Treasures of the lakes come in all sizes, shapes, and values. It can be $100,000 in gold, a rusty bolt, or perhaps a hand-wrought nail. While the latter doesn't sound very valuable to the layman, I can assure you it can be a precious link with the past for the treasure hunting skin diver.
One such treasure was a 1919 Overland automobile recovered from the weed choked depths of Duck Lake near Albion, Michigan. Legend had it that the owner, returning home late at night after considerable "imbibing," struck and killed a pedestrian. Feeling very depressed about it, he drove out on the frozen lake, chopped a hole in the ice, and thus rid his conscience of this "Killer Car," which was to become the first treasure that the Battle Creek Skindivers Club and myself recovered from the Lakes.
The location of the car was no secret as State Police divers had found the car secret years previously, and the word had been passed on to the club. We decided to salvage the wreck. We started working from a houseboat, and the car was soon relocated and salvage operations began. It was trussed up with chains to a hoist fastened to the underside of the houseboat.
Slowly, the houseboat was inched to shallow water, and the next day, 41 years after it went down, the mud encrusted derelict was pulled out into the bright light of day.
The whole car was still in surprisingly good condition and we were able to drain oil from the crankcase. The rear transmission seemed in good shape, as the wheels could be turned by hand, and the axles seemed in fair condition also.
The car's recovery did not end the salvage operations of the club. The following year, a Model T was raised from Fish Lake in Barry County. This one has been completely restored by diver Gordon Smith, and can now be seen putt-putting around town on balmy summer days.
As you can see, there are many hidden treasures just waiting to be discovered, and information on "here to look" can be compiled from old records, books, newspapers, and by work of mouth from old timers, who can give first hand accounts of many disasters and news events.
The fortunes swallowed by the lakes are tremendous in value. Countless billions of dollars in gold, silver and jewels alone lie in unclaimed on the bottom.
But this is only the glamorous part of sunken treasure. Since the beginning of time the lakes have taken a toll of sailing ships, and cargo resting on the bottom consists of everything made by man. Value to be recovered may be archaeological or historical in nature, or simply material and equipment that can be converted into cash.
Comparatively little sunken treasure has ever been recovered. Expensive expeditions with hard hat diving gear usually prove unprofitable because the wealth found seldom equaled costs, also, hard hats cannot work in stormy, shallow water. This is not the case with modern sport diving equipment. Teams of two or three men can locate and search a sunken wreck, with little expense. Such a search may be part of a vacation trip. In either case, the diver has a long chance of hitting the jackpot, and he can't lose.
Even if nothing of value is located, he can have a lot fun, and authentic souvenirs, from a historical wreck have great value, when used to back up tales of underwater adventure.
The waters of northern Lake Michigan hid all manners of wrecks, but around the Manitou Islands there is an unusual amount of wrecks. It is almost impossible to miss finding a new wreck on every dive, if a little panning is done beforehand. The hulk of the Greek freighter Francisco Morazan is stranded on a reel off south Manitou.
She has been there since 1960. I spent the greater part of a day exploring this fascinating wreck. Everything of value had long ago been striped from her, including her giant bronze prop, which incidentally was worth a small fortune. Its only inhabitants are hundreds of spiders which have attached their webs to literally every exposed part of the ship. In her present position high and dry she qualifies for the most easily located wreck of the islands.
Anyone interested enough to engage in a little research will find the remains of the schooner W. L. Frost, lying about 50 yards off the stern of the Morazan. This wreck of the 1800's is a very interesting one in that it is almost completely intact Unlike the corrosive salt water of the oceans, fresh water has a preserving effect on wood.
A diver might like to stand in the remains of the frighter Rising Sun. It's still there right where it sank on Pyramid Point with a load of vegetables. The loss of the Rising Sun was quite a setback to the Mormons who then lived on Beaver Island, this was their entire year's crop.
On the night of November 11, 1940, two vessels steaming through thick fog off the coast of Pentwater, Mich., collided and sank. The "William B. Davack" managed to steam in for a few miles before it sank, but the "Anna Minch" sank almost immediately. So far as I have been able to find out the "Davack" has never been found. The "Minch" lies in 60 feet of water broken in two pieces. Her hull is full of hard lumber reportedly worth $250,000. This wreck has been visited by very few divers, and to my knowledge none of her "Treasure" has been recovered. Our club hopes to make a try at this, this coming summer.
About 5 miles south of this wreck lies another one which I have dove on any times. This wreck is very close to shore and would make a good starting point for the new, inexperienced diver. The "Novadoc" went down on the same night as the previous two wrecks mentioned. In the past few years since the level of the lakes has been down, part o the wreck can be seen protruding above the water.
These and many, many other treasure ships are yours for the taking. A little research, and checking with local residents will prove to be very rewarding. Shifting sands may have covered them, or changed their locations, but they are there, waiting to be discovered by the curious skin diver.
SOURCE
Treasure Magazine, Vol.1, No. 5, February 1971, By Skip Sanders