Posted by seeker on June 21, 19102 at 21:04:42:
In Reply to: Re: the lake erie wreck of "Swallow" posted by Brendon Baillod on June 10, 19102 at 13:12:32:
....> Indeed, if you do a record search, you will find that no steamer named Swallow even existed on the Lakes in this era. ...>
from October 25,1901 Amherstburg Echo.... "The steamer Swallow, laden with lumber, foundered in Lake Erie off Long Point in the gale which swept Lake Erie Friday night. The crew of the steamer launched their lifeboat and escaped to the barge Manitou, which the Swallow had in tow. The Manitou drifted about the lake for 39 hours, having lost her sail, and was picked up at 9 o'clock Sunday morning by the steamer Walter Scranton. The steamer loaded lumber at Emerson on Lake Superior and cleared for Buffalo Oct. 13th. The Manitou was taken in tow at Sault Ste. Marie. The boats had favorable weather until Friday night on Lake Erie, when the gale groved too much for the Swallow's old timbers and she foundered 10 miles off Long Point. The crew comprised 11 men."
clearly the poem was about the Griffith not the Swallow.