The Clara Nevada: Gold, Greed, Murder and Alaska's Inside Passage
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If the boilers exploded, there may very well have been a hole in the boiler room wall, but there would have been no fireball, and it is unlikely that there would have been a “blackened hole” in the side of the ship. As there was both a blackened hole and a fireball, I suspect a charge of dynamite was placed surreptitiously in the boiler room by the thieves.
An Anchorage explosives wholesaler informed me that it would have been very unlikely for the several tons of dynamite to explode without help. Even if the dynamite was burning, it would not explode. An explosion would come from a combination of dynamite with an imbedded blasting cap and a fuse crimped into the blasting cap. After the fuse was lit, the sequence would become lethal.
The explosives dealer also told me that several tons of dynamite was even a large load today, but for a mine, it was probably a year’s supply. Today there are strict regulations concerning joint shipment of dynamite and caps, but in those days, it all might have been shipped together. However, even if the blasting caps and fuse and dynamite were all in the same pile and were ignited, it was doubtful that the dynamite would be set off. If they had, all the dynamite would have gone up virtually instantaneously, even though the dynamite was in different boxes. From the size of the hole, the explosives people figured that the charge might have been as small as a stick.
I am inclined to believe that whoever perpetrated the disaster put a modest charge of dynamite, perhaps one stick, against the inside hull wall in the boiler room, lit the fuse and walked away. I doubt that the smell of the burning fuse could have been detected in the stench of the boiler room. If the perpetrator had smelled the fuse, he most likely would have tossed something with a pungent smell into the boiler room fires to cover the odor. He might have even planned ahead and placed a powerful odor producer, like rubber, into the fires before he lit the fuse.
I also suspect that the thieves intended to blow a hole large enough to sink the ship quickly but small enough to allow time for the passengers and crew to abandon ship.
WAS THE BODY FOUND ACTUALLY THAT OF GEORGE FOSTER BECK?
The discovery of the body alleged to be that of George Foster Beck raises perplexing questions. The actual discovery was made in mid-March 1898, six weeks after the Clara Nevada had gone down. There were three newspaper stories on the discovery of the body, each of which had information that the others did not. All three put the body on a different island.
According to the story from the Dyea Trail of February 20, the body was retrieved by the Rustler and had been discovered “off Shelter Island.” The corpse had no eyes, and the hair had been “burned off.” The body was positively identified by “papers found on it.” This article, however, was admittedly incomplete and rushed into print “as the Trail goes to press.”
The second article ran in the Post-Intelligencer. It stated that the Clara Nevada had been sunk on Vanderbilt Reef and that the body had been found on “Sullivan Island.” “A portion” of Beck’s coat and trousers “had been burned,” but “the body was in a perfect state of preservation and [Beck’s] features could be recognized by all who knew him.”62 Though the reef is unquestionably in error and the island on which the body found most probably in error, it is quite likely that the remaining two facts are correct.
Probably the most accurate account of the discovery of the body was printed the next day in the Juneau Alaska Miner. The body was discovered by I. O’Neil on one of the Chilkat Islands. O’Neil did not know that a ship had been wrecked or that a reward had been offered for the corpse. He simply pulled the corpse ashore and covered it with brush until he could report it to the authorities. An examination of the body led to the following inventory:
A bank book Washington National Bank with the name G.F. Beck, Treas, P.A.T Co. [Pacific & Alaska Transportation Company] on the cover. It contained a report from Washington National Bank for $397.45 in favor of G.F. Beck, Treas., bank checks and a few bills against the Clara Nevada. There were some personal items as well, including a bunch of keys on a heart-shaped ring, a small, two-bladed, pearl-handled knife, and two photographs of a lady and child taken together in two different positions…On the third finger of his left hand was a plain gold ring engraved “A.F. 18K.”63
Was the body that of George Foster Beck? Probably. But the body’s identity is immaterial. It is the condition of the corpse that is vital.
