Today’s Untamed Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
Determined that this would be his last season on the lake, Dennis Hale boarded the 587-foot (176m) steel bulk freight steamer Daniel J. Morrell on Monday, November 28, 1966, at Detroit. The boat was heading to Taconite Harbor, Minnesota, on Lake Superior to load a cargo of iron ore.
Launch of the Daniel J. Morrell
The weather report for Lake Huron that day was severe, and as the Morrell and her sister ship, the Edward Y. Townsend, left the St. Clair River, they faced the full force of a mounting storm. Winds reached 65 mph (104 kph) and waves topped 25 feet (7.5 m).
Hale came off watch at 8 p.m. and soon after lay in his bunk listening to the thuds and groans of the pitching Morrell. Suddenly he was jarred by a hard thump. The lights went out and the emergency bell began ringing. He ran on deck just as the boat began to crack in two. As the bow dove under the water, he and several shipmates managed to climb into one of two pontoon lifeboats on the forward section.
“The stern, still powered by its engines, was facing us and started to run into the bow section, ramming us in the side.” The force of the blow threw the crew into the water. Only four men, including Hale, made it back to the raft and they watched in amazement as the stern of the Morrell ran untamed across the lake.
When the men were finally spotted by a helicopter 36 hours later, the rescuers were astonished to see one of the men wave. Hale greeted them with “I love ya!” Twenty-nine men had been on board the Morrell. Three men in the raft had died of exposure. Hale was the only survivor.
Culled from: Disaster Great Lakes
Ghastly!
WOMAN SITTING ON A TOILET
circa 1945
Some crime scenes are surreal. At a quick glance, this woman dressed in her slip appears to be casually sitting on a toilet seat with her legs crossed. What is soon apparent is that she has no head, at least no head on her neck; it is on her lap. The scene may seem to be one of a crime of passion because it is so horrific and posed. However, this woman, who lived on Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway, blew her own head off with a powerful rifle. The blood spatter on the walls and her crossed legs indicate she was sitting in this position when the gun went off.
Culled from: Deadly Intent Crime and Punishment: Photographs from the Burns Archive
Andersonville Prisoner Diary Entry Du Jour!
This is the continuation of the 1864 diary of Andersonville prisoner Private George A. Hitchcock (see the archived version for all entries up until now).
Here’s today’s entry:
October 30th. Had about an hour’s sleep last night. Shep. applied for admission to the hospital but was refused. The whole camp has received orders to be ready to march.
Culled from: Andersonville: Giving Up the Ghost