The Alex McDougall whaleback ship encased in ice with the crew frozen inside.

A whaleback ship is an early ore freighter that sailed throughout the Great Lakes. The one pictured, the Alexander McDougall, is shown docked at Sault Ste. Marie, MI after a terrifying ordeal. It was the largest whaleback built in 1898 and was 418 feet long.  The ship was lost for three days sailing through a brutal Lake Superior storm.

When docked at the Soo, she was coated with 20 inches of ice and axes were used to free the captain and the wheelsman from the pilot house. They had remained at their stations unwavering during the storm. The dining room and stateroom were at the rear of the ship and the ice coating and the heavy rolling seas made it impossible to reach. Over time they became prisoners of the ice. During the three days the captain and the wheelman had no sleep or food. It was a miracle they made it with all credit going to the captain and his wheelman for saving the ship, cargo, and crew.

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