Battle of the Captains
Captain Nicholas Wagner
“Those two captains are criminally cowardly and will have to answer to the authorities and to God for 110 human lives.”
Seattle Post Intelligencer, September 24, 1908
Captain Erwin Farrer
“I told him he was going far without knowing the circumstances our tugs were in, and he said he would see that I was sent to San Quentin.”
Seattle Daily Times October 15, 1908
Wrangell Cannery
This photo shows the Star of Bengal sitting at the dock of the cannery in Wrangell, Alaska. The cannery sat at the north tip of Wrangell Island. Today, the site is location of the Wrangell Airport (WRG). Original photo from Wikipedia. Colorization by Wrangell History Unlocked.
July 4, 1908
On Independence Day 1908, Wrangell photographer John E. Worden snapped this photo of the Star of Bengal sitting at the Wrangell APA cannery dock, just 78 days before it shipwrecked. I restore and colorized this photo to bring it back to life.
Sumner Strait to the Sea
At the mouth of Sumner Strait sits Warren Island, east, and Coronation Island, west.
A Massive Gale
The Star of Bengal was not the only ship to experience the incredible storm in the early morning hours of September 20, 1908. In the days and weeks after, other ships reported they’d experienced the tremendous storm. Even the Star of France, out in the middle of the gulf of Alaska, felt the incredible power of the storm.
Sun, Moon, and Tide
By placing the tide, moon phase, and sunrise/sunset on a chart, we can make some observations about what life was like on the beach of Coronation Island while the survivors waited for rescue. Every morning, the survivors were confronted with a low-low tide that exposed wreckage and dead men.
Loss of Life
Of the 138 men aboard, only 27 survived. Death tolls were incredibly high among the Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino cannery workers.
Total Alaska Salmon Pack
On the last day of 1908, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published the total cases of Alaska salmon produced for the previous decade. The article briefly acknowledged the lost cases aboard the Lucile on August 19, 1908 and the Star of Bengal on September 20, 1908.
