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 Duluth Herald Saturday Evening November 15, 1913 MYSTERIOUS DERELICT IN LAKE HURON IS IDENTIFIED AS THE STEAMER C, S. PRICE. Diver Inspects the Overturned Boat And Makes His report. No Trace of REGINA, Thought to Have Sunk Close By. Abandoned Steamer MAJOR Towed to Safety By Tomlinson Boat. The most interesting development so far today in connection with last Sunday's storm, which cost so many lives and so much vessel property, is the fact that the mysterioius hull floating in Lake Huron has been identified. She is the big steamer CHARLES S. PRICE, which capsized on Sunday with all hands. Capt. Peterson of the Pickands-Mather steamer PATHFINDER told the Herald yesterday that he had surveyed the wreck and was convinced that it was the PRICE, and it turns out that he was right. There have been numerous guesses, most of those giving their opinions saying that it was a small steamer, about 300 feet long with a beam of about 43 feet. Many regarded it as the Canadian steamer REGINA. Capt. Doherty of the Anchor line steamer TIONESTA, after surveying the wreck, declared that she was a large steamer and gave it as his opinion that it was the big Canadian freighter JAMES CARRUTHERS. He was the first to declare the capsized vessel a large one. It is believed that the theory advanced by the Pickands-Mather people that the PRICE'S stern is resting on the bottom is the correct one. It is expected to be quite likely that an attempt will be made to save the hull, seeing that she is in only sixty-six feet of water and her nose is afloat. The CHARLES S. PRICE was one of the most modern boats on the Great Lakes. She was built three years ago, was of 6,322 gross tons, was 504 feet. She was owned by the M. A. Hanna company of Cleveland. Mystery Solved. The following Associated Press dispatch from Port Huron tells of the solving of the mystery. "One of the strangest mysteries in connection with the destructions of vessels and men on the Great Lakes by last Sunday's storm was solved today when William Baker, a diver, identified the overturned vessel in Lake Huron, thirteen miles northeast of this port, as the CHARLES S. PRICE of Cleveland. The PRICE, a steamer 504 feet long, has been lying in the lake ever since the storm, with only a few feet of the bottom of her bow above the water. She is said to have carried a crew of 28. All of them must have been lost. "Until today all efforts to identify the derelict had been in vain and there were many conjectures as to her name. The general opinion, however, was that she would be found to be either the PRICE or the REGINA. "It is still thought that the wrecking of the PRICE and REGINA must have been in the same local- ity. The diver, however, found no evidence of any other submerged vessel beside the PRICE. The opinion that the two steamers went down near each other is borne out by the fact that a body from the PRICE was found wearing a REGINA life belt. The belt was found adrift after the sailor had jumped from his sinking boat. "Ship owners and anxious relatives of the lost sailors of the eight boats which went down in Lake Huron during the storm, today began another search for the frozen bodies, which are being tossed up almost hourly on the Canadian shore. "The establishment of the identity of the "mystery ship" makes it certain that the boats claimed by the big blow on Lake Huron were the JOHN A. McGEAN, CHARLES S. PRICE, JAMES S. CARRUTHERS, REGINA, WEXFORD, ARGUS, HYDRUS and ISAAC M. SCOTT, involv- ing a death loss of approximately 195. Besides this total, the storm took the LEAFIELD, WILLIAM NOTTING- HAM, HENRY B. SMITH, PLYMOUTH and LIGHTSHIP NO. 82 and sixty-one lives on Lake Superior, Michigan and Erie. Tug TEMPEST Safe. A wild story emanated from Milwaukee this morning to the effect that the tug TEMPEST with fourteen of a crew had foundered in Lake Superior. The tug TEM- PEST belongs to Jeffrey brothers of Duluth, having a tug office at the foot of Garfield avenue. Jeffrey brothers announced this morning that the TEMPEST is in Duluth harbor and was not out in the storm. All of their property is safe in port. Yesterday and today the only reported additional loss is that of the steamer MAJOR, which was aban- doned by her crew off Whitefish Point, the A. M. BYERS taking the crew in answer to signals of dis- tress. The Tomlinson steamer, BARNUM, picked up the MAJOR and towed her to Whitefish, where she is said to be safe. It is becoming the general belief that there is no longer hope for the H. B. SMITH which left Mar- quette last Sunday night. All evidence is to the effect that she has foundered in Lake Superior. Hope is also given up for the ARGUS and the HYDRUS, the