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Winter & Pond photo, Alaska State Library, PCA 87-1698
The S.S. Princess Sophia underway in Southeast Alaska
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Poster advertising the 1918 summer voyages of the Princess Alice
and the Princess Sophia.
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| The S.S. Princess Sophia, a steamer
loaded with over 340 passengers and crew, left Skagway on the evening of
October 23, 1918 for its last seasonal trip south to Vancouver. The vessel
included a cross-section of Alaskan and Canadian residents with riverboat
captains and crewmembers, former miners and laborers, and businesspeople
among the many passengers on board. Many were headed south for the winter
while others, discouraged by the worsening economy, had no intention of
ever returning. |
"While we have a published schedule, bear in mind that the Company
do not wish any risk whatever run in order to maintain this schedule,
take no chances in foggy or stormy weather."
-An early Canadian Pacific Railway order to officers
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This model of the Princess Sophia is approximately four feet long
and is on loan to the Maritime Museum of British Columbia. Below is a
view of the wheelhouse and the foredeck.
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Despite strong winds, blinding snow and darkness, the Princess Sophia
steamed down Lynn Canal at high speed and eventually hit Vanderbilt Reef
about 30 miles north of Juneau. Initially, the vessel rested firmly on
the reef and none of the passengers were believed to be in any immediate
danger
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Winter & Pond photo, Alaska State Library, PCA 87-1701
This photo was taken as other vessels circled the grounded Princess
Sophia and waited for the opportunity to rescue the passengers.
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| Rescue boats were dispatched
as soon as reports of the grounding reached Juneau. Those arriving to help
included a mail and freight boat, a fishing vessel, and a lighthouse tender.
But Captain Leonard Locke of the Princess Sophia decided that it would better
to wait for the weather to ease before attempting an evacuation. Locke may
have feared risking the lives of the passengers by making them evacuate
the vessel and get into lifeboats while still above the dangerous reef. |
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Winter & Pond photo, Alaska State Library, PCA 87-1702
This is one of the most famous pictures of the Princess Sophia
taken shortly after it ran aground on Vanderbilt Reef. Professional photographer
E.P. Pond managed to catch a ride aboard the fishing vessel 'King &
Winge' as it left Juneau for the reef. The only navigational aid marking
the reef is in the foreground. The bouy has since been replaced by a more
prominent lighted marker that was constructed on the reef itself.
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| After the Princess Sophia sat on
the reef for most of the next day, it became apparent that the weather and
the seas were getting worse. It's believed that high winds and a high tide
combined to lift the stern of the vessel off the reef and tear away part
of the hull during the late afternoon of October 25, 1918. The damaged steamer
then pivoted so that the bow headed north as water flooded inside. The vessel
then slipped backwards beneath the water. Everyone aboard was killed within
minutes with many dying by suffocation after being covered by oil. Bodies
were found on the beaches as far south as Douglas Island for weeks after
the disaster. Despite the threat of the spread of Spanish Influenza, many
Juneau residents volunteered to help clean and prepare the bodies for their
voyage south. |
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Winter & Pond photo, Alaska State Library, PCA 87-1721
This photo shows what potential rescuers saw on the morning of
October 26, 1918. The Princess Sophia has disappeared from her resting
place on the reef. The only indication as to what may have happened is
visible on the far left with the top of the foremast seen sticking out
of the water. The only bouy that marked the reef is visible on the far
right.
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"For God's sake, hurry. The water is coming into my room."
One of the last messages of David Robinson, the telegraph
operator aboard the Princess Sophia
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| Despite the enormous loss of life,
the Princess Sophia tragedy was overshadowed by other events. The Spanish
Influenza was already claiming tens of thousands of lives across North America
and it was even beginning to infect people in faraway places like Juneau.
World War One was also, finally, coming to a close. Another steamer, the
Princess Alice, was initially dispatched to Juneau to assist in rescue efforts
when the news of the grounding finally reached Vancouver. Later called "The
Ship of Sorrow," the Princess Alice quietly returned to Vancouver with
dozens of bodies from the Princess Sophia just as jubilant residents celebrated
Armistice Day. |
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Winter & Pond photo, Alaska State Library, PCA 117-89
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A model at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia of the Princess
Alice that also traveled the same Vancouver-to-Skagway route as the Princess
Sophia. Later called "The Ship of Sorrow," the vessel later
returned to Vancouver with many of the bodies from the Princess Sophia.
