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The Saga of the JOHN B. LYON - Part II By Jack Mesmer In 1890, the LYON operated without incident. She did require however, a visit to the drydock at Buffalo for repairs to her wheel. In late April, 1891, the steambarge grounded on the St. Clair Flats. No sooner had she been released than she grounded at Grosse Pointe. The culprit was low water, but it was just the beginning of a string of problems the LYON was about to face that season. On May 28, the LYON was involved in a collision in the St. Clair Flats Canal. The steamer, downbound loaded with iron ore was struck by the tow barges MARY EVERETT and NEW DOMINION, tows of the steamer UNITED LUMBERMAN. Both of the barges and the LYON sustained considerable damage in the collision. As a matter of fact, the LYON had to be assisted by the tug WINSLOW to Detroit, as her steering gear was damaged. It is interesting to note that the cargo of the JOHN B. LYON was iron ore. This was the first time that the steamer had ever carried anything other than grain on a downbound journey. Almost as if anticipating the mishap, the Buffalo paper, three days before the accident, noted that the vessel had gone from Milwaukee to Escanaba to pick up an ore cargo. To this the paper printed the following: "One would think that this life-long grain carrier would turn over in despair at such a load." At any rate, the collision was attributed to a misunderstanding of signals between the two steamers. Although it is uncertain at this point who was actually at fault in the collision, Captain Perew saw fit to libel the UNITED LUMBERMAN at Buffalo on June 30. After examination of the damage at Detroit, the LYON was allowed to proceed on to Buffalo with the assistance of the tug MOORE, and with an insurance agent, Captain George McLeod, aboard. At Buffalo, she was unloaded and placed in drydock. A survey showed damage to her shoe and rudder, with repair cost estimated between $300 and $500. These repairs were affected and the vessel returned to work. Her operation did not last long for she fell victim to another mishap. On July 16, while entering the St. Clair River downbound, she ran aground near the lighthouse in a fog. She was released by the tug M.F. MERICK without serious damage and continued on her way. The trouble which had been stalking the LYON in 1891 was not quite through with the steamer. On November 8, the vessel grounded on the Middle Grounds in Pelee Passage. The LYON had been headed up loaded with coal when she struck bottom. The wrecker SAGINAW was sent to assist the vessel and she was released on the 10th. It was thought she had suffered no damage, and therefore she continued on her upbound trip. However, with a cargo of wheat for Erie, the vessel was reported to have a loose wheel and leaking badly along her shaft packing. The cargo was unloaded at Erie, and 500 bushels of grain were found to be wet. Due to the lateness of the season she went on to Buffalo where she could be placed in drydock and repaired. There she was !aidup for the winter. In 1892 misfortune picked up where it had left off in May 10, the propeller, downbound with a load of 90,000 bushels of oats and 21,000 bushels of corn, ran ashore at Forest Bay near Sand Beach, Lake Huron at 8:00 P.M. The tug CHAMPION was sent for and succeeded in releasing the LYON from the shore, but in so doing, backed the vessel onto a reef. The tug HOWARD also arrived to assist in the effort and they were able to pull the propeller free only to have her ground on still another reef. By the 11th, these two tugs had succeeded in pulling the LYON free only to see the vessel quicky fill and sink in 9 feet of water. The three groundings had badly chewed up the steamer's bottom. Although the main deck of the vessel was above water, her cargo of grain was nearly all wet. The tug FAVORITE and the schooner WAUKESHA, to act as a lighter, arrived on the 12th, to begin the removal of the wet grain. Much of the grain was thrown overboard and some 35,000 bushels of oats was lightered onto the WAUKESHA. A steam pump was put aboard the steamer, but as quickly as the steam pump removed the water, it rushed back in. Addition! pumps were sent for and on May 15 the LYON was raised and towed into Port Huron. Several planks in her bottom were found to be broken, but only temporary repairs were made. On May 20, the steamer cleared Port Huron under her own power for Buffalo for permanent repairs. She was in ballast on the trip down and arrived in Buffalo on May 22 where the vessel was placed in the drydock at ~