latter of the two being of the Pickands-Mather line. No more Duluthians have been learned to be in the wrecked vessels than those already reported. Many Lucky Escapes. One of the most fortunate fleets in the big storm was that of the Tomlinson company. Only two of the ships went "on," as they say in marine circles. One of them, the SAXONA, could hardly be accused of even that, for she came off a shoal in Lake Huron with her own power in a few hours and left Duluth yester- day with a load of ore. The steamer FRED G. HARTWELL went on at Iroquois point in the blow, but is being released and will be all right after some rather expensive repairs. Another case of luck was that connected with the steamer LAKEPORT of the Port Huron & Duluth company. The LAKEPORT left Duluth a week ago last night at midnight and passed the Soo at 6 o'clock Saturday night. She reached Port Huron at noon on Monday. She must have passed through the thickest of the storm, but got through unscathed. Capt. Richard Knapp, who is in command of her, is being wired congratulations. Capt. Henry Gunderson of the steamer STEINBRENNER, who, by the way, is making his last trip on the lakes as a master, was in the thickest of the storm. He was just off Cleveland when the tornado was raging over that city and he says the blow was something terrible. He declars that that part of Lake Erie was a sea of mud and that after the water had run off his decks, there was sand and mud on the decks to the depth of three inches in places. His boat was a mass of ice from the bow to No. 5 hatch. There are several families at the Head of the Lakes who will never receive consolation in the way of favor- able reports of the missing, but one woman in Duluth is feeling lighter-hearted today than she was yester- day. She is Mrs. J. A. Hempton of 421 West Third street. Her husband is chief engineer of the ABRAHAM STEARNS, and that ship left Chicago just about in time to get into the middle of the big storm. Yester- day Mrs. Hempton was almost frantic, for the STEARNS had not been heard from and nobody could inform her of its location. This morning the mailman brought a letter that caused Mrs. Hempton's heartbeats to in- crease, but it proved to be a letter from her husband, dated at Calside (sic), Mich., and telling her that everything was well with the STEARNS and her crew. Many others are vainly hoping to receive such letters. Con Flynn on Job. Calumet, Mich., Nov. 15. - Capt. C. O. Flynn of Duluth, representing both the owners and under- writers of the wrecked steamer TURRETT CHIEF of the Merchants' Mutual line of Toronto, left Calumet yes- terday for the Copper Harbor reef to inspect the wreck. The boat is reported to be high on the reef and badly damaged. It is believed it will be abandoned to the underwriters. --------------------------------------------------------- LIST OF LOSSES REPORTED IN GREAT LAKES STORM CORRECTED UP TO 2 P.M. SATURDAY. Steamer ACADIAN - Ashore and total loss in Thunder bay, Lake Huron. Steamer L. C. WALDO - Total loss on Manitou island, Lake Superior. Steamer FRED B. HARTWELL - Aground at Iroquois point. Steamer J. T. HUTCHINSON - Aground in Sault river. Steamer HURONIC - Grounded at Shelldrake, near Whitefish point, Lake Superior, since released. STEAMER TURRET CHIEF - Total wreck at Copper Harbor, Mich. Unknown steamer - Ashore at Manitou (aside from WALDO) Steamer A. E. STEWART - Ashore on north shore of Lake Superior; but since released and somewhat damaged. Headed east from Fort William with grain. Steamer H. B. HAWGOOD - On shore above Port Huron, high and dry. Steamer G. J. GRAMMER - On shore at Lorain, Ohio. Steamer MATTHEW ANDREWS - On Corsica Shoal at the mouth of Lake Huron. Steamer LEAFIELD - Lost at Isle Royale One unidentified steamer - Ashore on Isle Royale. Unidentified large American steamer - Reported by the Canadian steamer DUNDEE, to be in distress on Michipicoten Island, Lake Superior. Steamer WEXFORD - Foundered in Lake Huron. Steamer LONDON - Foundered in Lake Huron. LIGHTSHIP NO. 82 - Foundered off Point Albino, Lake Erie. Steamer NORTHERN QUEEN - Ashore at Johnson's Mills, near Port Huron. Steamer H. M. HANNA - Ashore at Point Aux Barques, Mich., total wreck. Steamer WILLIAM NOTTINGHAM - Wrecked on reef between Sand and Parisian islands, Lake Superior. Steamer REGINA - Lost in Lake Huron near Port Huron. Barge PLYMOUTH - Lost near Gull Island, Lake Michigan. Steamer VIRGINIA - Ashore in Livingstone channel, Detroit river. Steamer W. G. POLLOCK - Ashore in St. Clair ship canal. Unidentified lumber carrier - Sunk in Lake Huron, near Alpena. Steamer D. O. MILLS - Ashore at Harbor Beach, Mich.; since released. Steamer ARGUS - Lost in Lake Huron. Steamer CHARLES