It was the arrival and extended stay of the drought that opened up the lake and revealed the many skeletons it had for so long hidden.
The most mysterious was the revelation of the wreck of the “Mary Ellen”, a bark that disappeared on the lake over a century ago.
It was a well-documented event, and there were over the years numerous speculative articles written about what happened to it.
It was true that at the time the “Mary Ellen” was involved in some dodgy practices. Many believed it was used to transport drugs and illegal alcohol from one side of the lake to the other. On our side, the port of Tusson was renowned as the drug capital of the state, and on the opposite side the port of Marrival was strictly run by a town council made up of teetotalling conservatives who were adamant the town be known for its stance on law and order.
The two ports of course never got on and the back and fro between the two went on for years.
It was felt that the mayor of Marrival initiated the destruction of the “Mary Ellen”. He devised a cargo to be loaded on the Tusson side but what the crew didn’t know was it was laced with explosive.
A little way from the port of Tusson the ship exploded and down it went, and as it was the middle of winter the icy waters swallowed the ship and crew quickly.
There were no survivors and as the disaster occurred in the middle of the night the exact location of the ship at the time was unknown.
On the side of the port of Tusson people were horrified at what happened, as the crew were all members of their community. On the side of the port of Marrival celebration was the order of the day and the town council rejoiced that the illegal trade in drugs and alcohol would now be curtailed.
For a while that did happen but as the Mayor and his cronies discovered the removal of the drug and alcohol trade put and end to their lucrative illegal business of supplying the users of Marrival.
Within six months the trade was up and running again. The mayor and his cronies set aside their past objections preferring to turn a blind eye to the illicit trade from which they reaped the revenue generated.
Written for: https://crimsonprose.wordpress.com/2018/12/19/crimsons-creative-challenge-6/
Morpethroad 
Drug running. Yea, that sounds about right. 🙂 Nice one.
Thanks it was where my mind went. Good image to write to.
I thank you. My own take will post later today.
No bloody reprisal?? They don’t know the same drug runners as I do!! hahaha Nice take Michael.
Thanks so much violet
That’s a sad story on both sides. The loss of the those who ran this black Market on the Mary Ellen, I think tonake a living despite some products that weren’t so good, but also b/c of the Mayor and the wealthy teatottlers as they had no intention of eliminating drugs or bad cargo, but just wanted the money the competition gained from
The trade. Which was their livelihood and not extra cash on top of already lucrative jobs/lifestyles. Mixed feelingss. But fascinating about the ship wreck in the story.