A salvage expert who discovered two 19th century steamers at the bottom of Lake Michigan is battling the state for control of the wrecks.
Harry Zych searched the cold waters of the lake for nearly 16 years to find the Seabird and the Lady Elgin, a luxury steamer whose 287 passengers and their valuables sank when the boat was accidentally rammed by another vessel in 1860."All I want to do is see this wreck preserved," Zych said Friday, referring to the Lady Elgin.
In August the 41-year-old diver and salvage company operator filed a claim in U.S. District Court in Chicago seeking title to the two ships under federal Admiralty Law.
Diving in 42-degree water, he already has removed some artifacts from the wrecks and says more should be brought to the surface for preservation. The recovered items are under control of the court until ownership is decided.
Illinois officials say the wrecks are state property and should stay at the bottom, untouched except for authorized archaeological work and recreational sightseeing by divers.
"To go in and strip them of artifacts and sell them is just not palatable to the state and is not in the best interest of the state," said William Kane, an assistant state attorney general.
A 1987 federal law gives states the rights to any shipwrecks found in their territorial waters, Kane said. The state also is citing an Illinois law that prohibits the desecration of unregistered graves.
Although Zych won't reveal the location of the wrecks, he doesn't dispute that the wrecks lie in Illinois waters.
The sinking of the Lady Elgin Sept. 8, 1860, somewhere off Chicago's North Shore suburbs ranks as one of the worst disasters in the history of Great Lakes shipping. The death toll is listed as 287 - most of the victims were members of a Milwaukee political group returning from an excursion to Chicago.
The wooden side-wheeled steamer was rammed by the lumber schooner Augusta, which was running without lights. The Lady Elgin sank rapidly, and only a handful of passengers made it to shore in Winnetka.
In a lesser-known tragedy, the Seabird caught fire and sank April 9, 1868, killing all but one of the 100 passengers on board.