Scattered across the island were the remains of nine crew members who had managed to escape on a lifeboat. SS Kamloops was a Canadian lake freighter that was part of the fleet of Canada Steamship Lines from its launching in 1924 until it sank with all hands in Lake Superior off Isle Royale, Michigan, United States, on or about 7 December 1927. Archaeologists have discovered 17 decapitated bodies at three Roman cemeteries in Cambridgeshire, eastern England -- an "exceptionally high' number which experts think were the result of judicial . Where is the actual evidence of the 215 bodies discovered at the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School? Hes been searching for and identifying the grave sites of indigenous children at residential schools in Canada since 2009 after being hired by Canadas powerful Truth and Reconciliation Commission. These two parts seem very contradictory to me. Canadian professor Frances Widdowson said that no one dares question indigenous leaders in Canada these days, which makes it difficult to check their claims about buried remains of children. SS Bannockburn, a.k.a. I guess it's like a natural form of mummification. The official record states that all of the ships crew were lost. Park Superintendent Phyllis Green has temporarily closed the Kamloops to diving. Nothing was found until May 1928 when some fishermen recovered the remains of several crew members on Isle Royale. Moose The body of one of the ships crew members floats around in the Kamloops engine room. The experience we had last year does not deter us because we realize that a thing like that may not happen again for another 50 years." The crew was forced to "finish" the engines. Unfortunately for Kamloops and other vessels assigned to Lake Superior runs, a massive storm began hammering the lake on 5 December. Rouillard, who first made his case for what he said was a total lack of evidence for the mass graves in a January essay, doesnt deny that serious abuses may have occurred at residential schools. At least 80 people survived Sunday's shipwreck off the Calabrian coast, but rescue crews recovered 60 bodies, including those of several children and the corpse of a young man Monday morning. The owners of the Kamloops pushed the ship to operate as late into the season as possible and it was one of the last vessels still operating in the beginning of winter in 1927. The body had no lifebelt, although one was found in the vicinity. The main purpose of the Kamloops was to carry manufactured goods from Montreal over to Thunder Bay, Ontario. Explorers began to take notice of how Grandpas corpse would follow them from the time they entered the ship until they left. Capt. Answer (1 of 13): Quora User gave a fantastic answer showing pairs of shoes on the sea bottom at the resting place of the Titanic and I'd encourage you to have a look at that. Thunder Bay It should come as no surprise to anyone that the flesh of bodie. With a length . Also, it is too dangerous to recover a body trapped that far down. I came across an interesting story recently that circulates among diving enthusiasts. Pixelation, no. On the night of December 6th, 1927, Lake Superior was in the grips of a violent winter storm, and the SS Kamloops was struggling to make its way through the waves, accompanied by the steamer ship Quedoc. The Kamloops and her 22 crew members were never seen alive again. It seems that the harder it is to access a haunted location, the scarier the ghost stories tend to be, and they dont get much creepierthan that of Grandpa, the spirit haunting the submerged wreck of the SS Kamloops. Yellowhorn, who grew up on a farm on the Peigan Indian reservation with many family members who attended residential schools, is both an archaeologist and anthropologist. HAH! The Coast Guard ceased its search of the Keweenaw in the face of heavy seas and ice, and suggested concentrating efforts on the shores of Isle Royale and Manitou Islands (Houghton Daily Mining Gazette, Dec. 16, 1927). This story has been shared 118,693 times. We have not gotten to the point where we can do that. Tall Ships The coal fired, forced draft engine could not function without the stack. Image Source: National Park Service. How is this possible . There are bottom feeders in all lakes, unless the pollution has killed them off, and at the time of the sinking, there would not have been the pollution in the Lake that there is now. I haven't heard this one. But, like Rouillard, Tom Flanagan, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Calgary, isnt buying any of it. With no power, she was at the mercy of the raging storm and the northeast gales tossed and blew her toward Isle Royale. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, with the help of ground-penetrating radar, all flags on federal buildings fly at half-mast, being murdered and buried in what some past school attendees say was an apple orchard. The storm became a major blizzard. Another thing, if divers had been down there, then why didnt they bring him up for Identification, burial, history and medical science then? It is not known how EMPEROR dumped the ore. [3] She was built to fit inside the locks of the Canadian-operated canals of the lower Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River during the years prior to the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. July 15, 2013. Park rangers responded to the incident after receiving a distress call on marine band radio from the charter company vessel Lake Superior Diver. [4] When the 1928 navigation season opened in April, a further