S. PRICE - Lost in Lake Huron. Steamer JAMES CARRUTHERS - Lost in Lake Huron. Steamer MATOA - Total loss. Steamer JOHN A. McGEAN - Lost in Lake Huron, with all hands. Steamer ISAAC M. SCOTT - Reported missing. Steamer HYDRUS - Lost in Lake Huron. Steamer H. B. SMITH - Lost in Lake Superior, near Marquette. Barge HALSTEAD - Aground near Green Bay, Wis. Steamer J. M. JENKS - Ashore at Midland, Ont. Unidentified barge - Sunk near Lorain, Ohio. Tug LAFAYETTE - Missing in Lake Superior Steamer MAJOR - Afloat and abandoned in Lake Superior, near Whitefish point; later towed to Whitefish by steamer GEORGE T. BARNUM of the Tomlinson fleet. --------------------------------------------------------- HEROINE SERVES SAILORS WHEN ALL FACE DEATH. Milwaukee, Wis., Nov. 15. - A woman, Mrs. Clarence Black, 1639 North Sancrest street, Chicago, was the heroine of the wrecked steamer HOWARD M. HANNA JR., off Port Austin, Mich., Lake Huron, during the storm which swept over the Great Lakes, according to Arthur Jacobs, boatswain of the craft, upon his arrival here today. "Mrs. Black, the steward's wife, was the only cool one on the vessel after it went on the reef," said Jacobs. "While all of the crew were huddled in the galley and mess room from Sunday night until Tuesday morning, Mrs. Black kept a fire going in the galley stove in spite of the water which was waist deep. She fed the twenty-five sailors and cheered them while the wind and waves were sweeping over the vessel and pounding it to pieces. "When it came time for us to leave the ship and get into the life savers' boat, Mrs. Black refused the courtesies extended to a woman in the time of danger at sea," said Jacobs. "She took her turn in the order of her position and went over the side clad in the fireman's heavy shoes and with all the earmarks of a real sailor." Jacobs said that most of the sailors were near death from cold and exposure when taken off and that when they were safe at Port Austin a purse was taken up for the woman. --------------------------------------------------------- There is universal mourning for the men who went down as a result of last Sunday's storm, and general horror is felt over the terrible proportions of the disaster, but it is believed that the death of no in- dividual is more generally lamented than that of Capt. James L. Owens of the steamer H. B. SMITH - "Jimmie," as everybody who knew him affectionately called him. Some of them still refuse to believe that his boat will not yet turn up, for there have been such in- stances as a vessel lying behind Grand Island for a week after the storm had gone down elsewhere, and coming out after all hope for her had been abandoned. Capt. Owens was liked for various qualities that he possessed. He was a typical sailor - brusque, blunt and outspoken. It has been said of many men that they were "generous to a fault." Somebody may invent a better phrase some day, but that accurately describes Capt. Owens. Nobody with a worthy cause ever appealed to him for financial aid in vain. Capt. Owens was born in Brockville, Ont. He was 54 years of age when he died, and has been a sailor on the lakes since he was 18 years old. He leaves a childless widow at Geneva, Ohio, and two sisters at Cleveland. He also leaves hosts of mourning friends in Duluth and every port on the lakes. --------------------------------------------------------- DEATH'S STORM TOLL IS HEAVY. Total Loss of Life Is Now Estimated at 256. Port Huron, Mich., Nov. 15. - For the first time since Sunday a day has passed without revealing more lives lost in the storm which overwhelmed the Great Lakes the early part of the week. Only one additional boat disaster developed yesterday, and that was the wrecking of the steamer MAJOR off Whitefish point in Lake Superior. She was abandoned by her crew. The crew was picked up by the steamer A. M. BYERS. The life loss among sailors is estimated at approxi- mately 256 and the property loss is figured at more than $10,000,000. The property loss includes the score or more of vessels driven on the rocks or shore, and partially or totally destroyed. One hundred and ninety- five lives were taken on Lake Huron, if the approximate figures are correct: forty-eight lives were lost in Lake Superior, seven on Lake Michigan and six on Lake Erie. The steamers, the destruction of which entailed loss of life were: JOHN A. McGEAN, CHARLES S. PRICE, JAMES S. CARRUTHERS, REGINA, WEXFORD, ARGUS, HYDRUS, SCOTT, LEAFIELD, WILLIAM NOTTINGHAM, HENRY B. SMITH, PLYMOUTH and LIGHTSHIP NO. 82. No further details had been received concerning a second vessel which was reported lying bottom side up, several miles north in Lake Huron. She may be any one of the missing vessels, but the reports of her red bottom would indicate that she is apt to be the CARRUTHERS. Wreckers at work on the steamer MATOA yesterday abandoned her. She went on the rocks off Point aux Barques and was so greatly damaged that nothing can be done for her at this time. --------------------------------------------------------- RELIEF FUND AT CLEVELAND. More than $23,000 Subscribed for Families of Victims. Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 15. - (Special to the Herald.) The Leader and the News have opened a relief fund for the families of 254 victims of the recent storm on the Great Lakes. This fund will be known as the Leader- News Lake Disaster Relief fund, all money to be given over to and disbursed by a committee of prominent vesselmen. H. Coulby of The Pittsburg Steamship Company, Capt. Charles Hutchinson of the Hutchinson line, J. S. Ashley of the M. A. Hanna line, and C. A. Paine, presi- dent of the National City bank, comprise the committee. The fund was opened yesterday afternoon and in less than two hours the cash subscriptions totalled $23,180, with thousands in pledges to be collected today. The need for the relief is urgent. There are 254 families to care for with scores of destitute wives and children. Subscriptions may be sent direct to the fund in the Leader-News building, Cleveland, Ohio. The relief feature has not appeared to any extent in the news of the great disaster and the urgent need is not ap- preciated by those not directly in touch with the situation, but speedy help is needed by scores of families. --------------------------------------------------------- TELLS HIS EXPERIENCES Capt. May of the HAWGOOD Says it Was Worst Storm He Ever Saw. Port Huron, Mich., Nov. 15 - Capt. A. C. May, master of the H. B. HAWGOOD, which was released from Wees Beach on the Canadian shore of Lake Huron Thursday night, saw the ill-fated REGINA, CHARLES S. PRICE and ISAAC M. SCOTT as they sailed forward into the storm Sunday afternoon. He sighted the three boats while his own vessel was wallow- ing in the big seas. The PRICE was met just north of Sand Beach at noon Sunday. "She was heading into it and making bad weather," said Capt. May. "It was beginning to blow so hard that I had turned the HAWGOOD and was heading for the river. The REGINA was passed 15 miles south of Sand Beach. She was making very bad weather. The SCOTT was met about 3:30 Sunday afternoon, five or six miles north of the Port Huron light with the seas breaking over her. I thought she was bound up and I thought her captain was foolish to leave the river. I would have given anything to have been inside shelter. "The wind and sea kept increasing and the snow got thick- er. We couldn't tell how it was blowing, but I should judge it was about 75 miles an hour from the north-northeast. After awhile it got so thick we could not see the smoke- stacks. "If we kept on we would have struck the beach. I wanted to save the boat, so we dropped anchors. Although I couldn't see I knew within a mile or two where we were. "To show you how hard it was blowing, three times I crawled over the top to get from one side to the other. There was no other way. If you got out where the wind would strike you fair, if you weren't blown overboard, your brains would have been smashed out on a stanchion. My worry was for fear some of the crew would be washed overboard. The sea went over the pilot house. "The anchors did not hold and then we went on the beach. We went on so hard I almost went through the pilot house when we struck. That was about 10 o'clock Sunday night. "I have been master of boats for twenty-one years," said the captain, "but this was the worst storm I have ever encountered." --------------------------------------------------------- PROBABLY ALL OVER. Steamer H. B. SMITH Has Evidently Foundered in Superior. Marquette, Mich., Nov. 15. - Four oars and a pike pole marked "HENRY B. SMITH" were picked up on the shore east of Marquette here yesterday by Ban Johnston, a land looker. The steamer HENRY B. SMITH cleared Marquette in the height of the storm on Sunday night, and finding of the oars and other small wreckage, tends to confirm the fears of the last two days that she has foundered. It is thought that the boat gave up the attempt to make the Soo and sought to battle her way to shelter east of Keweenaw point. --------------------------------------------------------- Standing By NOTTINGHAM. Washington, Nov. 15. - Revenue cutter headquarters here received word from Lieut. Shea, commanding the cutter TUSCARORA that this vessel is in Goulais bay, Lake Superior, standing by the stranded ore steamer NOTTINGHAM. ===========================================================================