Terrifying Steamboat Stories: True Tales of Shipwreck, Death, and Disaster on the Great Lakes

by James L. Donahue

In Terrifying Steamboat Stories, Great Lakes historian James L. Donahue gives readers a glimpse of the romantic age of steamships from the day the Walk-In-The-Water puffed her way across Lake Erie in 1818 until diesel engines took over almost 150 years later. This was a time when the skyline over the lakes was black from the coal smoke of passing freighters, passenger liners, steam barges and tugboats. The early steamers were especially dangerous. Boilers blew up. Overheated engines mounted in wooden ships started fires. Steam pipes worked loose during the stress of heavy seas and hot seam scalded workers alive. Before there was radio and sonar, ships collided with each other and with submerged rocks and shoals. Terrifying Steamboat Stories is a collection of fascinating stories about things that happened to Great Lakes steamboats and the men and women who walked their decks. The stories in Terrifying Steamboat Stories range from horrifying tales of shipwrecks to humorous yarns such as the story of the cook who waved the steamer Hastings when it got turned around and went the wrong way on Lake Ontario and that of the Argo that made a rocky trip up the Detroit River. They bring alive in terrible detail the disastrous voyage of the Walk-In-The -Water, the fire aboard the Phoenix, the curse of the Lady Elgin, the foundering of the Western Reserve, the mystery of the loss of the Clemson, the unexplained loss of the Pere Marquette No. 18, the capsizing of the Eastland, the wreck of the Carl D. Bradley, the tragic loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and many, many more.

209 pages, Paperback

First published May 22, 1997

Reviews

[Ronald Spitzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has short episodes detailing in general terms how powered ships burned, sank, collided, encountered terrible weather conditions, were overloaded, unbalanced...... The one problem with the accounts is the human emotional side is left out. The writing style is more like a police report of facts without the feelings. The pattern of accidents shows overloading, weather conditions including storms, fog, etc. are major reasons for the disasters. The 20th century has fewer disasters than the previous century. Radio is a help in saving lives, plus better weather forecasting, I expect. Over all, I recommend you read this one over a longer time, by reading one to three episodes a day only.

[Oren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little repetitive but very solid, evocative American history. Book is a very fast read bc it’s short. I gave 3 stars but realistically it’s more low a 3.5 or so. If it was longer, maybe more fleshed out with history and technical info on steamboats, I’d give it a higher rating. Again, for me, this little book’s strength is that it really makes you feel like it is 1850 and you’re on some lake’s edge about to board one of these amazing machines. Like time traveling.