So Terrible a Storm: A Tale of Fury on Lake Superior | 
 enlarge | Author: Curt Brown
Publisher: Voyageur Press
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
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Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 141037
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4
ISBN: 0760332436
Dewey Decimal Number: 917.7490441
EAN: 9780760332436
ASIN: 0760332436
Publication Date: November 5, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
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Product Description
DIVp class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"It was Thanksgiving 1905 and thirty-one ships were on Lake Superior, making the seasonrsquo;s last, daring run--a run old salts had warned against, but to no avail against the shipping companiesrsquo; demands. What none of the sailors knew until it was far too late was that they would soon face the worst storm ever to hit the Great Lake, a storm that nearly half of their number would not survive./p p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" /p This is the story of that fateful storm, and of one of the worst shipping disasters in the nationrsquo;s history. As the storm strikes without warning, readers are taken aboard the SS Mataafa/I as it crashes into Duluthrsquo;s piers, half of the crew freezing to death overnight as the other half survives by dancing through the dark around bathtubs set ablaze with scuttled pieces of the ship--all while 10,000 Duluthians set bonfires on shore to guide ships to safety. Next we find ourselves aboard the SS Ira H. Owen/I, crashing into the cliff where Split Rock Lighthouse would later be built, too late for these men. And here too are the many ships, from Canadian shores to Michigan, where all hands were lost. It is a story drawn from the accounts of witnesses and survivors. It is a tale of people pitted against the elements, of a disaster so extreme that, in its wake, weather forecasting, shipbuilding, and compass-reading in light of the Iron Rangersquo;s magnetism were forever changed. /DIV
Book Description
DIVp class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"It was Thanksgiving 1905 and thirty-one ships were on Lake Superior, making the seasonrsquo;s last run. What none of the sailors knew till it was far too late was that they would soon face the worst storm ever to hit the Great Lake, a storm that nearly half of their number would not survive. This is the story of that fateful storm, and of one of the worst shipping disasters in the nationrsquo;s history. It is a tale of people pitted against the elements, of a disaster so extreme that, in its wake, weather forecasting, shipbuilding, and compass-reading in light of the Iron Rangersquo;s magnetism were forever changed. /p/DIV
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| Customer Reviews:
A fascinating saga of the big lake December 23, 2008
D. S. Bornus (St. Paul, MN)
This book tells the story of the "Maatafa Blow", a severe winter storm on Lake Superior in November 1905 in which many ships were damaged or lost. Loaded with photographs and first-person accounts, the book primes us with some introductory chapters on the culture and history of Duluth, Minnesota. Then it goes on to tell gripping accounts of trial and survival in the grip of the storm. One of the most interesting is the story of the Maatafa as it retreats from the fury of the storm and turns around attempting to re-enter the narrow passage of the Duluth harbor, only to be pushed up sideways against the piers by the fury of the storm and held helpless there for long hours while the townspeople and crew try in vain to effect a rescue. There are many photos of this event that I had not seen before. br / br /Another account from this storm is the wreck of the Maderia along Minnesota's north shore, an event that precipitated the construction of Minnesota's famous Split Rock lighthouse a few years later. br / br /The book tells stories of individuals involved in the events and what became of them, including an interprid newspaperwoman who covered the events and provided many of the first-person material through her interviews. br / br /This is a great read for anyone interested in the lore of the lakes, particularly Lake Superior, and it tells stories and has photographs that few have seen.
You felt like you were there November 6, 2008
Chris (Hermantown, Mn. USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a remarkable, well researched book, written in such a way that one can almost feel the horror of that awful storm of 1905. I can only imagine what those poor men experienced with the high waves, strong wind, blowing snow, and being wet and almost frozen out on that lake. It takes a special breed of men to be able to do this work. I did notice a couple editing errors of dates, however. One on page 243 which said Edward Honnor's son was born on 3/2/1947 instead of 1847. And another date on page 252 that states that the Corey was put into service in June of 2005 instead of, I presume, 1905. Small matters of little consequence in this terric book.
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