1885.

Wreck of the Algoma. - The Algoma, one of the splendid steamships owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, left Owen Sound November 5, 1885, and on the 6th a heavy gale sprang up. On the 7th the Algoma struck on Isle Royale, shortly afterward becoming a total wreck. Thirty- eight of the passengers and crew were drowned. The sister ship, Athabaska, picked up part of the crew and two passengers on Isle Royale in a perishing condition. The steamer, which cost $250,000, proved a total loss.

Belle Isle, situated at the head of the Detroit river, and which for many years bore the appellation of Hog island, was in 1885 laid out into a beautiful park, and before navigation fairly set in it was in shape for pleasure seekers. A few years previous it was purchased by the city of Detroit from the heirs of an old French family at a cost of $200,000.

Cost of Winter Navigation. - It was estimated that it cost the Grand Trunk Railroad Company $720,000 to keep up their lake connections between Grand Haven and Milwaukee during the winter of 1884-85. This amount is made up of the following items: Loss of steamer Michigan, $150,000; injury to the Wisconsin, $40,000, cost of delay in business, $500,000; expense of dynamite and keeping the channel open, $25,000; loss by idle laborers on docks, $5,000.

Improvements at Niagara Falls. - The grounds about Niagara Falls were at one time very romantic and beautiful, but that was when they were in a state of nature. Finally by the destruction of the timber and the building of manufacturing establishments they lost much of their attractiveness. Lord Dufferin, Governor-general of Canada in 1878, conferred with Governor Robinson, of New York State, with reference to the forming of an international park about Niagara Falls. Governor Robinson the next year urged the Legislature of the State to investigate the question.

An Act of the Legislature providing for the appropriation of the necessary land was defeated in the State Senate in 1880; but a society was organized to take charge of the question. Through their efforts a Bill was passed in 1883. A commission was empowered to condemn the lands needed, this commission adopting, in the main, the plans which had been previously adopted. The lands selected were surveyed and appraised at a value of $1,433,529, and this amount was appropriated in a Bill passed in 1885. This Bill declared that the lands are purchased by the State, that they may be restored and kept in a state of nature, and that every part of them shall forever be free to all mankind. The lands were with great form and ceremony transferred to the State, July 15, 1885, in the presence of many distinguised officials from both Canada and the State of New York and other portions of the United States.

Orphan Boy Lost. - The schooner Orphan Boy, loaded with lumber, was caught out late in the season of 1885 by a severe storm December 17, and went down in Lake Michigan with her crew of twelve.

Casualties of 1885. - Involved in the 228 casualties recorded during the season of 1885 are 138 schooners, barges and scows, 62 propellers, ten steamers and 18 tugs. A notable cause of disaster when compared with previous seasons, is that of fire on tugs and other small steam- propelled vessels. The list of total losses comprised 77 vessels. The loss of life, by the several casualties is 85, the single disaster most fatal to the greater number being that of the wrecking of the Canadian Pacific railroad steamship Algoma.

Record of the Onoko. - The iron propeller Onoko, the largest steamer on the lakes, arrived at Buffalo with 87,400 bushels of wheat. This was 9,000 bushels more than were ever taken out of a Duluth elevator in one bottom. The Onoko with the largest net cargo of ore, 3,073 tons, Escanaba to Athtabula(sic), reached the latter port June 19th, without experiencing any trouble from lack of water. The Onoko passed through Sault Ste Marie canal in September with 92,013 bushels of wheat, 2,760 tons. It is officially notd that that is the largest cargo ever carried through the canal in one bottom since its construction.