search was made for wreckage from Kamloops. As more time passed without a trace of wreckage, and hope was reluctantly abandoned, the general feeling grew that Kamloops would remain a Lakes mystery (Sault Daily Star, Dec. 14, 1927). This question has recently been posted in a national newspaper by a . We need someone who's a SAR Diver to clear up that one. I don't remember who wrote it, but it's in one of the Alfred Hitchcock story collections and I read it several times when I was a kid. They attempted to assist him but were forced to send him to the surface alone after he became unconscious. All this about unmarked graves and missing children triggered a moral panic. After all, it had been awhile. Flanagan and others saythe number is misleading at best because a large percentage of Indian parents willingly opted for residential schools as they were the only way for their children to get an education. The temperature continued to drop as a massive cold front advanced from the northwest (Sault Daily Star, Dec. 1, 1927). While no one is quite sure what caused the Kamloops to sink, the few clues that were discovered paint a pretty horrific picture. The Quedoc was leading and the KAMLOOPS was one-quarter of a mile astern. Widdowson wrote that lurid talk of buried indigenous children has circulated for more than 25 years and is now firmly ensconced within the Canadian consciousness. But she said theres still no hard evidence. Kamloops, heavily coated with ice, was last seen steaming towards the southeastern shore of Isle Royale at dusk on the following day, 6 December. On June 4, six more bodies of Kamloops' crew were found, again by fishermen. Almost half of a century after it had disappeared, on August 21, 1977, Minneapolis sport diver Ken Engelbrecht finally spotted the dark shadow of the wreck during an exploratory dive. lol, I cracked up at this comment from him: "His skin in life or death would lose pixelation". Talks & Readings, Search Events The Canadian government and provincial authorities pledgedabout $320 millionto fund more research and in Decemberpledged another $40 billioninvolving First Nations child-welfare claim settlements thatpartially compensate some residential school attendees. Our guides and reviews include Amazon affiliate links which provide us with some commission if you buy something through them. [3] Its detached smokestack lies a short distance away, near the starboard aft cargo mast. Kamloops was one of a network of residential schools across Canada run by the government and operated by churches from the 1880s through the end of the 20th century. You must be logged in to post a comment Not one body has been found, Jacques Rouillard, who is a professor emeritus in the Department of History at the Universit de Montral, told The Post. The ship was 260ft deep, its detached smokestack lying a short distance away. What happened to the Kamloops is still a mystery. The body of one of the deceased crew members, dubbed Old Whitey, floats amongst the wreckage of the ship with some divers claiming follows them as th Some of those found had succumbed to disease, Yellowhorn said, citing one cemetery where it became apparent many children perished from the Spanish flu a little over a century ago. 'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Charity & Fundraisers Workshops, Charity & Fundraisers He said he planned to visit Canada later this year to further assist in healing and reconciliation. Two divers in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin found the mummified remains of 52-year-old Dirk Kann of Guttenberg, Iowa 225 feet below the surface Saturday still in his wet suit, WLUK-TV reported. Apparently Kamloops passed through the Soo on December 4 in the company of Quedoc, a 345-foot bulk freighter (Owen Sound Daily Sun Times, Dec. 13, 1927). But I didnt see any strange deaths, he said. People are speaking from their emotions.. Despite his own skepticism, Yellowhorn says its entirely possible that if excavations are ever carried out at Kamloops actual human remains could be found, much as they were in 2014 in Ireland after ground-penetrating radar showed anomalies at one of the countrys notorious mother and baby homes. but there are many urban legends here.they also claim a loch ness monster lives her(they call her,yes "her" tahoe tessie.) A collective memorial stone was placed over their gravesite in 2011. It would seem that at least one of the ships crew decided to stick around, and so many divers had met him that they even gave him a nickname: Grandpa. Engelbreht, along with dive partner Randy Saulter of Mounds . For more information, please see our The SS Kamloops was added to the list of Ghost Ships of the Great Lakes until the 21st August 1977 when her wreck was discovered northwest of Isle Royale. Coupled with a relative lack of life at the bottom of the lake, even things like clothing and leather shoes, still stored neatly in crew cabins, were perfectly preserved, lending a dreamlike eeriness to the exploration of the sunken ship. The monument shown here is that of Shuswap Louis Clexlixqen, chief from 1852 until his death in 1915. Brian wrote his wife in Toronto, saying that the weather was very bad and that he was going out to anchor his ship (Ibid., Dec. 14, 1927). Today there is no wrong or right. Thanks for sharing such a useful and informative content. