Replying to your request in regards to our last up bound trip will say we locked through the Soo Canal at 3:30 P.M. November 8th. It was snowing when we left the lock and I decided to let go anchor at Big Point. At 10:00 P.M. we hove up anchor as it had cleared up. There was a large fleet at anchor at Iroquois and as the wind was from N. to N.N.E. I decided it was a poor place to let go and we proceeded and reached White fish Point at 2:35 A.M. November 9th, when I headed for the North Shore. We made very good weather of it and at no time was there a strain on the boat, averaging ten miles per hour until we got in the lee of the land, when we made eleven miles. We met several boats down bound between Caribou and Michipicoten Island, and passed one boat up bound between Slate Islands and the shore, but from then on we saw no one. The steam on the water on account of the cold weather made it very hazy at times, but we encountered very little snow. We arrived at Superior at 8:45 P.M. November 10th, about 16 hours behind our usual running time.

OPINIONS FORMED BY CAPTAIN HANSSEN FROM HIS EXPERIENCE IN THIS STORM.

That he has plenty of crew. That the boat’s hatch covers and fastenings are strong and secure. From any experiences that he has had he does not believe that there is anything necessary to be done to the Hill to make her staunch and seaworthy. He did not come to anchor at Iroquois or Whitefish first, because there were too many other fellows there, and second because he does not believe any boats’ anchors will hold when she is light, if she swings from side to side, as she ordinarily would do if there is a high wind blowing. If the weather conditions had been such that he deemed it inadvisable to proceed into Lake Superior, he would have returned to the Soo, which is the only place above the locks where he believes it safe to anchor a light boat, with the wind blowing strong from the north to north east.

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This set of letters is from copies in the collection of the Saginaw River Marine Historical Society, Bay City, Michigan and was made available by Dave Swayze.