On This Date in Minnesota History: June 3

June 3, 1902 – Vessel interests in Duluth, Minn., say they will petition for a fog signal station and other protection at Knife Island, 20 miles [up] the North Shore from Duluth. Every year, vessels go aground there, suffering great loss. So far this year, there have been four vessels stranded at that place.

The last of these was the $300,000 steel ship Mataafa, which got off today, only to find that 35-steel plates on her hull were smashed by contact with the rocks. The Mataafa had also been grounded on Knife Island due to fog on June 2, 1901.

The SS Mataafa¹

The great danger lies from the magnetic attraction that draws the needle. In foggy weather, this is quite likely to land a ship on the point east of Knife Island, which is a mass of bare rocks.

Knife Island, Lake Superior near Silver Bay, Minn.²

The Minneapolis Journal; “Fog Signal at Knife Island”; June 04, 1902; Page 3.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Mataafa

¹http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/WI/data/images/GreatLakes/Superior/Batch03/large/mf4g011l.jpg

²http://www.mnbeaches.org/beaches/lksuperior/images/map_B035.jpg

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