{"product_id":"9781450736602","title":"Sunken Klondike Gold: How a Lost Fortune Inspired an Ambitious Effort to Raise the S. S. Islander","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen the 240-foot \u003ci\u003eSS Islander\u003c\/i\u003e hit an iceberg in Alaska’s inside waters just twelve miles from Juneau, Capt. Douglas H.R. Foote decided to make a desperate run for nearby Douglas Island. But it was too late. Water was pouring into a huge gash in the port bow. The stern was rising. The pride of the Canadian Pacific fleet quickly sank.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSixty-five of the 176 passengers and crew were lost, including Captain Foote, whose final words were: \"Tell 'em I tried to beach her.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe newspapers had a field day. Gold worth $3 million was rumored to have been put aboard in Skagway. There was talk of a salvage operation, but for thirty-three years the passenger vessel lay out of reach in 350 feet of water. In 1933, Seattle and Portland house-mover Frank Curtis proposed a bold salvage plan using two lift vessels, giant winches, diving bells, tidal power, and a determined crew of thirty or so house-movers, loggers, and rigging mechanics. Curtis was backed by a group of businessmen including future Weyerhaeuser Timber Company president Norton Clapp, who later invested in construction of Seattle’s Space Needle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a fascinating insider’s story of a two-year struggle to raise the \u003ci\u003eIslander\u003c\/i\u003e, a record-breaking salvage that focused on a single prize--an elusive fortune in gold.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Delano Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47300856348912,"sku":"9781450736602","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781450736602_p0.jpg?v=1763840816","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781450736602","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}