2A
Manistee News Advocate • Wednesday, December 5, 2007 +
STORY OF THE INLAND SEA
with David L. Barber, Managing Editor
‘Beautifully preserved’
19th Century Canadian three-masted canal schooner ‘Jessie Scarth’
discovered in waters off Manistee by veteran shipwreck explorer
J
ust over two years ago — on
Aug. 16, 2005 — shipwreck
hunter Matthew L. Higgins
located what he believes to
be the wreck of the Canadian
three-masted canal schooner
“Jessie Scarth” north of Manistee.
“The general location, type of
vessel and
“The wreck configuration
of the wreck
appears to is totally conbe totally sistent with
wreck
pristine and the
being the
undisturbed “Scarth,’”
from the day Higgins said.
An associit sunk...the ate professor
wreck-site is of economics
Western
a treasure at
Michigan
trove of University
maritime and avid
fresh-water
history.” diver,
■ Matthew L. Higgins Higgins has
researched
shipwrecks of
the Great Lakes for years.
The ship he discovered two
years ago just off Manistee — and
which he is announcing his findings to the maritime world today
through the Manistee News
Advocate — was named after
William Bain Scarth.
•••
LOOK-A-LIKE: Pictured is the “Edward Blake,” which was almost an exact copy of
the “Scarth.” The “Edward Blake” was built in 1872 at Port Burwell, Ontario and was
136 feet long. Note she’s flying a Canadian flag in the picture. The “Scarth” was built
in 1871 at Hamilton, Ontario, and was 140 feet long.
Scarth was born in 1837 in Aberdeen,
Scotland and immigrated to Canada in 1855.
“In the early 1870’s, with his brother James,
he founded the firm ‘Scarth Brothers,’ and established himself as a timber merchant in Toronto,”
Higgins said. “As one of their first business
endeavors, the Scarths commissioned the construction of a schooner suitable for general lake
and ocean trade. William Scarth named the boat
in honor of his wife, Jessie, whom he had married in 1869.
“The ‘Jessie Scarth’ was a three-masted canal
schooner built by the Robertson Shipyard at
Hamilton, Ontario. She was 140 feet in length
and measured 400 gross tons. A ‘canal schooner’
was designed to carry the largest possible cargo
through the Welland Canal, which connects Lake
Ontario and Lake Erie.”
Higgins said canal schooners had shallow drafts, flat bottoms and vertical bows. His
research showed nearly 500 spectators were
present when Mrs. Scarth smashed a bottle of
champagne on the new boat as it was launched
on May 15, 1871.
“The ‘Scarth’ spent her early years transporting grain, coal, iron ore, stone, salt, railroad iron
and timber in and out of Lake Ontario ports,”
Higgins said. “She often traveled as far west as
Chicago and on occasions made trips down the
St. Lawrence to Montreal. The economic recession of the mid-1870’s resulted in excess shipping capacity on the Great Lakes. In search of
more profitable opportunities, the ‘Scarth’ sailed
across the Atlantic Ocean in the spring of 1876
and delivered a load of timber to a Scottish port.
For the remainder of that season and most of the
next, she worked on the Baltic Sea.
“In the fall of 1877, the ‘Scarth’ returned to
her home waters and arrived at Quebec with a
load of salt. She resumed her previous trade, but
mostly carried grain from Chicago to Georgian
Bay ports, Toronto or Kingston.
“The Scarth brothers owned the ‘Jessie
Scarth’ for her entire career,” Higgins said.
“In the early 1880’s, William Scarth became
involved in land speculation in Manitoba. He
moved his family to Winnipeg and became managing director of the Canada North-West Land
Company.”
Higgins said William and Jessie had eight
children.
“Scarth was elected as a member of
Parliament in 1887,” he said. In 1895, he was
appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture. He
died in 1902.”
The Sinking
Higgins said on Sunday, Oct. 2, 1887, the
“Scarth” loaded 26,000 bushels of grain at
Chicago to be delivered to Midland, Ontario.
“As the ‘Scarth’ headed down the lake, a
strong wind began to blow from the north. By
Sunday night, the wind had shifted and a furious gale roared across Lake Michigan from the
west,” Higgins said.
“The ‘Scarth’ was under the command of
Captain John J. Roberts, who was born in
County Limerick, Ireland, in 1844, and immigrated with his family to Canada in 1849.”
The family settled in St. Catharines, Ontario.
