By Fred E. Hamel (1850-1946)
Cleveland, Ohio
Muskegon, Mich., Oct. 28, 1919 -- With fourteen known dead and six or more missing, only time can bring an accurate count of the toll of the great seas which early this morning bodily lifted the Crosby passenger steamer City of Muskegon, formerly the City of Holland, and smashed her to pieces on the piers at the entrance of Muskegon harbor.
The list of the dead is being added to almost hourly.
The steamer, a sidewheeler bound from Milwaukee after outriding a night of gale, made for the harbor in the early morning darkness, but is said by Captain Edward Miller to have struck the bar at the entrance.
The wheel paddles jammed in the sand checking her headway and the great combers threw the ship about and hurled her into the pier.
There she hung momentarily, pounding into wreckage and then slipping off into the deep channel, going down in fifty feet of water.
The vessel lies a storm-torn tangle of steel and splintered wood, effectually blocking the harbor entrance.
Fifty of the seventy-two and crew, guided to safety by a single flashlight in the hands of a coast guard, were tonight known to have been saved from the vessel. It was feared several were caught between decks.
The latest list of identified dead follows:
Mrs. W.H. Johnson, passenger, Ferrysburg, Mich.; Mrs. Jessie Hopkins, waitress, Muskegon; Harry Ries, assistant engineer, Milwaukee; Arthur Dewitt, member of the crew, Muskegon; John Huff, member of the crew, Muskegon; Mrs. John Reckeltz, Milwaukee; Mrs. Herman Lecus, Montague, Mich.; Herman Lecus, her husband; Oliver Zimmerman, Muskegon; James C. Riley, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Graphic stories of terror, suffering and heroism were told by survivors and the bravery of Captain Miller and his officers and crew, who remained at their posts to the last, was recounted.
Captain Miller, sensing disaster as the vessel was driven toward the pier, ordered all to leap for their lives, and the time-hallowed sea rule “women first,” was followed. Only four women, one of whom was employed on the boat, were know tonight to have been lost.
The women fearing to venture over the rail were bravely led by Mrs. Fred L. Beerman of Muskegon, who leaped from the ship. Others jumped or were handed down ropes by men passengers and crew.
To R.J. Kaknborsky, a coast guard, many of those saved owe their lives, according to survivors.
Approaching as closely as possible to the suspended steamer, Kaknborsky, while others of the coast guard struggled to free men and women from the tangle of wreckage, held a flashlight, directing the way to safety.
Harry Ries, second engineer, was found dead on the beach. He had been washed overboard, others of the crew said, after being caught in the live steam of bursting pipes in the engine room, where he remained as long as possible. Apparently, he reached the shore safely and crawled some distance from the water. Exhaustion and injuries inflicted by pieces of wreckage are believed to have caused his death.
To the cabin boys and stewardess, Mrs. Jessie Hopkins of Muskegon, who gave her life, is given credit for wakening and thereby saving many of those trapped.
A warning was issued that the steamer City of Muskegon of the Crosby Transportation Company is wrecked at the lake end of the south pier, lying in and obstructing the channel entrance through piers to Muskegon Harbor and is a great menace to ships leaving or entering the harbor, especially the latter in the face of the storm. Immediate work will be started to rid the harbor of the derelict.
The underwriters have not decided what they will do with the wreck of the City of Muskegon. The steamer, which will be a total loss, was insured for about $100,000 and the cargo for $56.000. The City of Muskegon was repaired during the summer at a cost of $25,000.
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