1907 — Oct 11, freighter Cyprus sinks, Lake Superior storm, 19M off Deer Park, MI –21-22

— 26 U.S. Congress. House Documents Vol. 25, 64th Congress, 1st Session, 1916.
— 25 New York Times. “Steamer Founders; 25 Are Drowned,” Oct 13, 1907, p. 11.
— 23 North Adams Transcript, MA. “The Year 1907 in Brief…,” Jan 1, 1908, p. 3.
— 22 AP (Flesher). “Century Old Shipwreck Found in Superior,” Washington Post. 9-10-2007.
— 22 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Mariners Press Inc., 1972, 240.
— 22 Nash. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters 1977, p. 694.
— 22 Thompson, Mark L. Graveyard of the Lakes. Wayne State Univ. Press, 2004, p. 243.
— 22 Wolff. Lake Superior Shipwrecks…Maritime Accidents and Disasters. 1990, 124-125.
— 22 U.S. Bureau of Navigation. Merchant Vessels of the United States…1908, p. 381.
— 22 U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service. Annual Report 1908, p. 13.
— 22 Wikipedia. “SS Cyprus.”
— 21 Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI. “Full Score Are Lost,” Oct 12, 1907, p. 1.
— 21 Ratigan, William. Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals (Revised). 1969, p. 256.
— 21 Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Eighteen Bodies of Cypress Disaster Found,” Oct 14, 1907, p. 2.
— 21 Swayze, David D. Shipwreck!…Directory of…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p.65.
— 21 The Herald, Eldora, IA. “Find Nineteen Bodies of Drowned,” Oct 19, 1907, p. 2

Narrative Information

Swayze: “Cyprus. Steel bulk freight steamer of 4,900 t. [tons] and 420 ft., launched at Lorain, OH, in 1907.

“Lake Superior: Sometimes the best and most modern vessel that the shipbuilder can put on the lake is no match for the fury of an equinoctial storm. The Cyprus was of a proven design and was only 21 days old when she was blasted by a big gale on October 11, 1907. The proud ship was downbound with a full load of iron ore and was 19 miles off Deer Park, Michigan, when she turned turtle and sank, taking 21 of her 22 crew to a watery death with her. She apparently was pushed around abeam of the storm-driven seas, and the violent rocking caused her cargo to shift.” (Swayze, David D. Shipwreck!…Directory of…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, pp. 64-65.)

U.S. Congress: “October 12, 1907, northwest gale. Steamer Cypress foundered off Deer Park, Mich.; total loss; 26 of crew drowned; 1 saved.” (U.S. Congress. House Documents Vol. 25, 64th Cong., 1st Sess., 1916. )

US Steamboat Inspection Service: “Another disaster in which there was a large loss of life was the foundering of the steamer Cypress on October 11, 1907, off Deer Park life-saving station, Lake Superior, in which 22 persons lost their lives. The steamer was laden with iron ore, bound for Buffalo, N.Y., when it encountered a heavy northwest gale of wind and sea, and by water leakage through the hatch covers, or otherwise, into the cargo hold, shifted the cargo, causing the steamer to roll heavily, gradually list to port, and finally sink. Only one person escaped, being washed ashore and picked up on the beach by one of the Deer Park life-saving crew. The vessel…was a total loss.” (U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service. Annual Report 1908, p. 13.)

Washington Post, 2007 (AP/Flesher): “Traverse City, Mich. — Explorers have discovered the wreckage of an ore carrier that mysteriously sank during a storm on Lake Superior 100 years ago, officials announced Monday. Only one survivor made it to shore as the ship went down on Oct. 11, 1907. Last month, a team with the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society found the wreckage of the Cyprus about 460 feet below the surface. The wreckage was located about eight miles north of Deer Park, a village in Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula where the lone survivor, Charles G. Pitz, stumbled ashore after floating aboard a life raft for nearly seven hours. Twenty-two others aboard the Cyprus perished….

“Built in Lorain, Ohio, the Cyprus was launched Aug. 17, 1907. It was as ‘seaworthy a vessel as has ever been turned out by a lake ship yard,’ The Marine Review, a Cleveland trade publication, said after the sinking. The gale in which the ship perished was ‘so moderate that only the smaller class of vessels sought shelter while the big steamers scarcely noticed it at all,’ the Review said. But Pitz, the second mate, said after the wreck that the Cyprus was being pounded by northwesterly waves and developed a gradually worsening list the fatal afternoon.

“The engines finally stopped and crew members donned life jackets. Most headed to lifeboats, but Pitz and three others — the captain, the first mate and a watchman — gathered near a raft closer to the front. About 7:45 p.m., the Cyprus capsized and quickly sank. Pitz and his companions were hurled into the lake. They climbed aboard the raft and by 2 a.m. had drifted within 300 feet of land. But the raft flipped over several times in the churning surf, drowning everyone but Pitz, who washed ashore, cold and exhausted. All but two of the 22 victims’ bodies were recovered….” (Washington Post. “Century Old Shipwreck Found in Superior,” Sep 10, 2007.)

