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Fate Couldn’t Keep Her Down On Aug. 16, 1905, the U.S. Government steamer HANCOCK, while surveying in Lake St. Clair about four miles above the Grosse Pointe Light, was run down by the upbound package freighter BINGHAMPTON of the Union Steamboat Line. The HANCOCK, a wooden steamer of 127 tons (97'10" x 17'6" x 7'6") sank just out of the main channel in 20 feet of aie Since no lives were in danger, the BINGHAMPTON, almost undamaged, pro- ceeded upbound enroute to Chicago. On Aug. 25 while salvors working on the HANCOCK looked on, BINGHAMPTON came back down from Chicago. Not content to check down while passing the wreck, she passed the wooden FRANCIS HINTON and just as she was clear her wheel chains parted and the two boats collided. Both were beached on Peche Isle. So BINGHAMPTON got in trouble at the same place twice on the same trip. On Aug. 27, the HANCOCK was brought into Detroit chained between two boats. She was tied up at Owen Park but on Aug. 30 when they were about to move her to the Oades Shipyard, she broke her sling and sank once again. On Sept. 4 she was again raised and finally was hauled out on the Oades marine railway. Recently fellow member Byron Oades came across a photo of the battered vessel on the marine railway. In spite of extensive damage, she was completely rebuilt and continued to serve the Government until sold out of service in 1922. She was documented as JAMES E. SANFORD (US 222290). The above photo from the McDonald Collection at the Dossin Museum shows her at Charlevoix in her later years. She was cut down to a barge in 1939 and removed from documentation in 1947.