Science: Empty Islander

In 1901 Klondike River, in Canada's Yukon Territory, was the place to go for gold. As the summer neared its close the trail from the fields down through White Pass to the Alaskan port of Skagway was a jostling procession of prospectors. On Aug. 13 the Islander, 240-ft. pride of the Skagway-Victoria Line, steamed out of port with a 61-man crew, 108 passengers, a dozen stowaways, began threading its way through the narrow straits. At 2 a. m., when most of the passengers had reeled off to bed, the Islander hit something with a...

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