At the age of 12, Roberts began his maritime
career as a cabin boy on Great Lakes sailing vessels. In 1861, he sailed to Liverpool as a seaman
on the brig “Danube” and returned to New York
on the barque “Oriole.”
In August of 1862, Roberts enlisted in the
164th New York Volunteers and four months
later transferred to Battery D. Fourth United
States Artillery, said Higgins.
“His battery was assigned to the Army of
the James and he fought at the battles of Cold
Harbor and Petersburg,” Higgins said. “His battery entered Richmond, Virginia with the victorious Union Army on April 3, 1865.
“Following the war, Roberts returned to
the Lakes. He became a captain and was highly
regarded among Canadian ship owners.
“The ‘Scarth’ survived Sunday night and by
Monday afternoon had been driven across the
lake. Unable to make progress sailing further
north, Captain Roberts brought the Scarth to
anchor north of the port of Manistee. For the
time being, the crew of the ‘Scarth’ felt safe riding at anchor. Earlier that morning, the crews of
two other schooners anchored off the Michigan
coast had a very different experience.
“Earlier, while the ‘Scarth’ was loading grain
at Chicago, the schooners ‘City of Green Bay’
and “Havana” loaded iron ore at Escanaba, to
be delivered to Saint Joseph. Both boats were
owned by A. P. Reed of Chicago. The boats left
Escanaba together and encountered the storm
on Sunday night in mid-lake. During the night,
they became separated.
“In the early hours of Monday morning, both
boats approached the south-west Michigan coast
and dropped anchors, the ‘City of Green Bay’
just off of South Haven, and the ‘Havana’ about
six miles north of Saint Joseph,” Higgins said.
“Due to the severity of the storm and the heavy
weight of the cargos, both vessels began to leak.”
Higgins said at daybreak, the “City of Green
Bay” drifted onto the beach a few miles south of
South Haven. The schooner quickly broke up.
Although the South Haven lifesaving crew
was on hand, only one seaman from the crew
of seven was saved. At almost the exact same
time that the crew of the “City of Green Bay”
was struggling in the surf, the captain of the
“Havana” feared his boat was in eminent danger
of sinking.
“He slipped anchor and tried to sail his boat
onto the beach,” Higgins said. “The ‘Havana,’
however, did not make it and foundered three
miles offshore. The crew climbed into the rigging
of the masts which remained above the water.
A tug from Saint Joseph was able to rescue the
first mate and three seaman. The captain, one
seaman and the cook were lost.
Schooners were not the only ships destroyed
by the storm. Later Monday night, the small
Canadian steamer ‘California,’ bound from
Chicago to Montreal, capsized in the western
approach to the Straits of Mackinac and close to
a dozen passengers and crew drowned.
Today's Weather
Michigan At A Glance
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
12/5
12/6
12/7
12/8
12/9
Sault Sainte Marie
15/12
Marquette
18/11
22/18
25/24
Cloudy with
flurries.
Sunrise:
8:04 AM
Sunset:
5:06 PM
Sunrise:
8:06 AM
Sunset:
5:06 PM
32/19
24/23
34/25
Snow showers. Highs in
the low 30s
and lows in
the upper
teens.
Mostly
Cloudy.
Highs in the
mid 20s and
lows in the
low 20s.
Rain and
snow showers. Highs in
the mid 30s
and lows in
the mid 20s.
Sunrise:
8:07 AM
Sunset:
5:06 PM
The Shipwreck Today
The wreck of the “Scarth” is “beautifully preserved” on the bottom of Lake Michigan, Higgins
said.
“The bow and mid-portion of the wreck
have collapsed, but all of the structure is clearly
recognizable,” he said. “The stern is more intact
and lies on its port side. The wreck appears to be
totally pristine and undisturbed from the day it
sunk. All of the ship’s hardware is present.
“The wreck-site is a treasure trove of maritime history.”
Higgins extensively researched the sinking
of the “Scarth” to narrow the possible location of
the wreck. He then found the “Scarth” by searching several squares miles of the bottom of the
lake off of Manistee using GPS and a sidescan
sonar.
He repeatedly dove the wreck in the fall of
2007 and documented the wreck-site with a
high-definition video camera.
He is not currently revealing the precise
location or depth of the wreck in order to keep
the site from being vandalized.
Area Cities
Local 5-Day Forecast
Snow showers during
the morning
with a
chance of
continued
flurries later.
