Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2025 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. =========================================================================== Saginaw Courier-Herald Tuesday, 18 December 1900 DIE IN OPEN BOAT ON LAKE Women Lasked to Upturned Craft Perish From Exposure - Two Survivors Rescued Manitowoc, Wis., Dec. 17. - Lashed to an upturned boat on which were the dead bodies of his wife and her niece, W. H. SHIELDS, lighthouse keeper at Squaw Island, was found in Lake Michigan yesterday, after having been tossed about in the icy waters for 24 hours, escaping with but a breath of life remaining from frightful suffering that had proved fatal to his weaker companions. Both of SHIELD'S legs were frozen. He had been rendered almost unconscious by hunger and exposure, and delirious from the awful strain of the double task of watching over and trying to stimulate to further endurance his dying relatives, and of trying to steer the wrecked boat in the face of a storm towards land. A young helper of SHIELDS, who started out with the party, was driven insane by his sufferings and, raving at his companions and struggling with the waves that threatened all, was washed from the ropes that bound him and drowned. OWEN McCAULEY, the assistant lighthouse keeper and the last member of the party, survived, but he was able to give his chief little assistance and is in almost as serious a condition as SHIELDS. This tragedy, shocking even to those who are familiar with the hardships of winter on the north- ern lakes, was disclosed this morning when the steamer Manhattan returned to port after having picked up the little boat with its almost inani- mate crew in the north channel of the island Saturday afternoon at 1 o'clock. SHIELDS and McCAULEY were taken at once to Holy Family hospital, where everything possible was done for them. Stimulants were given freely, but it was with difficulty that the lighthouse keeper was able to tell is story. "We closed the station on Squaw Island Friday morning," said SHIELDS "and soon afterward I, with McCAULEY, LUCIEN MORDEN, the helper, MRS. SHIELDS and her niece, MRS. MARY DAVIS, with a few belong- ings, embarked in a sailboat for the mainland, seven miles distant. When out but a short time the boat capsized. By hard work we managed to all reach the upturned hull, and lashed the women to it. McCAULEY and myself also succeeded in securing our- selves, but MORDEN, who had become delirious, re- fused to do this. "We did our best to bind him to the wreck and had almost succeeded when, because of his struggles, and the force of the waves, he fell away from us and we did not see him afterward. "My wife and her niece, McCAULEY and myself, lashed and clinging to the boat, were tossed about and suffered terribly from the cold and seas which washed over us. "About seven hours after the accident happened my wife succumbed, being unable to longer encure the terrible exposure to winds and seas. MRS. DAVIS, after holding up for several hours after my wife's death, also died, and only McCAULEY and myself remained alive, with the two dead women lashed by our sides, floating around the lake with no other human being in sight. "At one time we were within a short distance of the mainland, and would soon have been on the beach, when to our dismay and horror the wind changed and we were gradually drifting out into the lake again. Fortunately, however, we were taken by the wind into the north passage, which is often taken by boats coming up the lake. "In this manner we passed Friday night, suffering terribly from the cold and hunger, until Saturday at 1 p.m. when we succeeded in attracting the attention of the lookout of the steamer Manhattan. Although the weather was very rough, the captain of the steamer after much maneuvering, succeeded in rescuing us and also picking up the bodies of my wife and niece. "The terrible experience and suffering that we endured can only be imagined by those who have had similar experience, and the only wonder is that we were able to survive it. We did our best to save and keep the women alive, but our efforts were unavailing." SHIELD'S condition is critical, both his legs must be amputated, and it is doubtful if that will save his life. The keeper lives at Harbor Springs, Mich., and McCAULEY at St. James. MORDEN, the man who lost his life, lived at Montague. Transcriber's Note: His wife was Mary A. (LaCroix) Shields. She is buried at Holy Childhood of Jesus Cemetery, Harbor Springs, MI. The lighthouse keeper, William H. Shields, lost his toes and one leg but survived the accident. ===========================================================================