New Juneau statue remembers ‘Titanic of the Pacific’s’ mythical sole survivor

2 months ago

ARTICLE AD BOX

A caller guardian is watching complete nan treacherous waters of Lynn Canal, wherever respective historical shipwrecks happened. Tommy, nan mythical sole subsister of the sinking of nan SS Princess Sophia, is now formed successful bronze atop a boulder astatine Juneau’s Tee Harbor.

The Sophia — pronounced “so-FYE-ah” — group sail retired of Skagway connected October 23, 1918, carrying golden prospectors and others connected nan measurement to Vancouver and Victoria, Canada. But earlier nan rider liner could scope her last port, she ran aground connected Vanderbilt Reef and, contempt rescue efforts, sank almost 2 days later, connected Oct. 25.

The disaster is sometimes called nan “Titanic of nan Pacific.”

“But like, group survived connected nan Titanic,” said Brian Weed, an amateur Juneau historian. “Nobody survived connected this.”

More than 350 group went down pinch nan ship, but arsenic nan communicative goes, Tommy nan canine was capable to aquatics done nan frigid waters to scope nan statement adjacent to wherever nan caller statue now stands.

The statue was funded by an anonymous Juneau family, and softly installed connected metropolis onshore earlier this month. Then Weed, who was not involved, unveiled it connected his celebrated Facebook page, Juneau’s Hidden History.

It’s accessible via nan North Tee Harbor trail, which is simply a short hike down to nan rocky shoreline. Weed led nan measurement recently, accompanied by his ain dog, Doug, a mini Yorkshire terrier mix.

On nan time nan SS Princess Sophia ran aground, rainfall was pouring and upwind was howling arsenic a convulsive large wind bore down connected nan ship. But connected nan greeting Weed visited nan statue, it was conscionable drizzling. Doug was wearing a bluish and grey raincoat to enactment dry.

On nan boulder wherever nan statue stands, a mini plaque identifies Tommy arsenic a Chesapeake Bay retriever, though nan existent likeness to nan breed is vague. The metallic is sculpted into wispy fur, and nan dog’s strangely agelong cervix is craned towards nan rocky aboveground of nan distant reef, which conscionable hardly breaks nan aboveground of nan water.

The Tommy statue is astatine slightest nan 3rd canine monument successful Juneau. On nan cruise vessel docks there’s a sculpture of Patsy Ann, nan bull terrier who greeted ships coming into larboard backmost successful nan 1930s. And adjacent nan Mendenhall Glacier there’s a plaque for Romeo, a chaotic achromatic wolf who sometimes struck up friends relationships pinch pet dogs.

“Juneau has ever been a immense canine town,” Weed said.

But our dogs person not ever walked connected leashes, aliases slept successful beds aliases worn raincoats, for that matter.

That’s why section scuba diver Annette Smith is skeptical astir nan miraculous communicative of nan canine who survived. Smith has visited nan wreck of nan Sophia dozens of times and has done countless hours of investigation connected nan ship’s story.

She says location was a food cannery astatine Tee Harbor successful nan early 1900s.

“The group that worked location had dogs. And they were not groomed, right? They did not slumber successful nan house. They were oily and greasy,” Smith said. “That’s wherever I deliberation nan canine from nan canine communicative came from – (it) was astir apt 1 of those.”

In a communicative published successful nan Alaska Daily Empire successful March 1919, a fewer months aft nan shipwreck, cannery workers described nan presence of a half-starved dog, whose achromatic and brownish spotted overgarment was covered successful oil.

Unnamed astatine nan time, it was believed to beryllium a thoroughbred English Setter belonging to Captain James Alexander, who went down pinch nan ship.

Setters are decent swimmers, but to make it to Tee Harbor, Tommy would person had to paddle astir 15 miles.

“Let’s opportunity yes, a canine survived. Let’s opportunity yes, it managed to conflict against five-plus-foot seas, 50-mile-an-hour winds that were pushing it,” Smith said. “Where’s it gonna travel ashore? Well, nan first spot it’s going to travel ashore is Amalga, not Tee Harbor.”

To Smith, nan communicative seems unlikely.

Then fewer years ago, researchers astatine nan British Maritime Museum examined nan dog’s endurance communicative again, and they recovered a missive written by nan administrator of nan precocious Alexander’s estate, which alternatively described nan canine that had been recovered successful Juneau arsenic a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

Chesapeake Bay Retrievers person thick, water-resistant coats and beardown paddle-like tails. It is believed that nan breed descended from 2 puppies that survived a Newfoundland shipwreck successful 1807.

That makes Tommy’s feat look somewhat much plausible. But, we’ll astir apt ne'er really cognize for sure.

Stories of dogs surviving shipwrecks are common. Three mini dogs really did past nan Titanic, erstwhile their owners carried them onto nan lifeboats. But an enduring communicative of Rigel, a heroic achromatic Newfoundland who supposedly helped prevention group erstwhile nan Titanic went down, has been proven false.

Whether they’re existent aliases fake, these stories often get passed down. Tommy’s endurance was moreover featured arsenic nan climax of the Princess Sophia opera, a theatre accumulation that commemorated nan 100th day of nan calamity successful 2018. Smith understands why.

“There’s group trying to make consciousness of this horrible calamity and having a canine aliases thing past provides immoderate hope. Right? And gives a small spot of meaning,” she said.

But to her, nan tragic quality broadside of nan Princess Sophia communicative is much compelling.

Source Alaska Public