking boat. The local life crew picked up various small articles such as books, a woman's purse, etc. Port Washington Tug at Rescue. PORT WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 - The tug Pessler, this city, which figured in the rescue in the steamer Atlanta disaster on Lake Michigan two years ago, picked up six of the victims of the Pere Marquette boat which sank yesterday. The bodies were taken to Ludington. The tug left here this morning and will continue to give further aid. Not Overloaded. LUDINGTON, Mich., Sept. 10 - That yesterday's wreck of the Pere Marquette car ferry No. 18 was not due to a storm, to overloading, or to a breakdown in the vessel's machinery and that the real cause of the disaster will never be fully de- termined, in the conclusion reached by Gen. Supt. W. D. Trump of the Pere Marquette railway, who came here to investigate the wreck. According to the report sent by Mr. Trump to Pere Marquette headquarters in Detroit, Capt. Russell of No. 17 was merely asked by Capt. Kilty of No. 18 to stand by when he arrived at the scene, Capt. Kilty evidently not believing that his vessel was in immediate danger. Capt. Russell, however, observed that No. 18 was sinking and lowered his life boats just before No. 18 went to the bottom. According to Mr. Trump there were sixty-two persons on board steamer No. 18. The sixteen above the regular crew were four employes of the Chicago Navigation Co., with Seymour E. Cochrane, vice president of that company and a corps of extra scrubbers, carpet layers, etc., who were working while the boat was moving in order to save time. Mr. Cochrance was saved but his four men were lost. The first intimation those on board No. 18 had that any- thing was wrong was when the wheelsman about 4 o'clock a.m. found that the vessel was no responding quickly. The com- partment aft of the engine room was then found to contain a considerable amount of water though not enough to disturb the firemen and deckhands sleeping there. Distress signals were given as the vessel continued to sink and the lifeboats on the portside were lowered but not cut away from the ship, Capt. Kilty continuing to head the steamer for the west shore of Lake Michigan. All of the sur- vivors jumped or were thrown from the boat when she sank and were picked up by boats from steamer No. 17. WHEELMAN OF WRECKED FERRY TELLS STORY OF THE DISASTER. Simon Burke, wheelman of the ill-fated Pere Marquette car ferry, one of the survivors of the disaster in midlake early Friday, Saturday told at a court of inquiry in the government building, held by the marine inspectors of the Milwaukee district, what he knew about the sinking. The hearing was behind closed doors. Other witnesses are to be called to discover, if possible, the cause of the disaster. "I don't know how it happened," said Burke, before going into the hearing. "The boat went down with a list to port and stern foremost, and I was washed out through the starboard door, without having time to put on the life preserver that I had in my hand. It took only two minutes from the time the dynamos were flooded in the engine room for the water to reach the pilot house. "I went down twice, the suction taking me down to a great depth, until the pressure of the water bruised me. I didn't hear or see anything. One of the boats of No. 17 picked me up and brought me here. "At 3:30 a.m. the engineer reported that we were 'making water' but the ship was acting all right. I changed the course four points to keep her before the wind. A half hour later the captain instructed me to head for shore, due west. The last time I saw him alive was at 5, when he said: "'The boat's all right; we'll save her.' He was dead when I saw him again. "Swimming didn't help any. It was a matter of courage only." This is Burke's fifth shipwreck. He will ship again, re- turning to Ludington on Car Ferry No. 17. ===========================================================================