"lost On The Lady Elgin."

Cleveland, Sept. 24.- The oíd schooier Col. Cook, is either a derelict or has gone to the bottom of Lake Erie. While en route from Kelly's Island to this port, stone laden, she was eaught in the heavy gale of yesterday, sprang a leak and was abandoned. The Cook was of 265 tons, considerably smaller than the old Weiland canal schooner size, and was 39 years old. She plodded along in the coasting business without especially distinguishing herself until the summer of 1860. All old time vesselmen will recall the Lady Elgin disaster, by which more Uves were lost than ever before or since in a lake accident. It was a terrible aiíair. The Lady Elgin was, for those days, a fine passenger steamer, and on the night of the disaster she was returning to Chicago with a crack regiment of that city, its wives, sweethearts, frienrts, etc.. who had all been oút on a jolly excursión. Old reports say there was a good deal of liquor drinking aboard, that many were intoxicated and that the captain and his crew were algo in this deplorable state. All was going well, however, until, in the early evening, the signal lights of a silently moving vessel were discovered close aboartl. A moment later, without any warning, the black mass crashed into the steamer, plowing half way through, and by the blow alone killing many people. A rush. of water was then heard, and the Lady Elgin began to fllí and careen. Her passengers, mad with terror, rushed here ■ and there, and many jumped into the lake, only to more quickly meet the. death that was Inevitably in store for them. Soon her niain deck was level with the water, then her upper deck, and at last the settled. gave a plunge, as though in a final effort to regain her lost footing, and went to the bottom. The mass of human beings struggled about in the water, but with the exception of a mere half dozen or so they gave up the fight and went down. For months afterward there' was weeping and wailing in Chicago, for nearly 350 lives were lost, and all came from that city. It was learned subsequently that the unknown schooner was the Augusta. coal laden. Had she been light there would have been few, if any, lives lost. But, under full sail, and with the heavy coal cargo aboard, her momentum was well nigh irresistible and would have carried her far into the best boat that even now sails the lakes. Her owners realized that the name Augusta would always be associated with the disaster and quickly changed it to Col. Cook, but in spite of this the little green schooner with the two masts was recognized wherever she went. For years the owners dared not send her to Chicago; it was tried once soon after the accident, but a crowd assembled and nearly stoned her crew into eternity before they were able to move her away. She has been a hoodoo ever since. Time and again she has been In trouble - now on the rocks, then waterlogged, losing several members of her crews overboard and three years ago drowning her master. She was abandoned to the underwriters a few years ago. and her name appears on the hydrographic chart as a total wreek, but she was afterward released. She was valued at $3,000 and was owned by L. P. & J. A. Smith, of Cleveland