1897 — Nov 5, NY freighter Idaho springs leak, sinks, Lake Erie storm, off Long Pt. Ont.-19

–19 Alchem Incorporated. Lake Erie Shipwreck Map “C” and Index.
–19 Mansfield, John Brandts (Editor). History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). 1899, p. 776.
–19 Swayze. Shipwreck!…Directory of…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 114.
–19 Thompson, Mark L. Graveyard of the Lakes. Wayne State Univ. Press, 2004, p. 336.
–17 Ratigan. Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals (Revised). 1969, p. 320.

Narrative Information

Alchem Incorporated: “Idaho: Wooden freight steamer of 220 ft sank on 11/5/1897 in a terrific storm 4 miles West of Long Point, Ontario. The vessel was carrying a cargo of Christmas ornaments when it began to open at the seams. The crew fought the rising water in the hold for hours with buckets until the pumps finally gave out and the boiler fires were lost. A large wave raised the bow, the water shifted aft and the Idaho went down by the stern. Nineteen of the twenty one crewmen died. Two crewmen, a deck hand and the second mate, managed to climb the tall forward mast which protruded above the surface when the Idaho settled to the bottom. The two clung to the mast for 12 hours at which time the first mate of the steel freighter Mariposa happened to spot them while passing. After several tries and a crushed lifeboat it was determined that the weather was too rough for a small boat. Captain Root turned the Mariposa in a large circle and after three passes, despite the huge waves, managed to bring the big steamer close enough to the mast for the Mariposa’s crew to reach and pry the frozen survivors loose.” (Alchem Incorporated. Lake Erie Shipwreck Map “C” and Index.)

Mansfield: “1897. Wreck of the Idaho. – The wreck of the steamer Idaho off Long Point, on the night of November 5, was the most serious disaster of 1897 on the Great Lakes. This is true as regards both the number of lives lost and the monetary loss. The vessel sank, and with her went down 19 of the 21 men who constituted the ship’s company. The two survivors were Louis LaForce, second mate, and William Gill, a deck hand. The steamer herself was old, and was insured for not more than $10,000 or $15,000; but the amount of property aboard is estimated at from $75,000 to $100,000.

“The Idaho left Buffalo with package freight for Milwaukee on the afternoon before the wreck. A November gale caught her before she reached Long Point. Her captain, Alexander Gillies, made the unfortunate decision to push on, leaving astern the safe shelter behind the Point. Twelve miles beyond Long Point the Idaho began to ship water, and part of the crew was ordered to the pumps. After a little while the water got into the engine room, and then in the fire hold. Then the captain attempted to head the steamer around to get back under Long Point. As she veered a great roller swept over her, throwing her into the trough of the sea and washing half a dozen of the crew off the deck into the lake.

“All hands were at once ordered to the pumps except the watchman and a wheelman. One of the pumps broke, and the captain organized a line of fire buckets. Inch by inch, however, the water crept up until it was bubbling around the edge of the fires. In ten minutes the fires were quenched and the ship was at the absolute mercy of the sea.

“All then went on deck to lower the anchors in the hope that the ship would right herself. While the men were giving more line to the port anchor the stern began to sink and every wave slopped over it. Suddenly the moon broke through the clouds and the crew got the first light they had seen since the engine fires were extinguished. Gill saw the captain running forward, when a wave swept him far from the ship and as it passed the clouds closed over the moon and the night was black again.

“Gill and La Force found themselves on the end of the deckhouse, and scrambled into the rigging as the Idaho went down. They scrambled to the crow’s nest, and there the Mariposa found them in the morning.

“While working at the pumps Gill and La Force had stripped themselves to shirt and trousers, and there they clung, sprayed by every wave. Others of the crew tried to launch one of the small boats and were swamped with it. Looking about them Gill and La Force saw that all their companions had been lost.

“La Force, who was above Gill, sighted a vessel just at daybreak and signaled frantically for it, but it seamed by, and La Force temporarily went mad with despair. He beat his head against the mast, prayed, sand and threatened Gill, whose position was less secure, and who was lost if he let go with one hand. To add to their misery, hail began to fall and cut their faces.

“It was past noon when the Mariposa came in sight. The men were too stiff to signal her. They saw the Mariposa change her course, and Captain Root bring her alongside. He lowered a small boat, but it was wrecked instantly. Three times he tried it. Finally he brought the Mariposa right up against the spar, and her crew lifted the men aboard. Gill was so cold that he could not unfasten his hands.

“La Force says he was in the hold when the stern began to sink. The crew made a frantic dash for the deck, and one of the men was trampled to death by his companions, madly eager to escape.

“Resolutions adopted by the Buffalo Merchants Exchange [commended] Capt. Frank Root of the Mariposa for his skill and courage in rescuing the two survivors….

“The Idaho was one of the oldest steam vessels on the lakes. She was built in 1863. A few years ago the Western Transit Company, which owned the boat, took her out of commission and she lay idle at Buffalo until a month or so before her loss. She was 220 feet long, with a net tonnage of 906….” (Mansfield, John Brandts (Editor). History of the Great Lakes (V. 1). 1899, pp. 776-777.)

Ratigan: “….The freighter Idaho pulled out of Buffalo the first week in November, bound up the Lakes for Milwaukee with a valuable bulk cargo including Christmas toys and holiday merchandise. She carried a crew of nineteen, only two of them destined to survive, Louis LaForce, second mate, and William Gill, a deck hand….

“The Idaho never got out of Lake Erie. A November gale caught up with her before she reached Long Point. Captain Alexander Gillies made the unfortunate decision to push on, leaving astern the safe shelter behind the Point. Twelve miles beyond, the Idaho began to ship water. Captain Gillies ordered part of the crew to the pumps….

