Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2015 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. =========================================================================== Chicago Daily News December 6, 1912 LAKE LASHED TO FURY BOATS AT ITS MERCY Raging Seas Drive Ships to Shelter; Hope for ROUSE SIMMONS Dying Out. A raging seas, with treacherous squalls and shifing winds, imperiled a number of lake boats bound for Chicago today, and swept away probably the last vestige of hope that the three- masted schooner ROUSE SIMMONS and its Yuletide cargo of Christ- mas trees would sail safely into Chicago's harbor with its hardy crew of sixteen men. The roaring waters were driven by a fifty mile gale that first burst upon Lake Michigan in all its fury from the northwest, and then in suddenness veered to the south- west. High winds and rough seas were reported over all the Great Lakes excepting Ontario today. On Erie the storm was the worst of the season and a barge sank at Put-in-Bay, OH. A gle was blowing at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and a fleet of ten boats took shelter behind Whitefish Point. Navigation was nearly impossible. TREE CARGO IS CAST ASHORE When Chicago watchers peered through spy-glasses for a glimpse of incoming vessels, and relatives of the crew of the missing ROUSE SIMMONS kept their vigil, Lake Michigan hurled hundreds of Christmas trees on the bleak shores near Sturgeon Bay. The waves had torn them from their fastenings and they drifted in in broken heaps. As they lay in confusion upon the shore, viewed by awe-stricken men, women and children, A. F. Putnam, a ship builder at Sturgeon Bay, sent the following telegraph message to Mrs. Herman Schuene- mann, wife of the former lake captain who owned the cargo of the missing ROUSE SIMMONS. It was received by her representative, R. H. Geeting, a commission merchant at 108 West S. Water st., Chicago, and read as follows: "Trees and greens picked up here. Shall we ship them?" WILL NOT BELIEVE DISASTER. Mr. Geeting quietly conveyed the message to Mrs. Schuenemann, who daily has refused to believe that her husband and crew have gone down with their ship, and then sent the following reply. "Trees and greens, if enough to pay to ship, will help family much. Any bodies found? R. H. Geeting." Mrs. Schuenemann, or her daughters, who have not permitted a tear to pass their eyes, will not admit that the ship and all are lost. "I won't believe it! I won't!" the mother cried. DRAMATIC STORY OVER TELEPHONE. Mr. Putnam, who is in the shipbuilding and livery business at Sturgeon Bay, Wis., was reached over the long distance telephone by a reporter for The Daily News after the telegram had been received by Mr. Geeting. He told of the finding of the greens and of the tireless patrol of the beaches for evi- dence of the lost ship. "Night and day we have watched the lake for a sight of the missing boat," he said. "The men established a beach patrol in order that they might send immediate help to the missing vessel if it appeared near our town in distress. ot only did the men take part in the earch but also wives, mothers and sisters, eager to minister aid if it became necessary. Daily the waters rose and fell on the shores but nothing appeared. Late yesterday afternoon the SYLVIA, a fishing boat, while making its way to a pier, plunged into a floating forest of Christmas trees a mile from shore. All about the fishermen lay the greens like seaweed. Then other boats reported the same experience." TREES PILED HIGH ON SAND. "It was getting dark then ad it was dangerous to try to bring the trees ashore, as a strong wind was rising. It increased in fury, and soon the lake was roaring like a torrent. At dawn, men, women and children braved the cold to hurry to the lake. There, piled high upon the sand, were Christmas trees, broken and torn. The water was dyed a dark green by the torn branches and trees that still ay in the waves, which even tossed their tops above the surface as they lashed each other. "There were hundreds of them. The biting wind was forgotten and mothers and daughters mingled with fishermen in searching among the greens for timber and bodies of those we believe went down with the boat. Some even went into the icy surf to search. "The noise of the crashing breakers and their size did not daunt some of the boldest and they even ventured to launch a boat to search the waters. The fate of those who probably succumbed with the ROUSE SIMMONS might have been theirs had they been successful in getting far off shore. They realized the impossible task and decided to wait until the lumber drifed ashore." EXPECT TO FIND BODIES. "The waves, until last night, have been running mainly off shore and I believe this has been responsible for the inability to find spars and timbers of the Christmas tree boat. We feel positive that the ship foundered near Kewaunee, Wis., which is thirty-two miles from here and where it was last seen. The towns- men there also have picked up Christmas trees. We are on the watch night and day and I feel pretty sure that sooner or later bodies will appear. We are only waiting for an east wind which will bring everything to our coast, and then the mystery of the wreck will be clear." ===========================================================================