Wikipedia: “SS Cyprus was a lake freighter that sank during a gale storm on Lake Superior on 11 October 1907. The ship went down in 460 feet (140 m) of water at 46°47′N 85°36′W / 46.79°N 85.60°W in United States waters about 8 miles (7 nm; 13 km) north of Deer Park in Luce County, Michigan. All but one of the 23 members of the crew perished….

“According to Second Mate Charles G. Pitz — the sole survivor — Cyprus had been pounded by northwesterly waves all afternoon which caused an increasing list to port. At around 7:45 p.m. the ship lurched to port and capsized. Pitz and three others, which included Captain F. B. Huyck (according to some accounts) secured themselves on a raft. By 2:00 a.m. the raft and its occupants were within 300 feet (91 m) of shore when breaking waves flipped the raft, and all but Pitz drowned in the surf. Pitz unwittingly staggered ashore, just a half-mile east of the Deer Park Life-Saving Station. All the bodies but two were eventually recovered.

“It was never clear what caused the ship to list in the first place…. Speculation on the source of the leak has centered on the type of Mulholland sliding hatch cover the nearly new ship had been outfitted with. With a steel on steel seal, this type of hatch was prone to allowing water past unless special tarpaulins were fitted on the hatches. It was not clear if Huyck had ordered these tarpaulins deployed or not. Some alternate theories propose that the engine or rudder failed, leaving Cyprus without the maneuverability needed to avoid wave troughs where ships are most vulnerable to rolling, or propose that labor unrest in Lorain during Cyprus’ construction may have contributed to other, as yet undiscovered flaws.” (Wikipedia. “SS Cyprus.”)

Wolfe: “1907….This October was a rough one….Then came the shocking event of October 11, the capsizing of the two-month-old 420-foot, 4,900-ton steel steamer Cyprus, a Lackawanna Transportation Company vessel managed by Picklands Mather & Company. Perhaps no foundering since that of the Western Reserve in 1892 surprised the marine world more. The Cyprus had been launched the previous August 17 at Lorain, Ohio, and was on her second trip, having loaded 7,400 tons of iron ore at the Allouez docks in Superior, which she left at 8 a.m. on October 10. A moderate northerly storm began blowing east of the Keweenaw. Still when observed by Captain Smith of the 504-foot steel steamer Charles O. Jenkins at 10 a.m., October 11, the Cyprus was pushing right along about 10 miles off Stannard Rock. Later in the day, she was observed by Captain Harbottle of the Pittsburgher George Stephenson and seemed to be doing well.

“That evening, about 7 p.m., as the Cypress was headed east about 18 miles north of Deer Park, Michigan, and roughly 35 miles west of Whitefish Point, the steamer listed sharply to port, taking water in the hatches. Crewmen put on life jackets, but Captain F.B. Huyck did not order the boats lowered since the engines were functioning perfectly and the weather was not really alarming. He expected they would be safe in three or four hours. Some minutes later, however, the Cyprus rolled over on her port side and sank instantly. Four men forward, two mates, a watchman and a wheelsman slashed loose a life raft as the ship dove to the bottom. They clung to the precarious float for seven dreadful hours as the wind slowly drove them toward the Michigan coast. When they struck the malevolent south shore surg, however, it was the usual story. Over and over rolled the life raft until only one man remained, Second Mate Charles J. Pitz. As the raft touched the sandy beach, Pitz had sufficient strength to crawl out of reach of the waves before he collapsed in the darkness.

“Some time later, a patrolling lifesaver discovered his unconscious form and carried him to the Deer Park Life-Saving Station where, after more hours, he was revived and told what had happened. When first brought in, he could only gasp out the name of the ship and report the crew gone. From information furnished by Second Mate Pitz, vessel men deduced that the Cyprus, equipped with new Mulholland hatches, but no tarpaulins, had taken water seepage around the hatch covers which were not water tight. A sufficient quantity of water mixing with the natural iron ore caused the cargo to shift as the vessel rolled, and the Cyprus capsized. She was an official loss of $280,000 and 22 men went down with her. Lifesavers maintained a beach patrol for many days after the sinking. 20 life-jacketed bodies being recovered, that of Captain Huyck some 10 miles east of where Pitz had come ashore. The crew apparently had died of exposure in the frigid water. An aftermath of the Cyprus disaster was the requirement of tarpaulined hatches on Lake Superior at certain times of the year.” (Wolff, Julius F., Jr. Lake Superior Shipwrecks: Complete Reference to Maritime Accidents and Disasters. Duluth, MN: 1990, 124-125.)

