Submitted by Paranorman on
Lighthouses and lightships have been around for probably as long as man has sailed the oceans to warn sailors of their closeness to shores and shoals as well as ports of call. In the 19th century beforeelectricity and automation candles and large mirrors(called a Fresnel Lens) at night, to announce portsduring clear weather, and bells during foggy weather, as well as jagged rocks.
Such was the case of Captain James Davenport who, for a whopping wage of $400 and seven months after being hired to man the lightship called Waugoshance Lightship located in Lake Michigan, the Chicago fire broke out. There are two stories of what happened during the fire and no one, to this day, is sure which is true or just exactly what happened.
The first tale states that smoke from the Chicago fire, blown in by severe winds, caused a dense fog over Lake Michigan. Now the differences in the stories are in Captain Davenport's actions during this time. The first story says that he sat in a rocking chair for three days and three nights ringing the bell. He kept himself awake by holding pots and pans in his lap--every time he would doze off, the pots and pans would clatter to the ground waking him.
The other account is that while this dense fog was over Lake Michigan a schooner ran aground on the Waugoshance Reef and the crew swam ashore. For three long and tiresome weeks they ate beans as Captain Davenport played his violin with the sounds of Lake Michigan for background.
One fact remains, thanks to the valiant efforts of Captain Davenport, only seven ships ran aground during the whole ordeal. To this day no one is sure whether it was three days or three weeks or even if it was the violin or the pots and pans and the bell that saved the ships. Although, sometimes if you listen closely, you might hear the faint music of a lone violin mixed in with the sound of the waves on a foggy night or the faint sound of pots, pans and a lone bell to the backdrop of the lapping of the waves on the sides of the lightship.
Yet there is one other story of the Waugoshance Lightship .... After Captain Davenport retired in 1885 one other lightship keeper was hired. His name is John Herman. At this time, the information on Mr. Herman's exact start date or the date of his early demise is not known. The only known fact is that hisemployment as Waugoshance Lightship keeper was cut short. It seems that one night Mr. Herman stumbled out of the lightship in a drunken stooper and fell off of the short pier and drowned. His ghost is said to wander the the lightship, Waugoshance, on Lake Michigan.
http://theshadowlands.net/famous/lightship.htm