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Introduction. A lot of the white people there were kind. [4], Kamloops completed its sea testing on 5 July 1924, was shipped to Copenhagen, Denmark, to pick up freight, then was taken to Montreal and Houghton, Michigan, United States. But a group of about a dozen academics in Canada dont believe the whole story. Her chief duty was carrying manufactured goods from Montreal up the lakes to Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. While it is not new to find graves at former Residential Schools in , it's always . Powered by Invision Community. Let us know in the comments! The ship passed Detroit at 11:30. "Old Whitey" is the nickname given to a deceased crewman of the SS Kamloops, which sank in Lake Superior in 1927. At over 16 acres in size, it is also the world's largest man-made reef built to hold the remains of over 125,000 people. Kann disappeared in September 1999 after attempting to explore the shipwreck of the legendary 2,425-ton iron steamer Lakeland; a popular and extremely . ", "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" - Benjamin Franklin, "They are barking, Sancho, so let's ride" The prospect of finding survivors still alive on Isle Royale was considered remote (Daily Mining Journal, Marquette Dec. 16, 1927). Divers in 2019 located a different shipwreck the SS Hudson , which sank in 1901 at a depth of 825 feet below the surface. This is the biggest fake news story in Canadian history, Flanagan told The Post. Shipwrecks of Isle Royale: The Historical Record)", "Memorial service to honour S.S. Kamloops sailors", "A shipwreck, a young woman and a message in a bottle", Village Media (Village Media Inc./Village Media Colorado LLC), "Kamloops (V. Shipwrecks of Isle Royale: The Archeological Record)", "All Hands Lost: Kamloops Isle royale Lake Superior". For further reading and research, explore the source materials that contributed to the History & Culture: Shipwrecks website. The doomed vessel cleared Port Colborne, Ontario on the Welland Canal upbound on December 1 at 9:30 AM (Detroit Free Press, Dec. 2, 1927). In the novel, the body of a fictional contemporary diver is found together with the historical human remains in the ship's engine room. Not buoyed. The Kamloops school operated between 1890 and 1969, when the Canadian government took over operations from the Catholic Church and operated it as a day school until it closed in 1978. The 250-foot, 2,226-ton, iron cargo ship was in a battle for her life, and all aboard knew that only his skill, and the grace of God, stood between them and the ravenous waters of Lake Superior. Canadians feel guilty so they keep quiet.. We had a knowing in our community that we were able to verify. sounds interesting. He added that the report showing the results of the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has not been released by the band but may be at some point in the future. It involves a ship called The SS Kamloops that sank in 1927 off Isle Royale in Lake Superior. The last trip of the 1927 season would be Kamloops' final trip. 800 East Lakeshore Drive Fader, began searching the north shore (Ft. William Daily Times Journal, Dec. 12, 1927). "Ye old shipped matey be starving for a good rum by now", The Vampire Lair 'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Content copyright 2016 Planet Weird unless otherwise noted. They were found along with wreckage of the lost steamer. Apostle Islands Considering the depth and temperature of the waters, the dive was reserved for only the most experienced, which meant that relatively few explorers got to wander through sunken bowels of the Kamloops. When they decided to use federal funds they got during Covid to contract with an expert to look for the remains, the results were lightning quick, Read told The Post. The ones who did, though, began to resurface with frightening tales. The wreck occurred off the coast of Isle Royale, Michigan's National Park, and while most of the crew's bodies were found because they froze trying . This ship is capable of carrying over 20,000 TEU containers when fully loaded. only shades of grey. Lake Superior's Kamloops shipwreck is well-known in part because some divers say the body of one of the ship's crew members allegedly still floats in the wreck's engine room. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Islet Prince, commanded by A.E. An artists depiction of the layout of the wreckage of the SS Kamloops. Lake Superior The giant freeze-up of vessels the year before was still fresh in memory as the 1927 navigation season drew to a close. The decedent's body has remained underwater in the wreckage of the vessel since the foundering on December 7, 1927. Marie It was known that there were two women aboard Kamloops during its final voyage. Zoom - The Heartbeat of Trees - Book Discussion, The Shipwreck Coast's Lost Whalebacks: The Story of Barge 129 and Sagamore, Fatal Diving Accident at Isle Royale; Kamloops Wreck Temporarily Closed, Around the Circle This Week: February 23, 2023, Around the Circle This Week: February 16, 2023, Around the Circle This Week: February 9, 2023, Around the Circle This Week: February 2, 2023, Around the Circle This Week: January 26, 2023, Lake Superior Journal: The Vanishing Act at Pebble Beach, From Dishwasher to President: Brian Daugherty of Grandmas Restaurants. Phone: (250) 372-3322 Newsroom: (250) 851-3204. It's a torso with some leg stumps, that's all that's . It sounds to me like a mixture of history (the true story of the wreck) and fiction. This evidence supports the belief held at the time by many that the bodies found were the occupants of a lifeboat that made it to shore. Birds The steamship Kamloops was built by Furness Shipbuilding Co. 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