Built for speed, the 236-foot steam package freighter Montana initially carried many kinds of freight, with typical cargo including 6,000 barrels of flour, 40 tons of copper, 250,000 shingles, 100 boxes of salmon, and some passengers. Unlike sailing craft dependent on unpredictable wind, it offered speed and reliability. After 30 years of carrying passengers and packages, age and a changing economy pushed the Montana into the lumber trade. Once retrofitted, the steamer could carry one million board feet of lumber, enough to stretch nearly 200 miles if placed end to end. For more than 40 years, the Montana survived the dangers of the Great Lakes until September 6, 1914, when fire broke out in its bow as it passed Thunder Bay at dusk and spread rapidly. Years of paint, coal dust, and lubricants turned the ship into a floating furnace. The Montana burned to the waterline and slipped into the chilly depths of Lake Huron just after 2:00 am. The entire crew of 14 escaped in a lifeboat. Today, the Montana rests in 66 feet of water, where much of its 236-foot wooden hull is preserved along with its windlass, capstan, rudder, boiler, three-story-tall steam engine, drive shaft, and propeller, making it an excellent dive site.