Other Events of 1885. - Daniel F. Miller and P.H. Daily received gold medals, and David Miller a silver medal, for bravery in rescuing the crew of the schooner H.C. Ackley in November, 1883. Lake Ontario, which was never before within the recollection of man frozen entirely over, was a frozen sea in March, 1885. The preliminary steps in the organization of a vessel owners association were taken at Buffalo May 25. The title selected was The Lake Carriers Association. The dull times among vessels resulted in a large number of vessels leaving the lakes for the seaboard. March: Captain Prindiville reached Grand Haven March 22 and reported the loss of his propeller Michigan of the Grand Trunk line. The steamer sank, but her crew were taken off by the tug Arctic, which was near at the time. The Michigan had been locked in the ice nearly four weeks. She was an iron steamer, built in 1882, and of 1,183 tons burden. May: Schooner City of Toledo sunk at Milwaukee by collision with the propeller Chicago. Tug Carrington burned at Keweenaw bay. Barge Peck sunk at Sand Beach. Schooner Houghton stranded at Hog Island reef. Steambarge Annie Laurie and steamer City of Milwaukee collide off Grand Haven. The Canadian barge Sylvester Neilon arrived at Frankfort with square timber, destined for Liverpool for ship-building purposes. The tug Kate Moffat was burned May 30 near Presque Isle, Lake Huron, and proved a total loss. The crew were rescued by the crew of the schooner Metropolis, which she had in tow. June: The barge Buckeye was burned near Georgian Bay. Steamer Peerless burned at Montebello. Schooner John J. Hill sunk at Fairport. Schooner J.G. Masten stranded at South Fox island. Schooner Grant sunk on Lake Ontario. Tug American Eagle burned at Cleveland. Schooner Mont Blanc sunk near Stag island by collision. Barge Williams sunk on Lake Ontario. July: Schooners White Star and Polynesia damaged by collision at Grosse Point. Schooner S.J. Tilden sunk at Beaver Harbor. Tug E.L. Anthony burned at Chicago. Tug C.E. Bolton sunk at Cleveland. Steamer Isle Royal sunk near Susick island. The Canadian steamship Alberta, with troops returning from the Indian troubles in the Northwest, arrived at Sarnia July 24. Barge Antelope burned at Saginaw. The schooner Jane capsized off Little Point Sable. The captain was the only person on deck, and his sons were asleep in the cabin. The captain was thrown into the lake, but he clambered on the wreck, opened the door, dived into the cabin and brought the boys out. The Canadian propeller Quebec struck a rock near the mouth of the Sault river and sunk in 125 feet of water. She had a cargo of flour and a large passenger list. The passengers and crew were taken off in the lifeboats; both vessel and cargo were a total loss. August: Schooner Camden damaged by collision with the schooner Crossthwaite. Tug Stickney and steambarge Abercorn damaged by collision in St. Clair river. Propeller Jarvis Lord sunk at the Manitous. Schooner John Bean, Jr., sunk at Muskegon. Schooners A. Mulvey and Maple Leaf burned at Toronto. Schooner Lily Hamilton sunk at Cana island, Lake Michigan. The steamer George L. Hope made the run from Duluth to Buffalo with 75,400 bushels of wheat in 103 hours and 50 minutes, including all stops. This was the quickest trip between these points ever made by a freight steamer. When 30 miles off Milwaukee, August 14, the walking beam of the City of Milwaukee broke above the hurricane deck, and the connecting rod crashed through from the hurricane to the main deck, a distance of 30 feet abaft the engine room, smashing furniture and everything it came in contact with in the cabin. The disabled steamer was towed into Milwaukee by the propeller William Edwards. September: The schooner Advance was lost with all hands off Sheboygan in a heavy gale. Capt. M. Paulson was master and owner. The steamyacht Sybilla, a salt-water boat owned in Philadelphia, arrived in the lakes. She had on board a pleasure party who made a cruise on Lake Superior. The Canadian propeller Prussia burned and sunk on Lake Superior. Her crew reached Bayfield, Wis. The barge Cyclone went ashore at Alabaster, Lake Huron, and proved a total loss. She was formerly the propeller Pittsburg, and was built by Morris at Cleveland in 1857. The schooner Blazing Star saved the schooner Jane McLeod from total shipwreck on Lake Ontario in a storm by towing her to Charlotte. Schooner Susan Ward wrecked at Oscoda. Schooner Erie Wave capsized off Port Colborne. Schooner Raven wrecked at Menominee. Schooner H.M. Scove damaged by collision with propeller United Empire off Keewenaw Point. Schooner Floretta sunk near Manitowoc. Schooner New Church wrecked at Two Rivers. Schooner Little Willie foundered near Chicago. Steamer City of Rome damaged by fire at Duluth. Schooner Frank W. Wheeler sunk on Lake Superior. October, Scow Annie Tomine capsized off Grand Haven. Barge Seminole sunk at Rondeau. Barge C.N. Pratt burned at Windsor. Tug Thomas Quayle burned at Ontonagon. Schooner George B. Sloan wrecked at Oswego. Schooner Ida Walker sunk near Ameliasburg. Schooner Ada Membray sunk and went to pieces near Oswego. Schooner Tuscarora wrecked at Oswego. Schooner J. C. Harrison wrecked at Hedgehog Harbor. November: The tug Frank Moffat burst her boiler near Sombra, Ont., killing William Ward, chief engineer, and three others of the crew. The steamer John Spry burned to the water's edge. The schooner R.B. King, Capt. James Dunbar, struck the north pier at Muskegon in a heavy gale and capsized. Two seamen were drowned. Schooner Addie wrecked at South Haven. Schooner Highland Maid capsized on Lake Erie. Tug Kelly burned near Herson's island. Steamer Algoma wrecked off Port Arthur, Lake Superior; many lives lost. December: Tug St. Mary burned at Glen Haven. Schooner Corsican water- logged and sunk near Monroe. Tug Resolute burned at Green Bay. The old schooner Caledonia was reconstructed at the shipyard of Capt. J.M. Kelly at Racine. The Caledonia was built in 1842, and was the oldest craft in service on the lakes.

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Volume II

Some of the transcription work was also done by Brendon Baillod, who maintains an excellent guide to Great Lakes Shipwreck Research.