Uncle Dick and Lisa's Old Time Animal Tales

The rats that deserted the little schooner Mary E.Dykes, which waterlogged in the lake eight miles off Evanston Tuesday night, showed bad judgement. When the boat began filling with water, not withstanding the heroic efforts of the crew to save their boat from shipwreck, the rats came running up in droves on the deck, which was awash with waves, and took to the lifeboat. Five minutes afterward a big wave carried the lifeboat away with the cargo.
With every wave washing over the schooner, the crew had a hard time of it until morning. All their clothes except those they had on went with the rest of the wreckage. Early Tuesday morning the lifesaving crew put out to rescue and with the aid of the tug Mord the Dykes was brought to port. The schooner was so rotten that the planks came off while being towed in.