Newspapers

Oct 12: “Sault Ste Marie, Mich., Oct. 12 (Associated Press). A bulletin from the Deer Park station says that the Cypress foundered Friday evening at 7:45 o’clock, eighteen miles north of the station and that the two bodies washed ashore were those of the first mate and watchman.

“Sault Ste Marie, Mich., Oct 12 – The steel steamer Cypress, owned by the Lackawanna Transportation company, and on her second trip down the lakes with a cargo of iron ore, was wrecked last night in Lake Superior off Deer Park, about thirty miles from Grand Marais, and all of the crew of twenty-two, excepting the second mate, were lost.

Survivor May Die.

“He was washed ashore near Deer Creek lashed to a life raft and barely alive. He is in a critical condition and thus far has been able to tell only that the steamer was the Cypress and that he is the sole survivor….

“The Cypress was a new boat 440 feet long with a capacity of 7,400 tons. It is believed here that the machinery of the Cypress must have met with an accident as the northwest storm last night was not severe enough to wreck such a strong ship….

“The Cypress was bound for Buffalo. She left Superior, Wis., at nine o’clock Thursday morning.” (Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI. “Full Score Are Lost,” Oct 12, 1907, p. 1.)

Oct 12: “Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., Oct 12 – The steel steamer Cypress…foundered…in Lake Superior…and all of the crew of twenty-six, excepting the second mate, were lost.

“Further details seem to indicate that the foundering of the brand-new ship was due to a sudden leak through which the waters rushed in such volume as to overcome all efforts to keep her afloat….

“The steamer George Stephenson of the Pittsburg Steamship Company, while locking through here this morning, reported that she had passed the Cypress late yesterday. A red streak was distinguishable in the water behind her, indicating that her plates had been sprung, and that the iron with which the ship was loaded was discoloring the water. Capt. Harbottle of the steamer Stephenson says his vessel passed within 150 feet of the Cypress, so close that he was able to see that the hatches of the latter ship were not covered with the customary covering to keep out the water. A heavy sea was running, and the decks of the Cypress were continually awash with the big combers that broke over her rails. The water poured into the hold through the hatches so rapidly that the pumps were unable to keep the vessel afloat.

“Later last night, the lights of a vessel near Deer Park were visible to the crew of the Stephenson, and then suddenly disappeared.

“The records here show the Cypress to have been manned by a crew of twenty-five men under the command of Capt. F. R. Huyck. The second mate, C. G. Pitz, is the sole survivor….”

“Jamestown, N.Y., Oct. 12 – A message from Sheridan says that Capt. Huyck was the only member of the crew of the Cypress from that section. It is believed that most of the members of the crew were from Lorain, Ohio, where the steamer was launched only a short time ago. When Capt. Huyck left home on the present trip he was accompanied by his wife and two sons….” (New York Times. “Steamer Founders; 25 Are Drowned,” Oct 13, 1907, p. 11.)

Oct 13: “Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., Oct. 13 – The bodies of nineteen members of the crew of the steamer Cypress, which foundered in Lake Superior Friday night, off Deer Park, have been recovered and brought to this city. Second Mate C. J. Pitt, of Manitowoc, Wis., the sole survivor of the twenty-two people who were on the ship, arrived here this afternoon on a tug which brought the bodies from the Deer Park life-saving station. The bodies of two firemen whose names are not known are still missing.” (Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Eighteen Bodies of Cypress Disaster Found,” Oct 14, 1907, p. 2.)

Oct 15: “Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., Oct 15 – The tug Schenck brought here nineteen bodies of victims of the wreck of the steamship Cypress on Lake Superior Friday night. The bodies were picked up along the shore and each had a life preserver fastened to it. The only victims whose bodies have not been recovered are Capt. Huyck and one of the firemen. The Captain’s wife and family are in St. Paul.” (The Herald, Eldora, IA. “Find Nineteen Bodies of Drowned,” Oct 19, 1907, p. 2.)

Oct 16: “….John Smith, first mate on the steamer Cypress, which went to the bottom in Lake Superior last week, was well known in the Soo….Smith was one of the men who endeavored to escape on the life raft with the Captain, Second Mate Pitt, and Watchman George Thorn of this city….” (The Evening News, Sault Ste Marie, MI. “Was Well Known Here…J. Smith… Cypress…,” 10-16-1907, p. 1.)

Oct 16: “The bodies of four of the victims of the Cypress disaster were shipped from Ryan’s undertaking rooms today. That of William Chambers, oiler, of whose home or relatives…[unclear] could be learned at first, was sent to his home at Courtright, Ont. The bodies of Mr. and Mrs. William Dondon, respectively steward and second cook, were sent to Cleveland and that of Jean Marquette, deckhand, was sent to Detroit.