First, the body was burned, indicating that there had indeed been a fire of some kind—physical evidence that clearly supports the burning ship theory.
Second, assuming the body to be Beck’s, the fact that it was found at all indicates that the purser must have been on deck when the fire occurred. Obviously, if he had been below decks, the corpse would have gone down with the ship, along with the rest of the passengers and crew.
Third, as I believe that the since the body was found on one of the Chilkat Islands, some survivors may have gotten off the Clara Nevada before she entered Lynn Canal.
It would also be in error to assume that a careful search was made for survivors. The rescue mission did not take place the next day. According to the Sitka Alaskan, “a day or two” after the wreck, the steamer Coleman spotted the wreckage and took the news to Juneau. The Rustler, according to the deputy collector in Juneau, left to search for survivors on February 9. That means there were at least three days between the sinking of the Clara Nevada and the beginning of the search. By then, any survivors that had made it ashore would be on foot, trying to make it to civilization. Skagway was only thirty miles up the coast, and there were surely smaller vessels plying the waters looking for survivors as soon as the storm abated. Survivors who ended up on the mainland side of the channel could have easily walked to the communities of Comet or Jualin, no more than a few miles from where the Clara Nevada debris was found. As Comet had left its light blazing the night the Clara Nevada went down to give any survivors a beacon toward which to steer, anyone who made it ashore would have known in which direction to walk. They could not have missed the Comet dock if they were walking along the edge of the inlet.
Most likely, the Rustler was looking for people standing on shore waving to be rescued. According to the search record, the Rustler steamed along the coastline “close enough to distinguish objects with a glass but could see no one or discover any signals of distress.” Further, according to the Alaska Searchlight’s February 12 edition, “not a sign of life was to be seen, and heavy snows have fallen since the wreck which would have covered up any of the dead that might have been cast ashore by the angry waves.”
But the supposedly careful search by the Rustler raises other questions. If the search for survivors had been competent enough to spot the tracks of a dog on shore, why wasn’t it good enough to find the lifeboat? That was well within the area searched by the Rustler and probably right on the shoreline.
And when the Rustler visited the community of Comet, why didn’t someone tell them that there had been survivors? After all, George Hemmings was there for the 1900 census. It would seem logical that he was there shortly after the wreck.
IF THE BODY WAS INDEED THAT OF GEORGE FOSTER BECK, WHAT DOES THE BODY INDICATE?
I am inclined to believe one of two scenarios in regard to George Foster Beck. On one hand, he could have had some part in the conspiracy to steal the gold. Why, after all, would he, the purser, have been on deck in a ninety-mile-an-hour snowstorm? Further, he had access to the gold and the opportunity to spirit the precious metal out of the ship’s safe.
On the other hand, Beck may have become suspicious of some members of the crew. They were, after all, an unsavory lot. Beck might have come on deck, discovered the robbery in progress and been knocked unconscious, perhaps even killed before he could spread the alarm. He would have lain on the deck, dead or alive, until the fire reached him. That he was burned and not blown apart would seem to indicate that his fate was sealed before the dynamite sank the ship.
IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE CONTENTION THAT GEORGE FOSTER BECK WAS INVOLVED IN THE ROBBERY?
Perhaps.
According to the published letter of Latty Boyce, the carpenter’s assistant who made the trip north to Skagway, George Foster Beck was a “willing party” to a petty swindle involving lighterage of passenger’s cargo. This amounted to “$2 per load” for passengers’ baggage and “$5 per ton” for freight. There is no way to translate this into any kind of a meaningful figure. If all three hundred tons were involved, the total would have been in the range of $1,500 for Beck and Rogers, the freight clerk.
There is no corroborating evidence to this statement. It appears not to be true because Beck was found with very little money in his pocket. If he was robbing the ship and planning on leaving the vessel, why wasn’t he carrying the money with him? Either the swindle was very small, or Beck left the money in his stateroom and it went down with the ship.
