The 557-ton steamship Mount Vernon left Detroit, Michigan for Buffalo, New York on the previous Sunday afternoon, fully loaded with corn, flour, and wheat. She encountered bad weather and was struggling to deal with the conditions off Point Pelee when her boiler exploded, killing two crewmen instantly. The vessel soon sank but the twenty survivors clung to wreckage long enough for all to be rescued by a passing schooner. (By John Osborne)