There's a lot to be worried about, when out on the ice.

Top of mind would be the threat of falling through.

There's no more disconcerting a noise than that of a moaning fracture from beneath.

Usually it's just a lake suffering some indigestion.

But on Michigan's Sturgeon Bay, back in January of 1929,

a fisherman, trying to snag some food, almost became it when the black maw to the growling

belly below split open in an attempt to swallow him. Louis Sweet escaped that fate,

only to find himself being served up on a platter. Welcome to Marooned, harrowing tales of

the catastrophically lost. I'm Jack Luna. This is Aaron Hable. Lewis Sweet was an unassuming

humble man. Born November 23, 1875, his family eeked out a typical pioneer existence on their family farm near

Cooper'sville, Michigan.

Sweet's father had purchased and cleared the land when Lewis was three years old after working

for several years in the area as a tanner.

Sweet had a familiar childhood of the time, enjoying a couple months of schooling each year that fell around the farming

season where he'd work alongside his father. Lewis grew into a slight young man who never really

took to the farming life. Instead, he preferred to be out exploring the forest or finding the perfect

fishing spot. As he got older, sweet worked summer jobs in logging camps that made quick work of

transforming the vast pine forests into farmland. This was during a period known as the Great

Logging Era in the United States, when most of the Michigan forests were cut down for farms

and to produce lumber for buildings, ships, and mines. Lewis also found work on fishing boats, sailing out of

Grand Haven to the west on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 1890, at the age of 24,

Lewis Sweet left Cooper'sville and joined the army, serving exactly 11 months. He never saw any

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