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 Toronto World Saturday Morning November 15, 1913 Thirty More Bodies of Drowned Seamen Found Near Goderich DEATH TOLL ESTIMATED AT 256 SHIPPING LOSS FIVE MILLIONS MAJOR'S CREW SAFELY IN PORT. No Further News of Loss of Life Received Yesterday and Worst is Apparently Known - Men on Sinking Boat Picked Up by Steamer. PORT HURON, Mich., Nov. 14. - (Can. Press) - For the first time since Sunday, a day has passed without revealing more lives lost in the storm which passed over the great lakes in the early part of the week. Only one additional boat disaster developed today and that was the wrecking of the steamer MAJOR of Cleveland, off Whitefish Point in Lake Superior. She was abandoned by her crew last night after a futile effort had been made to weather the second storm of the week. The crew was picked up by the steamer BYERS. The ship was in a sinking condition when the crew left her, the funnel gone and the after works washed away. Tonight the life loss among sailors is estimated at approximately 256 and the property loss is figured at more than $5,000,000. 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 ap- proximate figures are correct; 48 lives were lost in Lake Superior, seven on Lake Michigan and six on Lake Erie. The list of wrecked vessels that resulted in death and the lives lost compiled today as follows: Lake Huron wrecks - JOHN A. McGEAN, crew of 28; CHARLES S. PRICE, 28; JAMES CARRUTHERS, 25; REGINA, 20; WEXFORD, 20; ARGUS, 23; HYDRUS, 23; Scott, 28. Lake Superior - LEAFIELD, 15; WILLIAM NOTTINGHAM, 3; HENRY B. SMITH, 30. Lake Michigan - PLYMOUTH, 7. Lake Erie - LIGHTSHIP NO. 82, 6. A total of 256. Besides the foregoing list there are more than a score of vessels which were either totally or partially destroyed without loss of life. ----------------------------------------------------- PERIL TO OTHER SHIPS ----------------------------------------------------- SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., Nov. 14. - (Can. Press.) - The steamer Barnum, upbound, picked up the derelict steamer MAJOR, which had been abandoned by its crew last night on Lake Superior. It was feared she would be a menace to navigation and efforts were made to get the TUSCARORA, however, the BARNUM brought the vessel behind Whitefish, where she now lies. The smokestacks and after-cabins are gone. Great difficulty is experienced in wreck opera- tions on the HARTWELL and NOTTINGHAM. It was expected that the HARTWELL would be released today, but no news of her release has yet reached the Soo. The TUSCARORA is standing by the NOTTINGHAM. The weather has been fair today, with a fresh northeast wind and occassional snow flurries. ------------------------------------------------------- "HENRY SMITH" Loss Confirmed. MARQUETTE, Mich., Nov. 14. - (Can. Press.) - Four oars and a pikepole marked "HENRY B. SMITH" were picked up on the shore east of Marquette in the height of the storm Sunday night, and the finding of the oars and other small wreckage tends to confirm the fears of the last two days. 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. -------------------------------------------------------- BIG FREIGHTER STILL MYSTERY Is Lying in Forty Feet of Water and is Four Hundred Feet Long. (By a Staff Reporter) SARNIA, Nov. 14. - The tug FISCHER of the Reid Line was chartered today for another trip to the steamer which is capsized in the lake a few miles from the mouth of the river. When the boat got within a few feet of the front of the capsized hulk a sounding of the depth of water was taken, and was found to be exactly 60 feet. The tug was then taken directly astern of the boat and back about 400 feet, where a sounding showed that the depth was 40 feet. This evidently was taken on top of the bottom of the boat, as a few feet farther back the water dropped away to 60 feet. It is the opinion of local marine men and repre- sentatives of the different lines of boats that the boat must be at least 400 feet long. It is pointed out, however, that the sounding may have been taken over another boat directly behind that which is over- turned. May Be WEXFORD. Capt. Reid is of the opinion that the capsized vessel is the WEXFORD. The WEXFORD, however, is only 243 feet in length. It is pointed out that the bow will not be located until such a time as the sea be- comes calm enough to send down a diver. NORTHERN QUEEN SALVAGE. The lighter KILDERHOUSE and the tug FISCHER returned this morning from the NORTHERN QUEEN, the former boat having on board about 2000 tons of merchandise that had been taken from the wrecked steamer during the day. The boats will return again tomorrow if the weather is favorable, and an effort will be made to pull her off from her perilous position. -------------------------------------------------------- Capt. Wright's