 The schoonerMiztec before she was converted to a barge | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Miztec |
| Owner | Marine Transit Co. (original owner) |
| Operator | O.W. Blodgett Lumber Company |
| Port of registry | Port Huron, Michigan |
| Builder | H. Ihnken & P. Lester |
| Completed | 1890 |
| Identification | Official No. US92166 |
| Fate | Foundered on May 13, 1921 off Vermilion Point on Lake Superior when in tow of the propellerZillah. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Schooner; later converted toschooner barge |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 194 ft (59 m) |
| Beam | 34.5 ft (10.5 m) |
| Depth | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Installed power | Sail, later towed |
| Crew | 7 |
Miztec was built as a three-mastedschooner in 1890. She was later converted to aschooner barge and served as aconsort forlumber hookers on theGreat Lakes. She escaped destruction in a severe 1919 storm that sank her longtime companion, theSS Myron, only to sink on the traditional day of bad luck,Friday the 13th in May 1921, with the loss of all hands. She came to rest onLake Superior's bottom offWhitefish Point near theMyron.
TheMiztec's wreck was illegallysalvaged in the 1980s.Artifacts from theMiztec became the property of the State of Michigan after they were seized in a 1992Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) raid on theGreat Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The State allows the museum to hold a triplesheave block and hook and a double sheave block and hook from theMiztec as a loan. Her wreck is now protected by theWhitefish Point Underwater Preserve as part of an underwater museum.
The 194-foot (59 m) woodenMiztec was built as a three-mastedschooner in 1890 inMarine City, Michigan. She was enrolled atPort Huron, Michigan on 8 April 1890. On 3 May 1890 she ran ashore near Minorville, Wisconsin.[1]
TheMiztec spent the final years of her career as an O.W. Blodgett Lumber Company barge consort towed bylumber hookers.[2][3][4] She was stranded by her tow, theSS Myron, offVermilion Point in a severe November gale in 1919. She narrowly escaped total destruction and suffered heavy damage but survived the storm while theMyron did not.[5] She was rebuilt in 1919.[1]
The Blodgettfleet of theZillah,Miztec, andPeshtigo locked through theSoo headed for a spring gale and theMiztec's doom on Friday 13 May 1921.[6][7] The woodensteamerZillah was towing the schooner bargesMiztec andPeshtigo. TheZillah andMiztec carried bulk salt bound forDuluth, Minnesota and the emptyPeshtigo was scheduled for drop off atMunising, Michigan.[6][7]
Ten miles (16 km) west ofWhitefish Point, the fleet met the full brunt of the storm's heavy snow and nearhurricane-force winds.[8][9] The 31-year-old woodenZillah started taking on water when her seams twisted open in the raging seas. Her 785-horsepower (585 kW)steam engine could barely maintain herbow to the seas.[10] The master of theZillah decided to turn around and take shelter inWhitefish Bay. TheZillah's tow line broke during the strain of the turn, stranding theMiztec andPeshtigo in the storm, and then the tow line between the two barges broke.
In an effort to reach the lee of Whitefish Point, thePeshtigo set short sails that the wind soon shredded. ThePeshtigo dragged both anchors as the wind and waves forced her toward shore, and the poundingsurf of the dangerous shallows. When the crew of theVermilion Point Life-saving Station saw thePeshtigo's struggle, they launched twosurfboats that were destroyed by the crashing sea. ThePeshigo's anchors finally caught hold about one-quarter mile (0.40 km) from shore and she and her crew survived the storm.
When the tow line between theMiztec and thePeshtigo broke, Captain Campbell of thePeshtigo saw theMiztecs's lights disappear with his brother on board. His brother was theMiztec's first mate.[7][11] While theMiztec survived the 1919 storm that took her partner, theMyron, her run ofgood fortune ended when she sank with the loss of all seven crewmembers on the traditional day of bad luck, Friday the 13th.[6][7] Captain Neal, who was rescued near-death clinging to the pilothouse of theMyron in 1919, was serving as theZillah's first mate when theMiztec sank in 1921. When thefreighterRenown came upon the flotsam of theMiztec's sinking site, its crew sighted a body atop the deck house, but unlike Captain Neal's rescue, the body slipped into the seas as they approached.[12]
TheRenown reported their finding to theUnited States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard went to the wreck scene and buoyed theMiztec'sspar that was protruding from shallow water with plans to dynamite her as a navigational hazard as she lay near the shipping lane, but they were unable to relocate her when they returned. It was believed that as her salt cargo dissolved, she moved along the lake bottom to deeper water. TheMiztec came to rest not far from the wreck site her longtime companion lumber hooker, theMyron.[7][11]
No bodies were recovered from theMiztec's sinking site, but six days after she sank,First Nations people onMaple Island, Ontario (south ofBatchawana Bay) discovered the body of Florence Pederson, the cook and the wife of the captain of theMiztec.[7]
TheMiztec was an estimated $10,000 loss to O.W. Blodgett Lumber Company.[7]
TheMiztec's wreck was discovered in 1983 by the Oddessey Foundation in 45 to 50 feet (14 to 15 m) of water at46°48.073′N85°04.500′W / 46.801217°N 85.075000°W /46.801217; -85.075000.[3][13] The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) raided the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point in 1992 for artifacts illegally removed from the Great Lakes bottomlands. The DNRE seized around 150 artifacts from the museum, including a triple sheave block and hook and a double sheave block and hook from theMiztec.[14] Following a settlement agreement between the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society and the State of Michigan, the State's artifacts from theMiztec are on loan to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society for display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.
TheMiztec's wreck is now protected by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve for future generations ofscuba divers. TheMiztec's remains are broken and scattered on the lake bottom but heranchor and chain and other gear are still present.[3] Although theMiztec's wreck is one of the shallower wrecks, sports divers are cautioned to be certain of their abilities and equipment for dives because the preserve does not include protective bay or coves from the cold and volatile weather.[15] Divers who visit the wreck sites are expected to observe preservation laws and "take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but bubbles."[16]
{{isbn}}: ignored ISBN errors (link).
