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APPENDIX D Frank Dulach Reiterates In his sworn statement concerning the wreck of the Waukesha, Frank Dulach claimed the ship’s captain, Duncan Corbett, had been drinking heavily the night the vessel went down. The captain’s family and supporters were shocked by what they said was a lie, contending that Corbett was not a drinking man. Dulach stood by his original account and finally felt compelled to prepare a statement to be published in the Muskegon Weekly Chronicle. It appeared in the November 19, 1896 edition under the headline “Reiterates!” The entire statement reads as follows. A Statement from Frank Dulach After having read the papers of the last four days it seems almost necessary for me to make an apology for not having drowned with the rest of the crew of the ill-fated Waukesha. But I assure you that the responsibility for my being here rests alone with the crew of the Muskegon life saving station. It was them that snatched me from the jaws of death on the morning of November 8, 1896, when they rescued me from the piece of wreck upon which I had been fighting for life for twelve long hours and was well nigh exhausted and about ready to surrender. But they bore me to the station, warmed and nursed me back to strength, for which I am profoundly grateful. As soon as I had gained sufficient strength to talk I was plied with queries as to how we came to be in such condition without having asked for assistance when it was so near at hand. I related the facts to a reporter and in explaining the reason for not having signaled for help—which strong and willing hearts stood on the shore ready to lend at the first intimation of our situation, it was not possible for me to draw the mantle of charity over the faults and foibles of an erring ship mate, which I would gladly have done but had to tell the facts, for which I have been charged with mutiny, calumny and branded a liar. To excite the sympathy of the public the friends of the captain of the ill-fated vessel have held up the bleeding hearts and wounded feelings of friends of his family. But there is a reverse side to this picture, there are other families and other friends who have hearts and feelings. It may not be out of place here to note the twelve hours of mental agony and bodily torture that the survivor was compelled to endure through the error of this man whom so many of his friends come and brand me a felon and a liar and then forced me to tell 165 appendix d what they don’t know about the captain’s drinking. They had the evidence of the truth or falsity of my narrative in their possession, the bodies of sailor Fred and mate who I said drank with the captain after the vessel came to anchor, and the traces of alcohol could have been found in their stomachs or my story [is] not true. Now cease your prattle about what you don’t know and if anything more is to be said give us some proof and if those who contributed so freely to the fund for my prosecution would so willingly spend some of it to ascertain the facts about this matter I will go with them where they will find other sources of evidence that my story is true. Frank Dulach 166 ...

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