.jpg) John B. Cowle | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | John B. Cowle |
| Namesake | John Beswick Cowle |
| Owner | Cowle Transportation Co. |
| Port of registry |  Cleveland, Ohio |
| Builder | Jenks Shipbuilding Co.,Port Huron |
| Cost | $270,000.00 |
| Yard number | 19 |
| Launched | 2 October 1902 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Cramer |
| Completed | 1902 |
| Identification | USOfficial Number 77559 |
| Fate | Sank inWhitefish Bay 12 July 1909 after colliding withIsaac M. Scott |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Bulk freighter |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 420 ft (130 m) |
| Beam | 50.16 ft (15.29 m) |
| Depth | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Installed power | 2,100 ihp (1,600 kW) |
| Propulsion | 3-cylindertriple expansion engine |
| Crew | 24 |
| Notes | Sank with the loss of 14 crewmembers |
SSJohn B. Cowle was one of the earlyGreat Lakesbulk freighters known as "tin pans". She was the first of two ships named for prominentCleveland, Ohio citizen and shipbuilder John Beswick Cowle. In 1909 on her maiden voyageSS Isaac M. Scott rammedJohn B. Cowle in heavy fog offWhitefish Point.John B. Cowle sank in three minutes, taking 14 of her 24-man crew with her.[1]Artifacts from her wreck were illegally removed in the 1980s. Her artifacts are now the property of theState of Michigan and are on display as a loan to theGreat Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The wreck ofJohn B. Cowle is protected as part of an underwater museum in theWhitefish Point Underwater Preserve.
ThesteamerJohn B. Cowle was built in 1902 by the Jenks Shipbuilding Company for the newly formed Cowle Transit Company.[2][3] She was the first of two ships named for prominentCleveland, Ohio citizen, John Beswick Cowle, who was part owner of theGlobe Iron Works that built the first iron and steel Great Lakes bulk freighters, which were known as "tin pans".[2][4]On 31 May 1906 she sankErin in a collision offSt. Clair, Michigan. Five ofErin's crew were killed.[5]
By 1909John B. Cowle was still owned by the Cowle Transit Company but for the sake of profit she was operated by the United States Transportation Company.[3] Just several days prior toJohn B. Cowle's sinking, onedeckhand left her atDetroit,Michigan after his father talked him into quitting and three more deckhands quitJohn B. Cowle at the iron ore dock inTwo Harbors, Minnesota. The four replacement deckhands all drowned onJohn B. Cowle just two days later.[6]
On 12 July 1909, the 420-foot (128 m), 4,731-tonJohn B. Cowle was laden with 7,023 tons ofiron ore loaded at Two Harbors and downbound for Cleveland. The 524-foot (160 m), 6,372-tonIsaac M. Scott was a new steel steamer running light without cargo on her maiden voyage upbound forDuluth, Minnesota.[3][7][8] The shipFrank H. Goodyear locked through theSoo Locks behindIsaac M. Scott, also upbound for Duluth through a fog-shroudedWhitefish Bay. In an era beforeradar, Captain Russel Hemenger ofFrank H. Goodyear followedIsaac M. Scott with all of thepilothouse windows open and standing propped on a side sill for intense listening,navigating by compass, clock, and the lights and whistles of other ships.[3]
By 4:00 am the dense fog off Whitefish Point caused Captain W.G. Rogers ofJohn B. Cowle to check to half speed and blow fog signals at intervals of less than a minute.Isaac M. Scott suddenly loomed up full speed ahead broadside toJohn B. Cowle. Captain McArthur ofIsaac M. Scott rang thechadburn for reverse and ordered, "Hard left, hard left!" It was too late andIsaac M. Scott rammedJohn B. Cowle, cutting her almost in two.[3][7][8] The mate ofIsaac M. Scott blew her whistle, and whenIsaac M. Scott's engine found the reverse that was ordered before impact, the vessel's bow pulled from the massive hole inJohn B. Cowle.John B. Cowlelisted and began to founder. A line was thrown fromIsaac M. Scott's bow to the deck of the sinkingJohn B. Cowle. Three sailors scrambled hand over hand ontoIsaac M. Scott while other sailors ran for the rail and leaped into the lake in effort to get away from the suction of the sinking ship.
