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March, 1914 THE MARINE REVIEW 5 possibility that aS vessels and she took in water, one would The theory generally credited is that may have been in collision. One thing naturally think that she would: settle her stern rested on the bottom and alone is known and that is that one on her beam's end; if she took in that the forward part of her was kept of the ships actually turned turtle. water through sprung rivets, she afloat by the buoyancy of her tanks I am master of the steamer Howard M. Hanna Jr., and have been master of lake vessels for about 25 years and have been in the employ of Capt. Richardson's fleet for 12 years as master of dif- ferent vessels. We left Lorain, bound for Fort William, Ont., on Saturday, Nov. 8, 1913, at about ten oclock 4. im., loaded with 9,120 tons Gt sort coal, and with a full complement of officers and crew, 25 men, in- cluding myself. We were draw- ing 18 ft. 9 in. forward and 19 1, 2 in. aft. We had taken on fuel at Lorain and had about 325 tons of coal for our fuel bunker and we had plenty of fuel to make the round trip, and with provisions enough to last at least 20 days, as we did not want to get any pro- visions at Fort William, and so we took enough to make the round trip. On leaving, the ves- sel was in ideal trim. for. en- countering heavy weather. The cargo had been loaded so _ that it was up flush with the hatch coamings, with the exception of 6, 7 and 9, and the way the car- go had been loaded there was no chance of cargo 'shittme. <The hatches had been battened down and we had tarpaulins with hatch | bars and windy youngs; the bars were placed three athwartships © on each hatch and three windy youngs fore and aft on each hatch, and everything was_ se- cured. Everything movable had proper lashings and the vessel was as staunch and seaworthy as possible. Upon getting out into Lake Huron the weather was good, the wind was west of north, maybe a 15-mile breeze off the land. We passed Fort Gratiot lightship at 5:12 a. m., of Nov. 9. The weather continued fair and clear until after passing Harbor Beach, but had shifted, first S. E. for a few minutes, then N. E., then N. N. E., and then continued about that direction with increas- ing velocity. We passed Harbor Beach at about 11:30 a, a, bul ae this time the wind was_ increasing gradually from a N. N. E. direc- tion. Up until three o'clock there had been slight flurries of snow, but nothing unusual. At three o'clock it began to snow heavily, so we couldn't see more than a mile or two and the wind was N. N. E. and: tnereasiie. We passed Pointe Aux Barques Capt. Hagen's Statement somewhere about 2 p. m, and about five miles off Pointe Aux Barques, our compass course be- ing N. x W. y% We 2 We had changed our course at Harbor Beach to this and as the wind increased we had hauled more to the northward to hold her head to the wind. Between / and 8 p,m, with it snowing so we couldn't see the land and could not tell just where we were and could not tell just how fast we were going, but we were possibly 15 miles above Pointe Aux Barques. The wind 'and sea had increased so_ that the vessel began dropping off her course, although the engines were being worked at full speed ahead. Tremendous seas were coming over our bow and our starboard quarter and over the whole ves- sel ih fact, and the seas had car- ried away part of our after cabin and had broken in our pilot house window and had torn off the top of the pilot house. Then shortly after eight o'clock she dropped off so that she came around into the trough of the sea. We had been taking séas over us right along and we had been using our siphons and pumps, but we knew she was tak- ifig. i. water by the way . the pumps worked. After she _ got into the trough of the sea she commenced to roll and tumble and the seas were washing over _ her, and on account of throwing her propeller wheel out of the water and losing her headway it became impossible for us to bring her back so as to head into the sea or keep her off before the sea, although we made every ef- fort to do so that was possible. We lay in the trough of the sea, rolling heavily, with the sea wash- ing over. Shortly before 10 o'clock we could see Port Austin light and the bearing of the light was near- ly S. W. off our port bow and as we saw that we were pretty close to Port Austin reef, I or- dered the first mate to drop our anchors and the first mate went down into the windlass room and let go the port anchor in order to try to bring her head to the wind. She didn't come up only about a point and in a very short time, about 10 o'clock p. m., she drifted broadside onto Port Aus- tin reef, and as she lay on the rocks, she was headed N. W. x W., and the light was bearing S. W. The port side fetched up on the rocks first and the seas and wind pounded her until the ves- sel went up onto the reef, leav- ing a list to starboard of about a foot, and in a very short time she filled with water. The water was right up to the deck and the hatches were all washed off. After we went on the forward crew all came up into the texas to get shelter and remained there until about 2 p. m., the afternoon of the 10th... The after crew all remained aft in the mess room and kitchen, and after we fetched up we had no communication with the other end of the boat until Monday forenoon, when the weather moderated somewhat and the third engineer worked his way forward with food. In the after- noon the weather had moderated so that the forward crew were able to get aft and we all went aft and remained there with the after crew in the kitchen and mess room until Tuesday morning, Nov. ll. After daylight the mate went up on the after cabin with some of the crew and they cleared the ice and water out of the port life boat, and at about 7:30 they got the life boat lowered, and the two mates, two wheelsmen, boatswain, third engineer, two firemen and a watchman got the boat away and started for shore to procure as- sistance for the rest of the crew. They got ashore and landed on the beach near Port Austin. By the time our life boat got ashore the life saving crew started out and got to our boat: about © o'clock, When we left the vessel was broken in two about the after side. of No. 7 hatch; you"eould see the crack across the deck and down the side. The smoke stack was gone; also the life rafts and the starboard life boat had been washed away, and she had about a foot to a foot and a half star- board list, with her bows prob- ably 6 to 7 ft. lower than her stern, and half of the fuel hatch and the boiler house had been carried away; also the starboard side of the cabin and the after end of the cabin, leaving just the kitchen and the mess room and the hard coal box. The houses forward were all stove in, the windows and doors knocked off, the top of the pilot house gone, the bulwarks forward were all driven in, and, in my opinion, the vessel is a total loss. How she came to turn absolutely up- would probably founder, sinking stern and she settled gradually as the air side down will no doubt be debated first. How she remained afloat upside escaped from them. in marine circles for many years to down as long as she did 1s, also a The steamer John A. McGean was come. If her cargo shifted in rolling topic of discussion in many quarters. last seen about 10 o'clock Sunday