Body Was Washed Ashore With That of His Chief Engineer O'Dell And Will Be Shipped to Toronto Today. (By a Staff Reporter) KINCARDINE, Ont., Nov. 14. - Ten more bodies were washed ashore tonight near the Village of Amberley, and have been taken to Ripley. Of these two have been identified - Captain W. H. Wright and Chief Engineer O'Dell of the JAMES CARRUTHERS, both of Toronto. So far thirty-one bodies have been washed ashore north of Grand Bend. The bodies of Captain Wright and O'Dell will be shipped to Toronto for burial. ------------------------------------------------------- MARINE AUTHORITIES SEVERELY CRITICIZED. Failed to Help in Identifying Sunken Vessels, It is Asserted. SARNIA, Nov. 14. - Much criticism is being heard in marine circles concerning the authorities, who, it is alleged, have failed to assist in identifying the sunken vessels, wreckage from which is strewn all along Lake Huron's shore for a radius of ninety miles on both sides. It is charged that not since Sunday's storm have the authorities made a concerted effort to patrol the shore. ------------------------------------------------------- OVERTURNED STEAMER SIGHTED MAY BE MISSING CARRUTHERS Captains Report That Vessel is About Size of Giant Freighter and Bottom is Painted Red - Withdrawal of U. S. Revenue Cutter is Severely Criticized. (By a Staff Reporter) SARNIA, Nov. 14. - Reports were received today that another overturned hulk is floating on the surface of Lake Huron near Point Aux Barques, and that it is thought that it may be the steamer CARRUTHERS which is known to be lost with all hands. The boat has a red painted bottom and is about the size of that steamer. Of course very little information can be had of the boat. Downbound steamers which hailed her this morning, however, had not sighted the bow. The withdrawal of the revenue cutter MORRELL from this vicinity just at a time when she is most needed is meeting with criticism at every lake port. There is a great service that could be rendered at the present moment by this American boat, but just at the moment she is needed to safeguard the wreck of the overturned steamer north of this port and prevent it from becoming a menace to navigation, orders come from Washington sending the steamer to Lorraine, Ohio. ------------------------------------------------------- FEDERAL VESSEL ON PATROL DUTY Government Despatches Boat From Windsor in Answer to Appeal From Goderich. (By a Staff Reporter) GODERICH, Nov. 14. - Owing to the inadaquate system of patrolling the shores of Lake Huron Mayor Reid has been in communication with the government at Ottawa asking that assistance be given in the work. As a re- sult he received official notice that the government boat LAMBTON will leave Windsor at once and will patrol the shore from Grand Bend as far north as is deemed necessary. Capt. McDonald of the life-saving crew also received notice to patrol the shores. ------------------------------------------------------- RAISING MONEY FOR SURVIVORS Substantial Beginning Already is Made on Fund for Dependents of Dead Seamen. It was announced last night that a substantial be- ginning had been made in the effort to raise a fund for the dependents of the men who lost their lives in the storm on the great lakes, the Lake Shippers' Association, of Winnipeg having sent a cheque for $1000 to H. H. Gildersleeve, manager of the western line of the R. and O. Navigation Co., who is general treasurer of the fund. The movement has been started by the Dominion Marine Association and the Canadian Lakes Protective Association. Large contributions from all vessel owners are expected and it is hoped that the general public will respond also. ------------------------------------------------------- ELEVEN MORE BODIES FOUND TEN FROM THE CARRUTHERS AND ALL TAKEN TO GODERICH. Finding of Bodies Twenty Miles North of Goderich, Leads to Belief That Big Freighter Wend Down North, and Not South of That Town. OWNER OF WEXFORD WANTS ONE INQUEST HELD ON ALL BODIES TAKEN FROM LAKE. Captain Bassett Will Ask Attorney-General's Department to Order All Coroners to Attend Joint Investigation to Be Held at Goderich. (By a Staff Reporter) GODERICH, Nov. 14. - Lake Huron still continues to give up its dead, when this morning eleven bodies were found by searchers, one being at Naftel's Point, five miles south of here, another probably from the steamer McGEAN. Ten bodies were later discovered between Amberly and Kintail, about 22 miles north of here, all having life-preservers on bearing the name CARRUTHERS. The discovery of the bodies so far north must show that the boat was wrecked north of this point, and not south, as first reported. The bodies will be brought here pending an inquest. Capt. Bassett, owner of the WEXFORD, is here and doing everything in his power to get all