Captain Rogers ofJohn B. Cowle managed to put alife preserver on his son who was sailing with him. Rogers was washed off as the ship sank, grabbed a piece of wreckage when he came back up, and was rescued in about 45 minutes.[7]John B. Cowle's steward, B. Rogers, gave the following account:
When the ship sank, I was stuck in a whirlpool, wrenched and whirled till I thought my legs would be pulled off. I saw a body alongside me. It was Will Thomas, my assistant. I tried to revive him when a broken hatch cover came up and struck the lad on the head, crushing it. My life preserver came off and while I was floundering in the water, another hatch cover came up. I grabbed the ring and pulled myself up on it. I saw a foot sticking up from beneath it, and pulling it, found it to be Thomas McKernan, the son of the chief engineer. I pulled him up and he revived after a while. The lake was covered with wreckage and all around in the fog could be heard cries of "Help" but it was three quarters of an hour before theyawls of theScott had been loosened and put in the water.[7]
John B. Cowle sank in three minutes, taking 14 of her 24-man crew with her.[3] Shipwreck historian Janice Gerred reported, "Five of the drowned crew were fromAdams, New York. Captain Roger's son and brother, who was steward on theCowle, were rescued. Two engineers, four firemen, four deckhands, the second cook, porter, and an oiler went down with the ship."[7]
Shipwreck historian Wes Oleszewski reported that the crew ofFrank H. Goodyear witnessed the collision through a series of sounds, "[F]irst a rumble like distant thunder ... then a distant groan, like tortured steel, accompanied by a series of deep-throated whistle blows ... and shouts through the distance ... [followed by] an earthquake-like rumbling. A hollow silence followed, then more shouts and screams."[3] Captain Russel sounded the general alarm and creepedFrank H. Goodyear toward the sounds of disaster until they came to a full stop when men were in the water just off her bow. They lowered the boats andFrank H. Goodyear's crew began rescuing sailors. Captain Hemenger inchedFrank H. Goodyear forward and used her spotlight to probe "through a jumble of wooden wreckage, oil drums, life rings and splashing sailors" until he came uponIsaac M. Scott with a massive hole in her bow.[3] Captain Rogers and his mate were taken to Duluth onFrank H. Goodyear. The rest ofJohn B. Cowle's crew were picked up byIsaac M. Scott and transported toSault Ste. Marie, Michigan.[7]
The loss ofJohn B. Cowle was valued at $285,000. Her cargo of iron ore was valued at $25,000 but was not insured.Isaac M. Scott was heavily damaged with two forward compartments holed.[9] She returned to the shipyard for reconstruction work costing $30,000.[8] After a lengthy investigation and hearings, theUnited States Steamboat Inspectors ofMarquette, Michigan ruled thatJohn B. Cowle was going too fast for prevailing conditions and suspended Captain Rogers and Pilot Edward E. Carlton for 30 days even though Rogers claimed that he had checked down to bare steerage way. Pilot F.W. Wertheimer ofIsaac M. Scott was beached for one year for excessive speed and failure to signal.[8][9]
Tragedy would end the careers of both other vessels involved in the incident.
TheFrank H. Goodyear would ironically be sunk in a collision in fog with the Steamer James B. Wood in 1910 on Lake Huron, taking 18 of 23 people with her.
TheIsaac M. Scott sailed for four more years until she was lost with all hands onLake Huron in theGreat Storm of 1913.[9]
The wreck ofJohn B. Cowle was discovered in 1972 in 220 feet (67 m) of water, 1.5miles (2.4 km) south ofWhitefish Point at46°44.435′N84°57.877′W / 46.740583°N 84.964617°W /46.740583; -84.964617. When her wreck was discovered, the steering wheel still turned, and the inscription"John B. Cowle" was clearly visible on her bell. The log was still intact, was retrieved, and is now maintained in the Great Lakes Historical Society's Ship's Logs Collection.[7][10] The wreck has one of the few intact pilothouses onLake Superior shipwrecks. The captain's quarters and office were located in Texas-style bow cabins behind the pilothouse.[11]
In the ensuing years following her discovery,John B. Cowle's wreck was stripped of her artifacts. Michigan's Antiquities Act of 1980 prohibited the removal of artifacts from shipwrecks on the Great Lakes bottomlands. TheEvening News reported aMichigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment 1992 raid on theGreat Lakes Shipwreck Museum and its offices that found evidence of 150 artifacts illegally removed from the state-claimed bottomlands, including artifacts fromJohn B. Cowle.[12][13] The State of Michigan filed a lawsuit against the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. Following a settlement agreement,[13][14]John B. Cowle's steering wheel, two gauges, three electric lamps, binoculars, a cup, a saucer, a jug, acapstan cover, and a paneling section are now the property of the State of Michigan and are on loan for display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.[14]
John B. Cowle's wreck is protected for future generations ofscuba divers by theWhitefish Point Underwater Preserve as part of an underwater museum. The 1892 wreck of the steamerVienna lies to her south and the 1884 wreck of the steamerJohn M. Osborn lies to her north.[3] Divers who visit the wreck sites are expected to observe preservation laws and "take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but bubbles".[15]
Great Lakes diver Harrington cautions thatJohn B. Cowle is a deep wreck that carries considerable risks in diving and "divers must be certain of their abilities and equipment" when diving the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve.[16]
{{isbn}}: ignored ISBN errors (link).Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1909 | |
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