Posted by Brendon Baillod on February 02, 1999 at 03:00:27:
In Reply to: "New" Discovery posted by Skip Simons on February 01, 1999 at 12:45:39:
This is taken from a post on alt.great-lakes. It
gives some good info. on the mystery object:
Rather legnthy story about it in the Chicago Tribune of 1/25/99.
Dimesnions are that it is 31' long, 10' in diameter, pointed at the ends,
and has an 18" hatch to get inside. Made of 4" thick oak boards.
A steel pipe runs the length of the object.
A program manager for the Naval Historical Center in DC said he did not
know whether it had historical significance or not because he did not know
what it was.
Theories so far: target for pilots training at Navy Pier during WWII, a
"cask" buoy, a float for an anti-submarie net like the kind used off the
east & west coats during WWII(none have ever been reported on Lake MI),
and a "vessel" for traveling through the tunnels dug during the 19th
century to supply drinking water to Chicago. The tunnel that collapsed in
1997 was found to be exactly 10' in diameter--matchs the diameter of the
object.
Bill Murin
: I understand there has been a wooden "vessel" of some discription found near the mouth of the Chicago river.
: It is supposed to be near the lock entrance. I do not know if that is on the lake or river side. Does anyone have updated info on the discovery? There was
: some details given on a radio show that indicated a hatch was recently discovered. Who is diving or working on the
: salvage and any other details or live web site information would be appreciated.
: This is a great web site to whoever is doing the work - Great job!
: Skip!