Democratic Sentinel, Volume 11, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 June 1887 — TWENTY-TWO VICTIMS. [ARTICLE]

TWENTY-TWO VICTIMS.

More than a Score of Persons Lost by the Burning of the Champlain. The Steamer Wrapped in Flames with Almost Incredible Rapidity— Narratives of Survivors. Heroic Conduct of the Captain and Crew —Complete List of Those Who Perished. [Charlevoix (Mich.) special.] There were fifty-nine persons, passengers and crew, on the ChamplaTh, and of those but thirty-eight were known to be saved. A full and complete list of the victims is as follows: Ella Smith, of Charlevoix; Robert Wilks, of Charlevoix; Geo. Wrisley, of Charlevoix; Mrs. M. Kehoe, of Chicago; Harry Brennan, of Chicago; one fireman, the second cook. Jack Hartley, Steward Le Boe’s two children, J. K. Rogers, the United States Hospital Surgeon of Fort Mackinac, aud his son; Ed Wilkins, cabin boy, of Madison, Wis.; Capt. Lucas, of Petoskey; C. H. Russell, of Jackson, Mich.; Mr. and Mrs. Falk, of Harbor Springs; Mrs. Schaub, Wisconsin; four Indians, deck hands. Twenty-two lives are lost in all and thirty-eight were saved. The bodies of Mrs. Smith, Capt. Lucas, Rogers, Russell, Brennan, Hartley, Wilkins, Wilks, Wrisley, and the fireman have been recovered. Capt. (Jasey is much complimented for his coolness and bravery in the trying ordeal to which he was subjected. When the fire broke out he headed the boat for Little Island, two miles distant, but she struck a reef and could go no farther. The crew behaved gallantly. All that is yet known of the origin of the fire is that it broke out near the boiler. A large amount of freight and four valuable horses were lost. The bodies of the dead have been packed in ice here and await the orders of friends. The captain and other officers of the boat seem to have performed their duty bravely, and many instances of indiviual coolness are related by which lives were saved. It seems that if the boats could have been reached alter the steamer struck the bar no lives would have been lost. Among those who acted with conspicuous coolness was Miss Mary Wakefield, of Charlevoix, who saved herself and the little daughter of Mrs. Kehoe of Chicago, by holding the little girl on a fender and pushing it ahead of her. The mother drowned soon after striking the water, and before Miss Wakefield could get the fender to her. Mrs. Ingalls of Petoskey, got on the boat at Elk Rapids, and had lain down. When the alarm of fire was given first she coolly put on her bonnet and secured a life-pre-server, which had a broken string, so that she was compelled to hold it together in front. She remained on board until driven to the water by the heat, and then dropped, and managed to secure a fender and worked toward the shore. Soon a young man came for the fender, and Mrs. Ingalls infused some of her courage into Lim and prayed with him, and finally brought him safely to shore, whee she divided her garments with him to keep him from dying from exposure. The clerk, Mr. Brennan, reached the shore alive, as also did Mr. Russell, the commercial traveler from Jackson, but both died from exhaustion. Mrs. Ella Smith also died from exhaustion. Her sister, Mrs. Bedford, was taken in charge by a young man and towed to shore. Captain Casey makes the following statement: “We were about three miles northwest of Fisherman’s Island at 11:40, when my first engineer came running up to the bow of the boat and shouted that the boat was oh *fire. His clothes were all in flames, and I told him to climb to the upper deck and get into the water-tank, which he did. I then had the boat headed for the shore, and got the boats ready for use. It was impossible to lower them, however, while the boat was under full headway, and as it was impossible to get up to the engine to stop it, nothing could be done until we ran ashore on the reef extending out from the land. I then jumped overboard and swam to the shore for help, as it was near Smithson’S camp, and a vessel was lying there. 1 met two boats coming to the rescue, and we then turned to and saved all that was possible. I don’t know personally how the fire originated. It was dark and foggy and raining hard, but there waa little wind.”