The Asia Mystery

Excerpt from Ghosts of the Bay

-from the film Ghosts of the Bay Investigation into the tragedy exposed that the Asia had been overloaded.

It was a few days after the hurricane of September 14, 1882, and Georgian Bay had regained her calm demeanor. The water was tranquil, practically inviting, and the skies were a vibrant blue. On his way north up the Bay’s eastern shore, Captain A.M. McGregor spotted something unusual on the Limestone Islands shoreline. His discoveries were most distressing: a large steamer trunk, a door, and a pillow slip with the name of the steamer, the Asia embroidered on it. Something was terribly wrong.

The Asia, a 136-foot (40.8-m) passenger and freight steamer, had been an old canaller - short, and top heavy. Built in 1873 in St. Catharines, Ontario, this nine-year-old workhorse was part of the Beatty line, and at the time chartered to the Great Northern Transit Company. At first she was mostly used to transport cargo to the CPR construction crew on Lake Superior, but was quickly "promoted" into passenger service. Competition was strong among the transit lines which exerted heavy pressure on their captains to deliver as much cargo as fast as possible.

On the afternoon of September 14th, Christy Anne Morrsion maneuvered up the crowded gangway of the Asia. She was relieved to have made it on board as she had already missed the Northern Belle and would now be late in meeting her aunt. On her way to her berth she ran into her cousin the first mate. She put her bags in her room and watched the stream of passengers, many dressed in their finest, make their way through ship chatting and laughing. Many of the twenty-five member crew were struggling against the blustery wind to load cargo and cattle. At midnight the gangways were closed and the Asia left Owen Sound, loaded to the rafters and beyond with logging equipment, provisions, horses and other livestock, passengers and crew. Late passengers scrambled for space and many ended up sleeping in the hallways, in cargo holds, and even on deck with the overflow cargo. During an hour-long stop at Presqu’ile, deckhands leaned into the wind as they passed cordwood hand to hand into the steamer. No one seemed concerned about the storm warning that had been issued.

En route Christy Ann became frightened as the vessel began to roll. She dressed and made her way through the ship, one hand against the wall to steady herself. It was then that she witnessed the crew tossing cargo and pushing terrified animals overboard into the huge white-crested waves that leapt up at the ship rails. She ran back and locked herself in her room, the sound of the shrieking horses still ringing in her ears. Little did she know the horror was just beginning.

After a night of fitful sleep, another passenger, Dunkan Tinkiss and his uncle rose for breakfast. There was a heavy quiet in the room. The ship had been sailing on the lee of the Bruce Peninsula but the Captain knew that when he hit the open, he would meet wind that had the full rage of Lake Huron behind it. But he had a schedule to keep, and was determined to hold course. By nine a.m. the ship was in danger. The Asia rolled and listed in the huge troughs. The intense wind split the crests off waves and spewed them over the creaking and moaning vessel. The pounding and heaving and churning continued for hours; people were seasick and exhausted, crying and shrieking with each wave that swept over the steamer.

By eleven a.m., the Asia was in a hurricane, and there was little Captain Savage could do. Below deck, chairs, tables, dishes, boxes of cargo, and anything else not nailed down crashed from side to side. In a final attempt to save the ship, Captain Savage veered westward to Lonely Island. This maneuver did her in. The Asia vanished between two monster waves and slowly rolled over.

Dunkan’s uncle grabbed his nephew, shouting, "Jump up Dunk the boat is doomed." The two pushed their way through the hysterical crowd. The ship had righted itself then was struck by another massive blow. As she rolled over Dunkan and his uncle with others scrambled up her side onto the hurricane deck. Her stern nosed into the water. The Bay swallowed her up. Passengers jumped into the cold turbulent waters, grabbing desperately at the scattered cargo. Dunkan called for his uncle to jump then dove in and swam toward the lifeboat. He was lifted by a giant wave and when he was slammed back down the life boat was overturned and sinking. Dunkan searched frantically for his uncle but he was gone. Drowning people were desperately grabbing at him, and pulling him under the churning waves.

Christy Anne climbed over the rail and was flung into the water by the force of the hurricane. A lifeboat with her cousin and other men came towards her. As she was pulled in, another hand reached up from the water. It was Dunkan, pleading with them to take him aboard. Secure in the lifeboat, Dunkan looked back at the Asia, a sight he later described as: "a struggling mass of humanity . . . clinging to pieces of timber and other wreckage to prolong their lives even for a few seconds." Another wave hit, effortlessly flipping over the lifeboat and its 18 passengers. Christy Anne surfaced but noticed many did not. The survivors clung onto the boat gunwales, bracing as each wave flung over them. Those suffering from injury or exposure were washed away, others just gave up and disappeared into the black.

Eventually the waves subsided, and they were able to right the lifeboat. Besides the two teenagers - Christy Ann and Dunkan - were two loggers, Mr. Little, the purser, the second mate, the Captain and Christy Ann and her cousin. The lifeboat dragged aimlessly, its silent passengers shivering and trembling. Day turned into night. Christy Anne stared out at the waves that seethed relentlessly around the lifeboat like sinister black oil. Suddenly the Captain caught sight of a blinking light from a distant lighthouse. They began to sing, their voices weak and hoarse but full of hope. They all stared at the rhythmic pulse of light for what seemed hours. When the wind shifted and the boat began to drift in the opposite direction, no one uttered a word. The despair was too great.

-courtesy of County of Grey - Owen Sound Museum Captain Savage died from exposure in the drifting lifeboat.

The two lumberman were the first to die. Christy Anne, feeling the others drifting away, began to sing again. Mr. Little stared at her, murmured the words to "Sweet by and by," and then quietly died. Christy Anne held her cousin’s head in her arms, his lips were blue and his skin translucent from the cold. He too drifted away. When the sun rose the waters were still churning. Dunkan didn’t move his gaze from the Captain’s face. He had been lucid just a few hours ago, but now he seemed to be drifting in and out of fitful sleep. The Captain stopped moving. Dunkan began shaking him frantically, "yes, yes I’ll be up in a minute," muttered the delirious Captain. A wave hit the side of the boat and Dunkan was thrown against the bodies. When he sat up the Captain was dead. Now it was just Christy Ann, Dunkan and their grisly cargo. All that day they drifted towards the mainland, and landed near what is thought to be Byng Inlet. The two teenagers dragged the boat ashore, removed the bodies, and set back out aiming to reach a lighthouse they had spotted a few miles away. With only a branch for a paddle, the two did not get far. Drained of all energy, they went ashore and fell asleep on the beach. The next morning they tried again to reach the lighthouse, only to find it was an abandoned derrick.

About to give up hope, they spotted two people - an Ojibwa couple coming towards them. Three days had passed from the time the Asia had gone down before the two seventeen year olds made there way into Parry Sound in the couple’s tiny sailboat. There they learned the terrible news - of the over 120 passengers, they were the only survivors.

Location of Lonely Island and the Asia’s fated route...

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