by T. Duplain
The S.S. Iron Mountain was a stern-wheeler riverboat built in 1864. It was 180 feet long (60 meters) and had a beam of 35 feet (10 meters).
In June 1872, it was to make a journey from New Orleans, Louisiana to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania along the Mississippi River. On its way, it left Vicksburg, Mississippi with sugar, bailed cotton, and barrels of molasses that it towed on a string of barges. It also had a crew of 55 men.
Later in the day, another vessel, the Iroquois Chief, found the barges that belonged to the Iron Mountain floating, without restraint down the Mississippi River. After the crew of the Iroquois Chief recovered the barges, they waited for the Iron Mountain to retrieve them; but the Iron Mountain never showed up.
Investigation showed apparent that the ropes on the barges had been cut and not broken. They could only wonder who would have cut them loose and why? And what happened to the ship and the people aboard it? Neither the Iron Mountain nor the crew nor anything on the boat was ever seen again.
Many theorize that the SS Iron Mountain was sabotaged and sank or that she was stolen and somehow sailed or hauled out of the great Mississippi River. Still others believe the Iron Mountain experienced some supernatural, other-worldly, catastrophic event similar to the Bermuda Triangle disappearances.
One thing is true: No one alive knows for sure what happened.