SS METROPOLE: A GREAT LAKES "TREASURE", Part 2
by David and Mickey Trotter, Jeff Moore

Join us for the conclusion as divers share their discoveries after diving into the stillness of the Metropole site.

The Discovery—June, 1999

The 32' research vessel (RV) Obsession Too continues to prowl Lake Huron, having already made discoveries earlier in the year. A blurred image appears on the sidescan paper, 500' from the RV Obsession Too. We "close in" on the new target, calibrate the sidescan to provide better image resolution, and we are amazed as the image begins to unfold on the paper. Can it really be an intact shipwreck? Will she give up her identity; and what secrets will she share with us as we explore?

The first divers to descend into the stillness of the Metropole site note that it was like stepping back in time while on the silent decks of the sunken steamer. Ninety-six years after her sinking, the Metropole sits upright on the bottom of Lake Huron, as if ready to continue her journey. The secret to her remarkable condition is contained in her cargo holds as the steamer is still full of barrel staves. It is apparent her plunge to the bottom was gentle, likely buoyed by the thousands of wooden staves trapped, and unable to escape the sinking ship.

Except for a broken smokestack and an upper stern cabin that washed off the ship, and lays scattered on bottom, the Metropole is in near perfect condition. It is a testament to the ease with which she settled on an even keel to rest on the floor of Lake Huron. One of the most prominent features to unfold before the divers is the intact pilothouse at the front of the ship. Fragile, wooden pilothouses do not survive sinkings…except for the Metropole. Normally the rapid rush of air rushing out and seas washing over the deck of a sinking wooden steamer will cause the fragile "uppers" to crumble and scatter.

The Bow

The roof of the pilothouse has wings extending out on both sides. This acted as a walkway so the captain could move across the roof and look down the entire side of the ship. These "bridge wings" allowed the Captain to see exactly what was happening with the ship so he could give the wheelsman precise orders for maneuvering into or out of the docks. Many contemporary ships are built with "bridge wings"; but it is uncommon to find a vessel of this vintage with this unique feature, especially a ship sitting upright on the floor of Lake Huron for nearly a 100 years.

Swimming into the pilothouse, the divers grasp the wheel and peer out the bridge windows over the expanse of the bow. They almost feel the pulse of the steam engine churning the ship forward. But in reality, the five-foot diameter wooden wheel stands ready to turn the ship on its present course to nowhere. The wheel is connected to the rudder by a series of chains and levers. This allowed a single helmsman enough leverage to hold the six-foot by four-foot rudder against the force of the water, in order to turn the ship. Just in front of the wheel, the divers discover the compass, mounted and intact, and still pointing to magnetic north. The glass face of the compass has cracked due to the extreme pressure at depth, but the compass card is still readable after spending many years unnoticed.

Another unique feature of the Metropole was discovered inside the front cabins below the pilothouse and on the front portion of the hull surrounding the windless. During the exploration, the divers uncovered writing (nearly 100 years old) on the walls. Initials of long forgotten crewmen adorn both sides of the hull's interior. There were a number of sets of initials, presumably painted by the ship's crew, along with other painted images. Next to one set of initials there is the date written, "2/6/99". At first, the reaction was: "Who was here four months before us?"; then we realized the date was 2\6\1899.

The divers all felt an uncanny personal connection with the sailors who had sailed on the Metropole. To see this type of transcendent communication written on the walls of the cabins and hull caused the divers to "relive" the days, 100 years ago, when the ship was alive with iron men in wooden ships. Each set of initials represent a name, a face and a life now gone. The initials are the most significant reminder about lives lived and stories untold, now buried in forgotten cemeteries along the shores of the Great Lakes.

The Stern

The upper level stern cabins are in disarray with sides and roof lying on the floor of Lake Huron. Despite the loss of the galley cabin, the cook stove remains on the upper deck along with many dishes, crocks and a dinner bell, all partially buried in the silt. The smokestack, whistle and some dishes lay on the floor of Lake Huron, a few feet from the stern, on the portside.

On the cargo deck, divers swim into an enclosed stern passageway that completely encircles the engine and lower stern cabins, and come out the other side of the ship, again on the cargo deck. While inside the stern passageway, the divers locate a number of hand carts for moving cargo and a workbench for repairing items that break when the ship was in service. Seeing and touching these "tools" of a different era connect the divers to the men who labored and lived aboard the Metropole, particularly those men that made the "great escape" as the vessel was sinking.

While inside the stern passageway, a door is opened and cans of paint are found neatly stacked on the shelves. Large shovels, with their unique handles for the coal stokers, are hanging on the wall. Graphic reminders, of the near fatal fire loss (1898) of the steamer, line the passageway wall. The four sets of large white fire hoses, wrapped in place on their spindles, are ready to douse the fire that will never be.

The Steamer Metropole rests in quiet repose over 100 years later; a most unique, one-of-a-kind ship, that in "death" has greater fascination for us today than during her 20 years of service on the Great Lakes.

Epilogue: Great Lakes Treasure!!!

As Garry Kozak can attest to, and as the shipwreck hunters know, the real "treasure" in the Great Lakes is not the monetary wealth on the sunken ships. It is the history of Canada and the U.S., the solving of "histories mysteries" and the adventure and opportunity to go where no one has ventured before.

There is always HOPE of treasure ($$$) that drives the imagination. The Steamer Water Witch was lost in Lake Huron with all hands in 1863, a year after she was built. Reliable reports indicate she was carrying $20,000 in specie (coins) in the safe at the time of her disappearance. There is no telling what the vintage coins are worth today, but it is substantially more than the $20,000 value of 140 years ago. Hurdles? Some minor ones: There is the small, trivial matter of finding the ship, and then perhaps, the greater challenge of finding the safe! Lake Huron has over 25,000 square miles of surface area. HOPE ($$$) does "spring eternal" that we can disprove the theory there is no Great Lakes treasure, and if you find us on a bigger and better research vessel in the future…

Please visit the URA website (www.shipwreck1.com) for information on programs in the "Great Lakes Adventure and Discovery Series". A video documentary of the search, discovery and documentation of the wreck is available in DVD or VHS for the cost of $20, which includes shipping. Mail a check made payable to The Lakeshore Guardian, 9697 Purdy Rd., Harbor Beach, MI 48441. Be sure to include your shipping information.