New York, Dec. 17, 1900 – A cablegram to the World from Nassau, N. P., says the Thomastone, Me., schooner Mary E. Lermond has been driven by a squall upon the reefs of the island of Abaco. The northernmost ot the Bahamas. This now well known derelict has been sighted thirteen times. A passing steamship set her on fire, and a portion of her stern burned off, but she appears to be still valuable. The British steamship Antilla has been sent from Nassau by the colonial government to save the schooner if possible.
Crew of Ice Crushed Vessel Believed Lost
J.W. Kelly, Authority on Eskimos, Reported Among Voyagers Who Perished
SEATTLE, Wash., Dec. 17, 1910 — The Trading schooner Louise, which was crushed in the ice of Bering strait and pieces of which were found near Cape Prince of Wales, the most westerly point of North America, sailed from Nome for Siberia on a trading expedition. Captain Harry Owens, commander and owner of the boat, had been running small vessels in the Far North for a number of years, and was familiar with ice navigation. John W. Kelly, one of the passengers, had been trading with the Siberian’ natives for twenty-five years, and Mount Kelly, a noted landmark, near Anadyr, was named for him. It Is likely that all the men were drowned. In the winter Bering strait is not frozen over, but ice drifts south from the Arctic, filling the passage and always moving. Eskimos make their way from Siberia to the Diomea Islands, and it is possible, but not probable, that the Louise’s men may have reached the islands over the ice. Kelly during his long residence among the Eskimos of Bering strait had made a study of the strange people, and had compiled a dictionary of their language. He is said to have been the best authority on the Bering strait Eskimos.
* Note – The wreck of the Louise was found one mile NE of Cape Prince of Wales crushed by ice with no one on board. Lost were the master of the vessel, C.H. Owen, as well as Clement LaBord, John W. Kelley and F. Cramer. The vessel was valued at $1,500 and was a total loss with no cargo and no insurance.
Louise was built in 1898 in Coupeville, Washington, she was a small schooner, 46′ long, 15′ wide and only 21 gross tons and she had a gasoline engine
* Noteworthy
1777 – The United States celebrates its first Thanksgiving, marking the recent victory by the American rebels over British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga in October.
1787 – New Jersey becomes the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1865 – US Secretary of State William Seward proclaims the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, prohibiting slavery throughout the USA.
1878 – The Al-Thani family become the rulers of the state of Qatar.
1958 – Project SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched.
1981 – First flight of the Russian heavy strategic bomber Tu-160, the world’s largest combat aircraft, largest supersonic aircraft and largest variable-sweep wing aircraft built.
2006 – United Arab Emirates holds its first-ever elections.