[BCMA] Press Release: Unsolved Mystery of the Sinking of the SS Princess Sophia

Wed Oct 21 12:46:25 PDT 2020

Can't read or see images?  View this email in a browser
<https://publ.campaign-view.com/ua/viewinbrowser?od=27218d28c96aa859eea170158e79574221185630859ca1fd0&rd=17a8d139ad462d5d&sd=17a8d139ad462c37&n=11699e4be85b95d&mrd=17a8d139ad462c25&m=1>

[image: http://zohopublic.com/zohocampaigns/zc-noimage-bnr.png]

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*October 21, 2020*

*Unsolved Mystery of the Sinking of the SS Princess Sophia*

[image:
https://campaign-image.com/zohocampaigns/551921000003255006_zc_v7_1603129547962_asl_p87_1704___princess_sophia___reduced.jpg]

The month of October is a reminder of the tragic sinking of the SS *Princess
Sophia* on October 25, 1918 one hundred and two years ago. The
Victoria-based ship transported passengers up the coast to Skagway, Alaska
stopping at several coastal communities along the way. The shipwreck is the
largest marine disaster along the northwest coast of North America and
resulted in the unfortunate loss of everyone on board.

David Leverton, Executive Director of the Maritime Museum of BC has had an
active interest in the marine disaster for many years and has co-authored a
book with Judy Thompson that looks at the shipwreck and the background of
the known passengers and crew who were onboard at the time of the sinking.
[1] <#m_6465979814255816121_m_9068084572170468789__ftn1> Mr. Leverton
stated that, *"the **100th** Anniversary commemorating this event helped to
increase public awareness about the story and we still continue to learn
more about the mystery of what happened including the story surrounding the
fate of the lone dog that was known to have survived the disaster."*

Several months after the tragic sinking, *The Alaska Daily Empire* on
Thursday, March 6, 1919, reported that a small dog had been found two days
after the shipwreck covered in oil in Tee Harbor which is about 20 miles
away and that it had been living at the nearby Auk Bay Cannery. On March
14, 1919, *The Alaska Daily Empire* reported that the dog had been
positively identified as a thoroughbred English Setter belonging to Captain
James Alexander and his wife Louisa. The paper further reported that the
General Agent for Canadian Pacific had followed up with Captain Alexander's
administrators regarding the dog. Apparently five dogs had been included in
the ship's manifest at the time of its departure from Skagway on the late
evening of October 23, 1918 and this was the only survivor.

Last year the Maritime Museum of British Columbia received a copy of a
letter that was found in the estate of Mrs. Candace Waugaman and later
forwarded to author Ken Coates[2]
<#m_6465979814255816121_m_9068084572170468789__ftn2> by the estate
representative. Mrs. Waugaman was a philanthropist from Fairbanks, Alaska
well known for her local philanthropic work that consisted of scanning eBay
for Alaskan collectables and then holding a large sale of the items each
year at her home to help support several local charities. The original copy
of the letter was turned over to the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections
and Archives at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

The original letter had been forwarded to a gentleman by the name of
Reginald Brock c/o the Engineer Mine in Atlin, BC on July 8th, 1919 by the
Official Administrator of the Estate of the late James Alexander, "*to take
possession of a dog reported to have escaped from the wreck of the
"Princess Sophia" to be now at Juneau, Alaska." *For all these years the
dog was reported to be an English Setter while according to the recently
discovered letter, the dog was identified as a Chesapeake Bay Retriever
named "Tommy."

The discovery of this letter over 100 years later reopens the mystery of what
happened to the one lone dog that survived the tragic sinking of the *SS
Princess Sophia* and may help to explain why the dog was able to survive
the frigid waters of the Lynn Canal in late October. The Chesapeake Bay
Retriever is believed to be descended from two puppies that survived a
Newfoundland shipwreck in 1807. The Chesapeake Bay Retrievers are powerful
swimmers with webbed feet and a thick, water-shedding coat. This may
explain why the dog was able to make it to shore and survive the sinking.

So now the question will always remain, was it an English Setter or was it
a Chesapeake Bay Retriever?  Leverton indicated that, "*this will always
remain a mystery like so many other aspects of this story. Although it
seems quite plausible that it was a Chesapeake Bay Retriever we will never
really know. The only thing for certain is that all of the passengers and
crew onboard along with all of the other animals sadly lost their lives in
the early evening hours of October 25, 1918 and we'll never really know the
whole story of what happened on that fateful night. It will likely always
remain a mystery."*
------------------------------

[1] <#m_6465979814255816121_m_9068084572170468789__ftnref1> *SS Princess
Sophia - Those Who Perished: The Unknown Story of the Largest Shipwreck
Disaster along the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America* by Judy
Thompson and David R. Leverton

[2] <#m_6465979814255816121_m_9068084572170468789__ftnref2> Ken Coates and
Bill Morrison are the authors of *The Sinking of the Princess Sophia:
Taking the North Down with Her*

-30-

For Further Information Please Contact:

Bobbi Morris, Executive Assistant

Maritime Museum of British Columbia

email: admin at mmbc.bc.ca <dleverton at mmbc.bc.ca>

<bvis at mmbc.bc.ca?subject=>

[image: Facebook]
<https://publ.maillist-manage.com/click.zc?od=27218d28c96aa859eea170158e79574221185630859ca1fd0&repDgs=17a8d139ad462d5d&linkDgs=17a8d139ad46228d&mrd=17a8d139ad462c25&m=1>
[image: Twitter]
<https://publ.maillist-manage.com/click.zc?od=27218d28c96aa859eea170158e79574221185630859ca1fd0&repDgs=17a8d139ad462d5d&linkDgs=17a8d139ad46228f&mrd=17a8d139ad462c25&m=1>
[image: Instagram]
<https://publ.maillist-manage.com/click.zc?od=27218d28c96aa859eea170158e79574221185630859ca1fd0&repDgs=17a8d139ad462d5d&linkDgs=17a8d139ad462291&mrd=17a8d139ad462c25&m=1>
[image: Email] <info at mmbc.bc.ca>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.vifa.ca/pipermail/bcma/attachments/20201021/cbdf7d73/attachment.htm 