bodies looked after and identified. He is at variance with the law requiring an inquest over the bodies at all the different points where they are found. He is trying to have all the coroners come here to this point, with all the bodies, and to have the inquest as one. He speaks of taking this matter to the attorney- general to allow this. The report from Bayfield, that a boat containing thir- teen men had drifted ashore, upon investigation is un- founded, altho a 25-foot boat has been found about eight miles down the shore. ------------------------------------------------------- DOOMED VESSELS WERE HEADED INTO STORM Capt. May of "HAWGOOD" Saw Last of "PRICE," "REGINA" and "ISAAC SCOTT" Thru Blinding Spray - Thought SCOTT'S Captain Foolish to Leave River. (By a Staff Reporter) SARNIA, Ont., Nov. 14. - Capt. A. May of Port Huron, master of the HAWGOOD, released from Wees Beach last night and now lying near Miller's coal dock, is probab- ly the last man who saw the ill-fated CHARLES S. PRICE, REGINA and the ISAAC M. SCOTT. He saw these three steamers and the NORTHERN QUEEN as he was endeavoring to save his own boat. Capt. May saw it was impossible to proceed farther up the lake with the HAWGOOD and turned about 45 minutes north of Sand Beach. Just north of there, at 11:50 a.m. Sunday, he sighted one of the boats of the Hanna Line. "She was heading into it and was certainly burying herself," said Capt. May. "She was making very bad weather, but was flying no distress signals. It was just beginning to blow hard at that time." The REGINA, with seas breaking over her, but still heading into the storm steadily, was passed at 1 o'clock, 15 miles this side of Sand Beach. "She was making pretty good weather and was apparently getting along all right," commented the master. Was Dimly Seen. The NORTHERN QUEEN was the next boat encountered. She, like the others, was heading into the storm. By this time the seas had increased to such an ex- tent that, to quote Capt. May, "We couldn't see her half the time." Then came the SCOTT. She was seen only five or six miles north of Fort Gratiot light, heading into the storm. "I thought she was upbound, and I thought to myself her captain was certainly a fool to leave the river," said Capt. May. "I would have given my head to have been inside. The wind and the seas kept increasing and the snow got thicker. We couldn't tell how hard it was blow- ing, but I should judge it was about 75 miles an hour from the north-northeast. "After a while it got so thick we couldn't see the smokestacks. If we kept on we would have struck the beach. I wanted to save the boat, so we dropped the anchors. Altho I couldn't see, I knew within a mile or two where we were. "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. Feared for Crew. "My worry was that the crew would be washed over- board. The seas went over the pilot house. The anchors didn't hold and we went on the beach. We went on so hard I almost went thru the pilot house. That was about 10 o'clock Sunday night. As soon as we were on I knew we were all right. As I said be- fore, if I hadn't tried to save the boat, I could have saved myself a lot of hardship." Capt. May stated that the HAWGOOD'S bottom was sprung upward thru having been thrown on a cobble- stone ridge. "I have been master of boats for 21 years," said the captain, "but this was the worst I have ever encountered." Three Indians Drowned. Three Sarnia Indians are on the list of drowned from the steamer McGEAN. The bodies of the three sailors were found washed ashore five miles below Goderich. They were lashed to a life raft lettered Steamer JOHN A. McGEAN. The three bodies of those of George Smith, John Owen and Thomas Stone. Capt. May, in command of the McGEAN, resides some twelve miles below Sarnia at Sombra Village. It is be- lieved that he, too, has perished. Undertakers Phippen and Simpson of this town have left for Goderich to take charge of the bodies of the three Sarnia Indians. ------------------------------------------------------- GRIEF HAS SWAY IN STRICKEN TOWN. Three Bodies Arrived Yesterday in Collingwood, Where Many Yet Await Tidings of Bereavement. Funerals Will Be Today - Dodson Identified. (By a Staff Reporter) COLLINGWOOD, Ont., Nov. 14. - The first grim evi- dence of the terrible lake catastrophe of last Sunday, which has plunged Collingwood into grief, was the bodies of the three men that were brought home for burial on the noon train today. Several hundred people, relatives and friends, gathered at the depot to catch a glance of the caskets as they were hurried from the train to Trott's undertaking rooms. Mayor Gilpin and most of the prominent citizens met the train. The body of Allan Dodson was soon identified by James T. Smith, superintendent of the Collingwood shipbuilding yards, who was instrumental in bringing