Learn all about pirates at Lake Erie Rally
By Charlie and Esther Graves, Port Captains and Lake Erie Rally Co-Chairs
Already missing the boating season? Brush up on your pirate trivia now in preparation for the Lake Erie Rally June 12-14. Registration and full schedule to follow in future Lifelines. In the interim, if you have any questions, contact Esther at: ejgraves585@roadrunner.com
Ahoy, mateys! While most people picture pirates as rugged sea rogues battling in the Caribbean, there’s another breed of pirate who were a little less swashbuckling and a little more… Midwestern?
That’s right, we’re talking about the Great Lakes pirates, the daring (yet surprisingly polite) troublemakers who plied the Great Lakes in the 19th century. And while they didn’t wear eye patches or fight with swords, they did manage to pull off some wild heists involving, of all things, lumber, grain, furs, venison and alcohol (rum). Talk about a less-than-menacing treasure chest.
The birth of the Great Lakes pirates
Forget tropical islands. These pirates were after the finest goods in the heart of North America. The Great Lakes area was full of treasure, but it wasn’t buried – it was growing above ground: trees, especially the Eastern white pine, iron, coal, and wheat. Sure, they weren’t stealing piles of gold from Spanish galleons, but have you ever tried to steal a bag of grain or a load of timber? It’s heavy, it’s cumbersome, and it doesn’t exactly scream “treasure.”
The pirates who sailed the Great Lakes were nothing if not resourceful. They took to robbing steamboats and schooners, often under the cover of fog (which is about as intimidating as it sounds). At times, they’d strike at night, armed with little more than the menacing sound of, “Ya’ll got any spare grain?”
The pirates would cut down the government owned-trees and sell them in Chicago or Milwaukee. Surprisingly, the settlers in the Northwest Territory supported the pirates because, as farmers, they needed the land cleared.
The pirates’ gear
While Caribbean pirates donned classic attire — think bandanas and knee-high boots — the pirates of the Great Lakes had a more functional look. Their “pirate ships” were often just regular old schooners, and their “weapons” were tools of the trade: axes, hammers, and occasionally, a really sharp fishhook. No real treasure maps here, just directions to the nearest lumber mill.
Some pirates even preferred a bit of stealth. A popular method was dressing as honest merchants to sneak onto ships and then... well, ask politely if anyone had anything valuable to steal. Maybe they’d throw in a “please and thank you” for good measure.
The Golden Age of piracy
The Great Lakes were a bustling hub of trade during the 1800s. If you had the right connections (or a really strong boat), you could make a good living as a pirate here, But the days of Great Lakes piracy didn’t last long. By the late 1800s, better law enforcement, the development of larger ships (the U.S. Navy commissioned the USS Michigan to combat the pirates), and a sudden shortage of “easy” grain to steal pretty much put an end to it all. Pirates became as rare as a perfectly calm day on the lake.
Legacy of the Great Lakes pirates
The next time you find yourself looking out over the waters of the Great Lakes, remember: It’s entirely possible you are standing on ground that pirates once trod while stealing grain. The treasure of the Great Lakes was never in gold, but in more common things: a freshly delivered shipment of corn, or maybe a perfectly stacked pile of firewood — if you’re into that sort of thing.
Yo ho ho, and pass the popcorn!