“The body of one of the unknown deckhands was identified just before noon today, R. E. Somerville arriving in the city this forenoon from his home at Ashland, Wis., and identifying the body as that of his brother, Lyle E. Somerville. Mr. Somerville had known that his brother had shipped on the Cypress as a deckhand from Canton. As soon, as he heard of the wreck he began making investigations and finally assured himself that his brother was on the boat at the time of the wreck and then hastened here. He will probably leave with the body today. There is still the body of another unidentified deckhand here who Mr. Somerville believes, shipped with his brother from Canton as he understood from his brother that two or three had shipped together. This agrees with Second Mate Pitt’s story, who stated that the unknown deckhands were shipped from Canton….” (The Evening News, Sault Ste Marie, MI. “Identified the Body. Ashland Man Finds Brother in the Morgue. Four More Bodies of Cypress Wreck Victims Shipped by Undertaker James R. Ryan.” 10-16-1907, p. 1.)

Oct 17: “Detroit, Oct. 17. — Further details of the meeting of the steamer George Stephenson and the steamer Cypress shortly before the latter went down are given in a letter to Capt. J. W. Westcott of this city from Capt. H. G. Harbottle of the Stephenson. The Captain says:

We were down bound with the barge Magna in tow, with the wind north-northwest and about forty miles an hour and quite a sea running. The Cypress passed us between 12:30 and 1 p. m. Friday. We were running with one boiler disabled and making about four miles an hour. The Cypress passed about 1,000 feet to southward of us, and running about five miles an hour faster than we were. He was taking some water on deck, and there was a red wake behind him. He was making good weather of it, and looked fit to weather any storm.

We could see him until 3 o’clock. As to our seeing his lights (as reported) at night: When we were within a half hour’s run of being abreast of Crisp Point light, at 10:30 p. m., I picked up some bright lights well down to the southward and eastward of us. It was raining at the time. We only saw them for a moment, and took them to be lights ashore. When I got to the Soo and learned of the loss of the Cypress. I thought possibly they might have been her lights. There was no time during the run that we could not have gone to any vessel in distress.

“According to the story of Second Mate Pitt of the Cypress, the steamer rolled and sank at 7:45 p.m., so the lights seen by Capt. Harbottle nearly three hour later could not have been those of the Cypress. (The Evening News, Sault Ste. Marie, MI. “Writes of the Wreck,” Oct 17, 1907, p. 6.)

Sources

Associated Press (John Flesher). “Century Old Shipwreck Found in Superior” [Steamer Cypress/Cyprus]. Washington Post. 9-10-2007. Accessed 11-21-2020 at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/10/AR2007091000675_pf.html

Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972.

Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI. “Full Score Are Lost,” 10-12-1907, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=9266098

Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters from Ancient Times to the Present. New York: Pocket Books, Wallaby, 1977, 792 pages.

New York Times. “Steamer Founders [Cypress]; 25 Are Drowned,” Oct 13, 1907, p. 11. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=56998141

North Adams Transcript, MA. “The Year 1907 in Brief. Chief Events of the Year,” Jan 1, 1908, p. 3. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=62356225

Ratigan, William. Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals (New Revised and Enlarged Edition). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1969.

Thompson, Mark L. Graveyard of the Lakes. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2004.

United States Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce and Labor. Fortieth Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States…For the Year Ended June 30, 1908. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1908. Digitized by Google. Accessed 11-21-2020 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=kF0uAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:LCCNsn88028129#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Eighteen Bodies of Cypress Disaster Found,” Oct 14, 1907, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=94773546

Swayze, David D. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. Boyne City, MI: Harbor House Publications, Inc., 1992.

The Evening News, Sault Ste Marie, MI. “Identified the Body. Ashland Man Finds Brother in the Morgue. Four More Bodies of Cypress Wreck Victims Shipped by Undertaker James R. Ryan.” 10-16-1907, p. 1. Accessed 11-21-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/sault-ste-marie-evening-news-oct-16-1907-p-1/

The Evening News, Sault Ste Marie, MI. “Was Well Known Here. John Smith of Cypress Crew…,” 10-16-1907, 1. Accessed 11-21-2020 at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=109240273

The Herald, Eldora, IA. “Find Nineteen Bodies of Drowned” [Steamer Cypress], 10-19-1907, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=141365759

United States Congress. House of Representatives. House Documents Vol. 25, 64th Cong., 1st Sess., 1916, “Supplemental Report on Reexamination of Harbor of Refuge at Grand Marais, Mich.” War Department, U.S. Engineer Office, Duluth, Minn., May 26, 1916, p. 49. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=BJk3AQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=clmson&f=false

United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat-Inspection Service to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1908. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1908. 387 pages. Digitized by Google. Accessed 11-21-2020 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=5FcpAAAAYAAJ

Wikipedia. “SS Cyprus.” Accessed 3-29-2011 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Cyprus