Another passenger, J.W. Lansing, M.D., wrote a letter to the Seattle Times in which he stated that Beck had confirmed owning one-third of the Pacific & Alaska Transportation Company. Further, Beck and the freight clerk appeared to be the “power behind the throne” and exercised their power frequently. If the captain didn’t recognize them as such, the crew certainly did. As far as Beck’s greed was concerned, “[Beck and Rogers] inspected our filthy, cold, dark compartments, but claimed it was good enough fare for second class passengers…Almost everything about the steamer gave evidence of cheap botchery.” By contract, another passenger, Charles Jones, found “the captain, purser and freight clerk attended strictly to business and were gentlemen.”
With regard to the poor condition of the ship, according to Boyce, “Mr. Beck and Mr. Rogers [the freight clerk] wined and dined the Government Inspector at intervals all through the night.” Boyce’s implication that Beck was intent on diverting the inspector’s attention from the state of the vessel is realistic, considering the poor condition of the Clara Nevada.
In all fairness, it should be pointed out that when the Post-Intelligencer ran an article on the crew who had perished in the disaster, George Foster Beck was listed as “one of the best-known young men in Portland having lived there the greater part of his life…and the son-in-law of Mrs. R.L. Hawthorne, probably the wealthiest woman in Portland.”
If indeed George Foster Beck had been involved, it would be logical that his most likely accomplice would be George Rogers, the freight clerk. While I could find no evidence that Rogers was alive and in Alaska in 1900, the Post-Intelligencer noted that “it is possible the freight clerk, George Rogers, may have remained in Skagway and it is also learned that several members of the crew intended to desert in Alaska.” Rogers had been “instructed to remain at Skagway to act as an agent for the company.”64 Whether or not Rogers was on board when the vessel went down is open to speculation.
Interestingly, I did find a reference to a George Rogers in the records of the United States Assay Office in Seattle. A man by that name brought in 79.83 ounces of gold, about $30,000 today. The origin of the gold was written in an abbreviation that was not decipherable, but it did not come from Nome, as that abbreviation was clearly readable.65
It is also important to note that a ring of keys was found on Beck’s body. Those were most likely the keys to the various padlocks and doors on the Clara Nevada. That Beck had the keys proves nothing one way or the other. Had he been involved in the robbery, he would have maintained possession of the keys. Had he not been involved, it would be grounds to assume that Lewis had been the officer who was the perpetrator.
WHAT ABOUT THE LIFEBOATS?
Facts about the number and size of the lifeboats are of interest. According to Boyce, there had been only four seaworthy lifeboats. “Two of them were the old ones on the Hassler and two were new iron boats.” A fifth boat, a skiff, was on the stern, but it “was just simply an old rotten skiff which would not have floated to be rowed across Elliott Bay.” In fact, this skiff was in such bad shape that passengers were told that it had been “shipped as freight.”66 As far as the printed record is concerned, only one of those boats was on the wreckage of the Clara Nevada.
The Post-Intelligencer reported that two of the lifeboats were “metallic with water-tight compartments” and had not been found. This seems to tally with Boyce’s statement that two of the boats were iron.67 Lewis, on the day before the Clara Nevada left Yesler’s Dock in Seattle, complained that the inspectors had forced him to get “metallic lifeboats.”68 These must have been the ones in question.
Yet, according to the Dyea Trail article, the lifeboat that was found not far from Eldred Rock was “neither a lifeboat nor a sealing boat.” It did not say it was “metallic” or “iron.” Thus the description of the boat that was discovered does not match any of the boats described by Boyce. It is unlikely that Boyce, a maritime carpenter by trade, would have mixed up his boats. Boyce had been working on board since “January 13” and had thus spent three weeks on board, certainly enough time to have discovered the additional lifeboat.
Then there is the name “J.H. Burns, S.F. builder” found on the discovered lifeboat. This may be significant in that the lifeboat apparently came from San Francisco.69 While it was not unusual for steamers at that time to have lifeboats from anywhere along the West Coast, it seems odd that such an unusual lifeboat would have been on a steamer, and the ship’s carpenter would know nothing about it.
