The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1911-01-05

which sank with it's load OF
human freight In the middle of Lake
Michigan on the morning Of septem.
Der 9, 1910.
News dispatches of the days imme-
diately following the disaster depicted
the romance, tragedy and heroism.
But the mystery is deeper today than
it was on the morning the accident
occurred.
Marine history chronicles no other
case of this character. Ships have
gone to sea never again to be heard
of, and the mystery Of what became
of them has not been >dispelled. Other
ships have sunk or been destroyed by
fire or otherwise, but always, even
though the survivors numbered only
"a mere handful, there have been sat.
isfactory explanations Of the cause
that brought about the disaster.
Twenty-seven of her crew, includ-
ing the captain and other officers,
went down with the Pere Marquette,
while 90 others Of crew and passen-
gers were saved by the timely ar
rival OF ferry boat No. II of the Pere
Marquette line.
But the amazing fact is that not
one Of the survivors could tell what
happened to the stricken vessel And
despite the time that has elapsed and
the exhaustive Investigations carried
on by the owners Of the vessel and
by the government authorities, the
mystery still exists.
What really did happen to the Pere
Marquette? What caused the great
lake leYiathan, under Roadway for
three hours or more after she was
first damaged, to suddenly stop in her
course, poise for a brief moment and
then drop, stern foremost, like lead
en- weight to the bottom of the lake
Did the Pere Marquette strike a
submerged wreck?
Did her great cargo Of loaded
freight cars shift?
Was some of her crew drunk?
Was an anarchistic maniac aboard
Had the vessel a vital defect in her
construction, and If so are others OF
the Pere Marquette class constantly
facing a similar danger?
These and dozens Of like questions
are now being asked daily by every
man connected with the shipping OF
the Great Lakes And the theories ad.
vanced in response to the queries are
as numerous as the questioners. 1t
Is the one unsolved mystery Of traf-
&c on our inland seas.
Here was great modern vessel,
newly examined by the federal in.
Bpectors, only few hours out on her
first trip after leaving the inspection
docks, protected by every method, hui
man and mechanical, known to navi
gation-and not on the vast ocean, but
On land-locked lake.
A relief boat was in sight before
the Pere Marquette went down and
followed in her wake for half an hour
or more in response to her distress
signals, was within fifty yards Of her
when she sank, and picked up the
survivors.
Following the disaster an investiga
ton so searching that it fairly grilled
the survivors with questions was in
stituted by boards Of inquiry which
had every authority to summon wit
nesses and cross-examine, and which
was supplied with the best expert ad
vice and assistance.
And yet-the mystery of what hap
| pened is as dark and unresponsiye to
day as the $40 feet of blue water
which covers the wreck of the Pere
Marquette and the bodies of its he
roic crew.
A few minutes before midnight on
September the huge steel car ferry
left her slip at Ludington, Mich, and
started across to Milwaukee with a
cargo Of 20 loaded freight cars and a
number Of passengers.
That day two United States gov
ernment inspectors had gone ever heI
from stem to stern and pronounced
her one Of the most seaworthy yes
sells on the lakes. She had been built