“While this terror was occurring all along
the Michigan coast, the situation on the ‘Scarth’
began to deteriorate. Late on Monday night and
again early Tuesday morning, giant seas boarded
the ‘Scarth’ and swept the yawl boat off its
davits. On both occasions, the crew was able to
recover the yawl — a small boat that could also
be used as a lifeboat — by means of a small rope
that secured it to the ‘Scarth.’”
Higgins said although the yawl was saved,
the gunwale was caved in and the oars were lost.
“By the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 4, having been at anchor for more than 24 hours,
the stress on the ‘Scarth’ was too great and she
began to leak,” Higgins said. “Captain Roberts
hoisted a distress flag but because of the severe
weather, it could not be seen from shore. The
crew continuously worked the bilge pump to
try and keep the ‘Scarth’ afloat. But by 10 p.m.
Tuesday, Captain Robert realized the pump
capacity was not sufficient to stay ahead of the
leak. The ‘Scarth’ would certainly founder.”
Captain Roberts ordered his crew, which
consisted of the first-mate Martin Mahoney,
a woman cook and four seamen, into the yawl
— the smaller boat — Higgins said. The “Scarth”
was abandoned.
“When the crew left, the decks of the ‘Scarth’
were actually submerged below the water,” he
said. “They fashioned oars from a ladder. Two
seamen stood in the bow of the yawl and held
their coats open to form a crude sail. Roberts
headed the yawl for Manistee.
“After more than two hours on the monstrous seas, the yawl miraculously drifted right
between the Manistee piers. A lifesaver on patrol
spotted the yawl. He threw the crew a line and
pulled the small boat ashore. The woman cook
fainted as soon as she stepped on land.”
Higgins said Captain Roberts and the lifesaving crew immediately hired the tug “Wheeler”
and returned that night to where the “Scarth”
was anchored. They hoped to save the schooner
by towing it into Manistee.
They arrived too late; she was gone. The
“Scarth” had foundered and the tops of her
masts had disappeared below the water.
Newspaper accounts at the time, Higgins
said through his research, reported that the
“Scarth” was lost in “40 fathoms,” or 240 feet
of water. Due to the depth of the water, the
“Scarth” was never salvaged.
“Captain Roberts continued to sail the lakes
for only a few more years,” Higgins said. “He
accepted a position with a fueling company and
managed coal docks in Chicago.
“On April 27, 1897, he was appointed
Chicago harbormaster by Mayor Harrison. He
became a highly respected harbormaster. He
was known for his efforts to remove derelict
hulls from the river and to reform ordinances
which governed the operation of bridges over the
river.”
Sunrise:
8:07 AM
Sunset:
5:06 PM
Sunrise:
8:08 AM
Sunset:
5:06 PM
Manistee
22/18
Hi
20
26
23
27
21
29
26
27
19
25
22
24
15
17
13
Lo Cond.
18 sn shower
18 sn shower
17 sn shower
21 sn shower
13 sn shower
15 sn shower
18 sn shower
19 sn shower
8 sn shower
18 sn shower
15 sn shower
19 sn shower
11 sn shower
5 sn shower
3 flurries
City
Hi
Jackson
26
Kalamazoo
25
Lansing
25
Mackinaw City 18
Manistee
22
Menominee
20
Michigan City, IN 28
Midland
23
Muskegon
26
Pontiac
24
Port Huron
26
Saginaw
25
Sault Ste. Marie 15
Toledo, OH
28
Traverse City
20
Lo Cond.
18 sn shower
19 sn shower
18 sn shower
17 sn shower
18 sn shower
12 sn shower
17 sn shower
18 sn shower
21 sn shower
17 sn shower
16 sn shower
18 sn shower
12 sn shower
18 snow
18 sn shower
City
Minneapolis
New York
Phoenix
San Francisco
Seattle
St. Louis
Washington, DC
Lo Cond.
7 pt sunny
25 sn shower
53 mst sunny
45 pt sunny
35 rain
26 pt sunny
29 snow
National Cities
Lansing
25/18
Grand Rapids
24/19
City
Alpena
Ann Arbor
Bay City
Benton Harbor
Big Rapids
Chicago, IL
Coldwater
Detroit
Escanaba
Flint
Gladwin
Grand Rapids
Houghton
Iron Mountain
Ironwood
Detroit
27/19
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
Hi
61
34
28
72
53
74
73
79
Lo Cond.
33 mst sunny
21 cloudy
13 sn shower
46 sunny
32 cloudy
50 sunny
52 mst sunny
61 mst sunny
Hi
15
36
76
61
46
39
37