the young man to Canada a few years ago. The body of Brooks was removed to his home and the funeral will be held from there Saturday afternoon. The services over the body of Dodson, will be held from the residence of Mr. Smith, as he has no rela- tives in this country. A pathetic touch in connection with the death of Dodson is that he was to have been married very soon to Miss Hattie Deer, a teacher at a local school. Only this morning a letter arrived from his mother in England, in which she asked why he had not writ- ten. She has not yet been told the news of the death of her son, but is waiting on the estate of Earl Grey in Howick, Eng., for another letter. The funerals of all of the victims that have been recovered will be held on Saturday afternoon, and preparations have been made for fitting ceremonies. Stubbs' fife and drum band will meet at the high school at 1 o'clock and will parade with the cortege, as will also the 35th Regiment bugle band of which Dodson was a member. The body of young Dodson was lying in state last night in the hall above Trott's undertaking rooms and a continual stream of friends of the dead boy passed by his coffin in silence. Unsuccessful Search. Word was received by Mrs. Charles Baker, wife of Capt. Baker, of the LEAFIELD, from the Soo this after- noon that the tugs had returned to that port after an unsuccessful search for the missing boat and that little hope was held for the safety of the captain and crew. This message struck the town like a thunder- bolt, as most people still refused to believe that the LEAFIELD had really met with disaster. Men silently walked up and down the streets in little groups stop- ing now and then to exchange sympathy and pick up little bits of news that may be floating around. Each edition of the Toronot papers is seized raven- ously when it arrives and papers are selling at a premium soon after the arrival of the trains. The thought that the calamity will probably be renewed at frequent intervals by the finding of more bodies has caused a lot of gloom in the town and the principal hope now seem to be that the bodiese will be returned as soon as possible. In that hope rests the only consolation. Fresh stories of the violence of the storm are constantly being related, but they corroborate that told by Capt. Jordan yesterday. ------------------------------------------------------- TEN "ARGUS" BODIES FOUND CLEVELAND, Ohio, Nov. 14 - The Pickands, Mather & Co. owners of the ARGUS, one of the biggest steamers miss- ing, today confirmed the report that ten bodies wrapped in ARGUS lifebelts, and identified as members of the crew of that boat, were found along the shore of Lake Huron, near Port Huron, Mich. ------------------------------------------------------- GOVERNMENT STEAMER TO SEARCH. OTTAWA, Nov. 14 - The marine department has been appealed to by residents of Collingwood, Goderich and other lake ports to institute search for bodies from the lake disaster. The minister, Hon. J. D. Hazen, is out of the city, but the matter will be taken up with the acting minister. One of the government steamers is likely to be sent up to make a search, but it will take some days for one to get there. ------------------------------------------------------- FOUND TEN BODIES NEAR KINCARDINE. Nine Wore Lifebelts of "JAMES CARRUTHERS" and One of "ARGUS" KINCARDINE, Nov. 14 - The more bodies were found this morning near Amberley, ten miles below this place. Nine wore life belts from the "CARRUTHERS" and the other one marked "Steamer ARGUS." The bodies were found by a farmer, James Blu*. Four were at Point Clark lighthouse and three along the beach between the lighthouse and the county boundary between Huron and Bruce. Three more were found a mile or so still farther south. The "ARGUS" body was that of a man about five feet eight or nine inches, weight 175 pounds, smooth shaven, sandy complexion, tatooed on both arms. On his left arm is a picture of a man and woman and two hearts joined. Over this are the words "You and Me." A diary found in the pocket has the address Tom Nelson, 114 Trinity place, Buffalo, N.Y. Also the same name with address 18 Lafayette street, Chicago and underneath the word Minia. Wreckage of the ARGUS was floating ashore here all day yesterday. ------------------------------------------------------- MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR THE SAILORS LOST ON THE GREAT LAKES Massey Hall, Sunday, Nov. 16, at 3 o'clock Under the Auspices of the Upper Canada Tract Socity's Mission to Sailors on Inland Waters. The following will take part: Rev. Canon Greene, Rev. F. J. Day, Rev. Dr. S. Potter, Superintendent of Sailors' Mission Work, a passenger on the Huronic, will tell the thrilling story of the storm. J. K. Macdonald, Esq., will take the chair. Music led by the Territorial Staff Band.