A TOTAL LOSS.
The Scow Magruder Comes [to] Grief. On the Beach.
A terrific gale caught one unfortunate vessel east of this port. It was the scow J. H. Magruder, lumber and cedar laden from Hammond's Bay to Detroit, in command of Capt. C. Whiting. The gale struck them about 10 o'clock. At 11 o'clock she sprung a leak. With several feet of water in the hold the captain thought discretion the better part of valor, so he put her before the gale and at 1 o'clock or a little after he struck the beach just abreast of the roller mill. He thought to beach her north of the dock where her cargo could be taken off, but he mistook lights in dwellings for the dock lights. In her exposed position the Magruder caught the full force of the heavy seas which broke clear over her cabin. It was not long, therefore, before her bottom and stern began to yield. She is a total wreck. The Magruder was an ancient craft and had had no rating for years, and was the same boat which some 15 years ago went ashore near Point Aux Barques and the entire life saving crew, with the exception of Capt. Kiah, lost their lives in attempting to rescue the boat's crew.
The Magruder had on 80 M of lumber, 80 cords of cedar owned by C. A. Beagle of Detroit. It can be saved.
The Magruder's crew were in imminent danger, but the Sturgeon Point life savers were promptly on the spot, bringing their surf boat overland by wagon, and the crew were brought to land. Capt. Whiting stated that while still aboard, with the seas going over the cabin and dishes and tables and furniture dancing a cancan on the cabin floor, the crew still had nerve to hold the flying articles down long enough to eat their last lunch aboard before bidding farewell to the wreck.