It is my speculation that the lifeboat discovered on the beach near Point Sherman was brought on board in Skagway, after Boyce left the ship. The fact that it was unquestionably seaworthy leads me to suspect that someone on board was interested in a sturdy and dependable escape route.
As to the number of lifeboats, there were six on board. One was found on the wreck, one was unserviceable and one was found on shore. That leaves three missing, which could have carried survivors. If it is assumed that the thieves took one, two are still unaccounted for. According to the man who headed up the initial search, Inspector T.A. Marquam, deputy collector of the United States Customs in Alaska, he found “parts of broken boats” on the shore.70 If the term “boats” implies two, then all lifeboats are accounted for if the unserviceable boat is assumed to have gone down with the ship.
I checked local newspaper files for months following the wreck to see if there was any mention of lifeboats being found. No article on the lifeboats appeared in the local papers that still existed. However, there were huge gaps in the newspaper runs, many of them immediately after the wreck. There was no mention of any such discovery in the Seattle papers either. If a boat did survive the wreck, I suspect that it was one of the “metallic” ones. It would probably have survived the wreck and certainly the sea. But I am also inclined to believe that the storm would have blown it quite a ways south. Considering the thousands of miles of shoreline and the low density of population in Southeast Alaska, it is also possible that the lifeboat may have been blown ashore and camouflaged with debris.
WAS THE CLARA NEVADA ROBBED?
I believe that the circumstantial evidence supports the contention that the Clara Nevada was robbed. I am inclined to believe that, in Skagway, it came to the attention of a crew member or officer that there was going to be $165,000 in gold on the ship. The three most logical suspects are the freight clerk, purser and captain: George Rogers, George Foster Beck and C.H. Lewis. All three had the greatest opportunity to carry off this caper.
• George Rogers, the freight clerk, would have been aware of all passengers coming on board and what freight they were loading. An extra lifeboat could not have been brought on board without at least his knowledge. Further, he was apparently ordered to stay in Skagway as an agent of the company. Whether he was legitimately assigned to stay in Skagway or his stay was arranged by the rest of the thieves, he would hav
e been available to handle whatever transportation was needed to pick up the thieves once they had done their deed. Rogers also had the connections to get control of the purser’s key—if the purser was not involved in the theft.
• George Foster Beck, the purser, had access to the purser’s safe, where the bulk of the gold was presumably stored. He and Rogers were friendly and, if the accounts of some of the passengers correct, were already in cahoots on some minor chicanery.
• Captain C.H. Lewis had access to the purser’s safe as well and control of the entire ship. It is doubtful that an extra lifeboat could be brought on board and placed on deck without his knowledge.
Robbing the vessel must have seemed a relatively simple operation. The perpetrators would simply open the safe and move the gold to the new lifeboat on the deck of the ship. Just before they cast themselves adrift, they would start a fire onboard the Clara Nevada. In the confusion, they would not be missed. Passengers and crew would abandon ship. Events would be moving so fast that no one, passenger or crew, would be able to keep track of who was where as the boats were lowered. Then, when the survivors gathered in Skagway a few days later, the thieves would simply say that they had abandoned ship with everyone else.
As far as the Clara Nevada was concerned, it would fill and sink in deep water. No one would even know the gold was missing. Even if the ship could be raised, it would take years. By then the perpetrators would have died of old age, if they could even be linked to the crime. More likely, it would be assumed that a salvage operator had surreptitiously removed the treasure.
Further, while the lifeboats on the Clara Nevada were hardly seaworthy, they would have been sturdy enough to get the passengers and crew ashore. At its greatest distance, the Lynn Canal measures only four or five miles wide. In the Chilkat Inlet, where I believe the thieves left the Clara Nevada with the gold, the channel narrows to a mile. It grows to two miles in width until the Chilkat Peninsula disappears into the sea on the west.