The railroad ferry Chief Wawatam is wedged in heavy ice in the Straits of Mackinac, its bow raised and its hull hemmed by jumbled floes under a clear sky. The ship carried rail cars across the straits between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace, and its reinforced hull made it the main icebreaker on a passage that froze hard in winter. A ferry caught in the pack could hold up freight and passengers for days, a familiar hazard for the towns on both shores before the Mackinac Bridge was built.
White border; linen texture; printed caption at bottom; number 39504 at lower right; small copyright symbol at lower left.
No postmark, stamp, or handwriting; unused card. Undivided back with 'PLACE ONE CENT STAMP HERE' box; printed imprint of G. H. Wickman, Mackinac Island, Mich., Made in U.S.A. and Genuine Curteich-Chicago 'C.T. American Art' Post Card (Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.), copyrighted 1913 by J. S. Desy. Light soiling and a few foxing spots on the blank back.
Cite this card
Chief Wawatam stuck in ice, Straits of Mackinac, MI, circa 1913, postcard, c. 1913. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/chief-wawatam-stuck-in-ice-straits-of-mackinac-mi-circa-1913. Accessed November 2, 2026.