Visible in the background is a display featuring the wrecks of the Princess
Sophia and Princess May, another notable Juneau shipwreck.
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A Canadian inquiry later focused on Captain Locke's decision to wait
for better weather to have his passengers rescued, but judges did not
find him or the company at fault for what turned out to be the worst maritime
disaster on the Pacific Coast. Canadian Pacific Railway Company was paid
on their insurance claim for the vessel and relatives of the crew received
a minimal pension. But, after over a decade of legal wrangling, relatives
of the passengers were unable to collect any substantial damages for their
loss.
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Provincial Courthouse in Victoria, B.C. (above) that served as
one of the sites for the Princess Sophia inquiry. It is now the home of
the Maritime Museum of British Columbia and includes an extensive collection
of ship models. The restored courtroom on the third floor (below) now
serves as a theater. The jury box, located against the right wall, is
actually duplicated on the left so that a grand jury of 24 members could
be seated for special inquiries such as the Princess Sophia.
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"Wreck of Princess Sophia has cast great shadow over all of
Northland. Alaska grieves with the Yukon."
-Message sent by Alaska Territorial Governor Thomas Riggs
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The burial site in Juneau's Evergreen Cemetary (above) for Walter
and Frances Harper who were married shortly before they boarded the Princess
Sophia. They are among the several victims of the disaster who were laid
to rest in Juneau. The inscription on the gravestone partially reads "Walter
Harper and Frances Wells, his wife, crowned on the Princess Sophia, 25th
Oct. 1918, May light perpetual shine upon them."
Walter Harper planned to became a medical missionary and return to Alaska
or become a military doctor. Walter was also the son of
Arthur Harper who helped lay out the streets of Dawson City and pioneered
prospecting in the Klondike with Jack McQuesten and Alfred Mayo.
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| Audio:
The Wreck of the Princess
Sophia, part one
The Wreck of the Princess
Sophia, part two
Juneau diver John Lachelt
describes what the wreck of the Princess Sophia looks like today
James Delgado, executive
director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum, discusses how the Princess
Sophia was twisted off of the reef and sank
Vancouver authors Ian
MacDonald and Betty O'Keefe talk about how the rescue boats and community
of Juneau responded to the Princess Sophia tragedy
Vancouver authors Betty
O'Keefe and Ian MacDonald explain more about a Robert Service poem
that was inspired by Lulu Mae Eads, a passenger who later boarded the
Princess Sophia
Vancouver author Ian
MacDonald tells the story of Iditarod miner Al Winchell who kept his
promise to find his bride Ilene and bury her in California if anything
happened to her
Saskatoon history professor Ken
Coates tells how he initially came across the little-known Princess
Sophia story
Renee Hughes of the
Gastineau Channel Historical Society talks about a recent cruise to raise
funds for the restoration of the Sentinel Island Lighthouse
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Suggested reading:
Ken Coates and Bill Morrison, 1991, The Sinking of the Princess Sophia:
Taking the North Down with Her; University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks,
Alaska
Betty O'Keefe and Ian McDonald, 1998, The Final Voyage of the Princess
Sophia: Did They All Have to Die?; Heritage House, Surrey, B.C.
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Other related links:
Database of shipwrecks
of Alaska 's coast
Comprehensive
listing of sites and databases of shipwrecks around the world
Article
on preservation of shipwreck sites
British naval veteran's site
includes the S.S. Princess Sophia wreck and salvage of the S.S. Islander
Pictures
of James Delgado surveying Vanderbilt Reef during filming of "Seahunters"
Art inspired by
the S.S. Princess Sophia disaster
History of the Spanish
Influenza pandemic
More on
the Spanish Influenza
Additional history
of the Spanish Influenza
History site for teachers
and students on the Spanish Flu
The Great War
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We are grateful to the Alaska State Library, CBJ Parks and Recreation
Department, and the Maritime Museum of British Columbia for their help
in obtaining some of these photographs.
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