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11. Ship of the Month - cont'd. namely BRITON, E. C. POPE, NORTH WIND and MARUBA were returned to the lakes for operation, reportedly, by the Hutchinson interests. The four were brought up to Montreal, where they were cut in two by the Vickers shipyard. Then the sections were towed back up through the St. Lawrence and Welland canals, and at Ashtabula they were rejoined by the Great Lakes Engineering Works. According to the 1924 edition of Lloyd's Register, all four were owned by the Briton Steamship Company and operated under the management of J. T. Hutchinson, of Cleveland. But wait just a minute, now... Actually, BRITON and NORTH WIND were transferred from the Inter Coast Steam ship Company, Boston, to the Hutchinson-managed Buckeye Steamship Company, of Cleveland, while the E. C. POPE was acquired by the Thompson Transit Company, also of Cleveland, for use as an automobile carrier. The 1925 report of vessel sales compiled by the Lake Carriers' Association, indicates that MARUBA was acquired from the Inter Coast Steamship Company on September 20th, 1925, by Captain M. S. Thompson of the Thompson Transit Company and Westland Steamship Company, both of which showed as their address 1513 Su perior Avenue, Cleveland, which was the same address at which Capt. Thompson operated an automobile dealership. But what's this - no Hutchinson operation of MARUBA? And why the two-year delay in the sale from Inter Coast? In spite of the information contained in the Lake Carriers' Association ves sel sales report, all indications are that MARUBA remained inactive at Cle veland, and the United States "Merchant Vessels" register continued to show the Inter Coast Steamship Company as MARUBA's registered owner. The 1927 edition of the "U. S. M. V . " listings continued to show that neither Thompson Transit nor the Westland Steamship Company had applied for the redocumenta tion of MARUBA, as the old ownership listing remained. Still inactive at Cleveland during 1928, 1929 and 1930, the MARUBA was reported as being "abandoned" at Cleveland in 1930. This was a rather unusual situation indeed, because steel-hulled steamers usually were not abandoned in this manner, the way old wooden-hulled boats simply were cast aside once they reached the end of their usefulness. They might be aban doned if wrecked and not salvageable, but if they just were no longer rea sonably operable, steel vessels usually were sold for scrapping. Not only was her "abandonment" most unusual, but what happened to MARUBA after this was even more peculiar. In 1932, she was reported to be partial ly dismantled (we are not certain to what degree), and the remains of the hull of the steamer were buried in landfill at the foot of 54th Street on the Cleveland waterfront. Interestingly, the 1932 Record of the American Bureau of Shipping finally recorded the Westland Steamship Company as owner of MARUBA - only a few years too late! The photograph of MARUBA on the back side of this issue's photopage is in deed extraordinary and deserves special comment. From the collection of the Rev. Alfred A. Hart, a T. M. H . S. member who resides in Avon Lake, Ohio, it is reproduced here with his permission. It is presumed to show the obviouslyderelict MARUBA lying in the general area where she became part of the landfill project, and off to her stern can be seen a tug and dredge, while in the far left background are what appear to be spoil pipes carrying dredged material to the shore. It is to be noted that there is no evidence of the "partial dismantling" which reportedly was done to MARUBA before her hull was buried in the fill. Even more interesting, however, is the fact that this is the only view we ever have seen of MARUBA after she returned to the Great Lakes in 1923. It clearly shows that she looked markedly different from the way she appeared when running on salt water. Her entire centre island had been cut away, and her pilothouse and texas had been relocated on the forecastle head, with the ends of her flying bridgewings chopped off. She had only very light steel pipe masts, and a fairly tall smokestack, the tip of which can be seen over the open section of the portside forecastle rail. It would appear to us that