Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-09-20
The GREAT LAKES
Romance and Tragedy Of These
Unsalted Inland Seas.
4 VAST MARINE GRAVEYARD.
~ Equai Arsa Of Ocean Waters Has
prevsd 81 orsat ! Gluten For Hu-
man LIE and Ships and Rich Car
sees-Mystsriss 81 Missing Vessels.


Man Lite and Ships and Rich Car
sees-Mystsriss 81 Missing Vessels.
Some day the great lakes are going
to contribute a glorious share to the
literature OF America. Until now they
have been unlonored and unsung, ex-
cept 10 some isolated cases, where the
poet or the has sought his
audience In vain. All Of the romance
Of the sea is not contained in the At
lantic or the Pacific. The great lakes
are rich In romance. History and
legend have Joined hands to weave a
thrilling narrative around this enchant-
ed country. Indian tradition clusters
thick about 1t. Three nations strug-
gled for dominion over the lake coun-
try-England, France and the United
States. Innnmerable sliipwrecks have
contributed their black pages to the
story OF the inland seas. The. thrill Of
storm ct sea-, Of struggle with the ele-
ments In the blackness Of a Lake SUI
perior. night, Of glorious victory or
brave defeat, remains to be recorded
nttingly.
What chronicle contains Il more fas-
cinating record than the narrative of
the voyage of exploration made by
Rene Cavalier de la Sale in his good
ship the Griffin, the first sailing vessel
IT. venture forth on the great lakes?
"a 1879 this ship, ~captained by the In
trepid French soldier of fortune and
manned BY a merry crew of voyagers,
! w~ithSseyerai Jesuit zealots, sailed the
length or Lake Erie, Lake st. Ckir and
Lake Huron on q voyage OF adventure,
and discovery. The Griffin was lost on
slts return voyage. La Sale, who had
sr0mained In the north country, never
heard OF 1t again. The first mystery of
the great lakes had been recorded.
Countless others were to follow it. For
the great lakes hold their grim record
~ tragedies.
Il ID Interesting to note that no sim
ter area Of any ocean, II suddenly strip
pea ct its volume Of water, would ex-
pose to human gaze u larger number of
snnken ships OF more valuable cargoes
than lie. at the bottom OF these inland
waters. a record kept between the
years 1878 and 1893 reveals the start
ling fact that In that period $500 ships
were wrecked on the great lakes, and,
1903 6f these were total losses. The
loss Of cargo during the score Of years
was nearly 100000.
~ 2NYno 0f3 fh0cn yyncSn1u I{oo n,nJ ~
most as mysteriously as did the Griffin
"a the brave old days OF. exploration.
No wrackage floated toSthe shore. The
great lakes hid well their secrets. Nav
igafors Of the northern lakes insist that
there are portions OF Lake Superior
whore Il a impossible to find the bot
tom. The superstition is that some
ships that have gone down at sea are
held forever In this unfathomabIe pit
beneath the waters.
Like the sailors OF the salt seas, the
men who navigate the inland waters
NE Z superstitious lot. Almost e
wreck that marks the history OF the
lakes - the inspiration Of some weird,
fantastic story that By frequent repeti-
ton assumes the dignity Of truth in
the sailors ready mind. One such SUI
perstition that - firmly rooted in the.
minds Of alls great lakes nnvigators
concerns the mysterious wreck of the
Bannockburn.
She was big, powerful freighter,
carrying q crew OF twenty-five men.
She cleare1 Duluth on a day in the
late fall What happened to her will
never 10 known. She went out in the
morning endswas last sighted the next
evening. ThatsSwa the end. Not one
IA her crswwase ever found. For more
than the chin waters OF Lake
6uperioe guarded ven their secret.
Then one dry an oarSwas found float
sing all0ng the driftwood OF the bleak
nOrthseh0re. a piece Of ~tarpaulin was
Wtapped securely around It, and when
athisssW1s removed at was found; that
An word issBannockburns was scraped
stnto wood. The q issalI that re-
naina today 10 tell the story Of the
miaatng freighter.
Acc0Rding 10 the queer twist given
the ltofy III the sailors. 81 the inland
seast he Bannockhurn Ii supposed to
bstAe laying Dutchnan of the great
oE6esyonnetimes 81 night, when the
chillIHanoxth@ wind sweeps across the
ollenI boom cf Lake Superior and
Sthea etdn1ing sssice devils,s fill the, air,
1SeStppat0at IA some lonely point calls
t66SdlyS q III Scoinpani0n and points to
s....,.t...