Лилиан Браун - The Cat Who Talked Turkey

According to a bulletin from Deep Harbor, a passenger boat from Down Below was unable to reach port here because of damage to her stern rudder. She was last seen steaming backward down the lake.

No bulletins have been received from the Lifesaving Station, but we hope to reach them for a firsthand report on conditions at Purple Point.

(Picks up phone) Operator, this is WPKX calling Brrr Harbor Lifesaving Station. . . . Yes, we know. But please do the best you can. . . . Thank you. . . . Brrr Harbor Station? Is it possible to speak to the captain? WPKX calling. . . . Captain, this is the radio newsroom in Pickax. What is the storm situation up there?

CAPTAIN ON TAPE

: Bad! Very bad! Worst I’ve ever seen. There’s a vessel stranded on the reef here. She’s being battered by the waves. We can’t reach her. Made two tries. Wrecked both of our rescue boats. Lucky to get our crew back alive. We tried our small boat, too. Put it on a sledge and had the horses pull it down the beach, closer to the wreck. No good. Boat got as far as Seagull Island and filled with water. Had to turn back. We’ve still got the surfboat, but it’s buried in frozen sand.

NEWSCASTER

: Captain, what is the name of the vessel on the reef?

CAPTAIN ON TAPE

: Can’t tell. Must be a freighter. They’re blowing a distress signal, but it’s hard to hear. Wind is shrieking. Waves are roaring and booming like cannon. Can’t see anything. Can’t see two feet in front of your face. Snow comes at you like a white blanket.

NEWSCASTER

: Sir, is there any chance of saving the crew of the freighter? How many are aboard, would you estimate?

CAPTAIN ON TAPE

: Probably twenty-five or more. If she’s battered to pieces by morning, the whole crew could be lost. In this icy water, a man wouldn’t last twenty minutes. There are signs of life out there

now,

we think, but the cabin’s washed away and she must be flooded belowdecks. Whole vessel will be a block of ice by morning.

NEWSCASTER

: Yesterday was a beautiful day, Captain. Where did this storm come from?

CAPTAIN ON TAPE

: Can’t say. Seems to be coming from two directions. Never saw anything like it. Wind is sixty-two knots—more than seventy miles an hour. That’s gale force! Temperature below freezing. Whole shore covered with ice. Our wharfs and boathouse are beginning to break up. My men are taking it hard. They want to go after those poor devils out there, but there’s nothing they can do. We’re helpless.

NEWSCASTER

: Thank you, Captain. We’ll hope and pray for the best.

Here are more bulletins from towns around the shoreline.

From Mooseville: Six duck hunters rented a launch early this morning and headed for Lone Tree Island. The owner of the launch is positive it could not withstand this heavy sea. The persistent north wind has raised the water level in the bay, and if the hunters are marooned on Lone Tree, there is little hope. The island could be submerged by this time.

From Port George: Wharfs and sheds belonging to the commercial fisheries are being shattered by mountainous waves. Even buildings set back from the shore are losing doors, windows, and chimneys. One section of the beach is littered with a jumble of freshly cut timber. Rafts of logs, being floated to the sawmill, have broken loose and are being tossed on the shore like matchsticks.

Here’s one from Purple Point: The community pier has been demolished, along with cargo awaiting shipment: a thousand barrels of apples and twenty-five tons of baled hay.

Serious news from Trawnto Beach: The lightship that warns vessels away from the shoals has been torn from its moorings, increasing the danger to freighters that have lost their course in the blinding snowstorm. Large steel freighters are being tossed by winds up to eighty miles an hour. Boats trying to turn and head back are rolling wildly in the trough of thirty-five-foot waves. The Lifesaving Station has been completely destroyed.

(Consults watch) Our Deep Harbor correspondent is standing by. (Picks up phone) Operator, this is WPKX. Can you connect us with the mobile unit in Deep Harbor?

TAPE OF HIGH WIND AND WAVES

,

THEN VOICE

-

OVER

: Here in Deep Harbor the noise is deafening: the howling of the wind, the crashing of huge waves, the cracking and groaning of wooden structures breaking up. A wave hits the concrete breakwater, and it sounds like an explosion. The

old

breakwater, built of wood, is reduced to splinters. The noise drowns out the distress signals from the big boats. They’re frantic for help, but the lifesaving boats have been smashed on the rocks.

The lake is reaching farther inland than anyone can remember. The fisheries have lost buildings, boats, piers, and nets. Houses near the shore are being lifted from their foundations. There’ll be no sleep for anyone on the shore tonight. Over. Back to Pickax.

NEWSCASTER

: Hang on, Deep Harbor. While residents of shore communities are ready to evacuate their homes at a moment’s notice, families living inland are advised to stay indoors. One farmer attempting to open his barn door was buried alive in an avalanche when the wind whipped in and filled the barn with snow in a matter of seconds.

The entire county is now isolated. Telegraph lines are down. Railway trains are at a standstill. Passenger trains from Down Below have been halted by drifts, and travelers are stranded. The destruction of boats and docks means that Moose County’s major lifeline has been cut. Food, coal, and kerosene will not reach this area for many days.

In Pickax, all establishments are closed and will remain closed until further notice. Even emergency services have found it impossible to respond to calls. Firefighters, doctors, and police report they are blinded and completely disoriented by the whirlwind of snow.

When the storm is over, volunteers will be needed immediately to assist road crews in digging out the city.

Meanwhile, city officials issue this warning: Stay indoors, and conserve food and fuel. Repeat: Stay indoors, and conserve food and fuel. And please stay tuned to WPKX for further directives.

This is WPKX signing off for Sunday, November ninth.

Qwilleran made his exit as the stage lights dimmed and storm music of Francesca da Rimini filled the hall. Moments later he returned, wearing other garb and carrying another script. His manner was somber as he signaled to Maxine. The music faded away, and the stage lights came up:

Wednesday, November twelfth. The worst storm in the history of the lake is now just a tragic memory, as Moose County tries to assess the damage and pick up the pieces. Farmers report livestock frozen in the fields. Commercial fisheries have lost their means of livelihood. Since fishing is a major industry on the North Shore, the economic impact on Moose County could be serious. The entire shoreline is littered with wreckage: wharfs, commercial buildings, fishing boats, houses, pleasure craft, summer cottages, and government rescue stations. Worst of all is the loss of life. Almost two hundred sailors were drowned, and bodies are still washing up on the Canadian shore. In rural areas, many persons are reported missing. It is now presumed that they lost their way in the blizzard and have frozen to death.

A Lifesaving Station was able to rescue the crew of the five-hundred-foot steamer

Hanna,

wrecked on the reef. They were rescued after thirty-six hours of desperate attempts. Twenty-five officers and men—and a woman cook who was praised for her bravery—were brought safely to shore by the surfboat. The wreckage will remain on the reef until spring, when salvage operations will begin.

Many crews were less fortunate. Boats capsized or broke in two or “crumpled like eggshells,” according to one observer. What appeared to be a large whale, drifting in the lake, was the hull of a large freighter, upside down and kept afloat by air bubbles. It later sank to the bottom.