Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 December 1900 — EIGHT DIE IN LAKE DISASTER. [ARTICLE]

EIGHT DIE IN LAKE DISASTER.

Ore Barge Charles Foster Plunges to Bottom Off Erie, Pa. While a furious gale was sweeping Lake Erie early Sunday morning the ore barge Charles Foster, in tow of the Iron Duke, dived, nose first, to the bottom, ten miles off Erie, l’a., and eight persons were drowned. The Charles Foster was valued at $19,000. There wrs no Insurance. Capt. Bridges might have been ill in Ills bunk when the accident occurred. The last time he was seen by the crew of the Iron Duke was when they passed Sault Stc. Marie Thursday. There is from eighty to 100 feet of water where the wreck occurred, und there is little hope of locating the spot. The loss of the Foster’s crew runs the nuinbpr of lives lost on the lakes this season up to 118. The previous total of 110 was already the largest for many seasons.