“In a short time the water got into the engine room, and then down in the fire hold. At this critical hour, Captain Gillies revered his original decision and tried to head the freighter around in the hope of getting back under the protection of Long Point. As the Idaho veered, a tremendous roller swept over her, throwing her into a trough of the sea and washing half a dozen of the crew off the deck into the black Lake.

“All hands were at once ordered to the pumps, except the watchman and a wheelsman. When one of the pumps broke, Captain Gilles organized a line of fire buckets. The men bailed desperately but, inch by inch, the water crept up until it was bubbling around the edge of the fires. In ten minutes the fires were washed out and the ship was at the mercy of the storm.

“Captain Gilles then made an attempt to lower the anchors in the hope that the Idaho would right herself and ride out the gale. But while the men were giving more line to the port anchor the stern began to sink, every wave slopping over the aft section.

“Second Mate Louis LaForce happened to be down in the hold when the stern started to sink. He saw members of the crew make a frantic dash for the deck, so madly eager to escape that they trampled one of their shipmates to death….

“Up on deck the moon suddenly broke through the storm clouds, and the men saw their first light since the engine fires had gone out. Deck hand William Gill noticed the captain running forward, just as a wave washed aboard and swept him far to sea. Then the clouds again swallowed the moon and darkness drew a curtain on screams and confusion.

“Somehow Gill and LaForce found themselves on the end of the deckhouse, and they scrambled into the rigging as the Idaho went down. They climbed up to the crow’s nest, and when clouds broke across the moon they were given nightmare visions of their shipmates below. They watched men drown, they watched in horror as part of the crew launched a lifeboat only to have it swamp and sweep them to death. Finally, looking about them during a break in the storm, they saw that they were the only ones left alive on midnight-lashed Lake Erie….

“The weather was freezing cold and both men had stripped themselves to shirt and trousers while working at the pumps. Drenched with spray by every wave, they clung to their perch in the crow’s nest throughout the bitter night.

“LaForce, who was above Gill, sighted a vessel just at daybreak, and signaled frenziedly toward the passing ship but she steamed by, oblivious to his waving and screaming, and he went temporarily out of his mind in despair. Mad and literally foaming at the mouth, he beat his head against the mast, prayed, sang, and threatened Gill, whose position was less secure and who would have been lost if he let go with one hand. To add to the general misery, hail began to fall so hard that it cut their faces.

“Somewhat past noon, with the seas still running high and washing them with freezing spray, they sighted the huge freighter Mariposa coming toward them through the dying storm. Up in the pilothouse Captain Frank Root saw the crow’s nest sticking out from the water, and then he spotted the two survivors. They had not been able to signal because their bodies were too stiff with cold.

“Three times Captain Root tried to lower a small boat to the rescue, but all three were smashed to kindling wood. Finally, in a story-book feat of seamanship, he brought the Mariposa right up against the spar, and her crew lifted the survivors aboard. Their hands had to be pried loose from the crow’s nest, so stiff were they with frost and the death grip….” (Ratigan, William. Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals (Revised). 1969, pp. 320-322.)

Swayze: “Idaho. Wooden package freight steamer of 1,100 t. [tons] and 220 ft., launched in 1863 at Cleveland.

“Lake Erie: The freighter Idaho was carrying a cargo of Christmas supplies on November 5, 1897, when she was hit by a tremendous gale off Long Point. She sank four miles from shore, carrying 19 of her 21 crew to their deaths. Like many of her contemporaries, this ship carried a tall mast forward that was capable of carrying enough sail to assist her engines or move her in case of engine failure. This mast now figured in one of the most magnificent rescues in the annals of Lakes heroism. As the ship settled to the bottom, the tip of her mast was left above water, and to this tiny stick the two remaining men now clung in desperation, and continued to do so for almost 12 frigid hours. Then, by merest chance, the big steel bulk freighter Mariposa spotted the two, and swung in to block the wind and waves from the rescue attempt. Several tries showed that the weather was too violent and the men too frozen for boats to be launched or lines to be cast. In what must be one of the greatest feats of ship-handling of all time, the Mariposa’s skipper brought the big steamer up so close to the mast that her crewmen could reach out and pry the survivors’ frozen fingers from their perch. As lakers are wont to do, the steamer then just carried on to report the loss of the Idaho at her next port.” (Shipwreck! 1992, p. 114.)

Thompson: “The unseaworthiness of many of the wooden ships on the lakes seems to have been apparent to just about everyone except their owners and the steamboat inspectors. ‘After the first September gale, the ‘lame ducks’ are numerous,’ one observer noted in 1882. ‘All the old rotten hulks from everywhere have poked out during the fair weather, and the first real blow cripples them, often fatally…’

“The Idaho was fairly typical of the wooden ships lost. Built in 1863, the aging steamer foundered in a November storm in 1897. She had been taken out of commission several years before that, but when freight rates went up in the fall of 1897 her owners fitted out the thirty-four-year-old ship and put her back into service. Just over a month later, she came apart during a storm on Lake Erie and took nineteen crewmembers down with her.” (Thompson, Mark L. Graveyard of the Lakes. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2004, p. 336.)

Sources

Alchem Incorporated. Lake Erie Shipwreck Map “C” and Index. Accessed 11-30-2020 at: http://www.alcheminc.com/asht.html

Mansfield, John Brandts (Ed. and Compiler). History of the Great Lakes (Vol. 1). Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co., 1899. http://www.linkstothepast.com/marine/chapt36.html — Google digitized. Accessed 11-30-2020 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=iHXhAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Ratigan, William. Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals (New Revised and Enlarged Edition). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1969.

Swayze, David D. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. Boyne City, MI: Harbor House Publications, Inc., 1992.

Thompson, Mark L. Graveyard of the Lakes. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2004.