Little evidence of what destroyed the S.S. Lion
The sudden loss of the wooden steam vessel “Lion” near Bay de Verde in the early morning hours of Old Christmas Day, 1882 morphed into a mystery and became “an integral part of local folklore” in the words of Michael F. Harrington. But debris and two bodies at the presumed site of the tragedy, the tickle between Baccalieu Island and the mainland, make it less of a mystery than tradition would have it, and more of an event which left frustratingly few details.
Over time, several thoughtful Newfoundland writers have examined the story of the “Lion.” Harrington wrote about it for Atlantic Advocate 56 years ago and for Atlantic Guardian, some years before that. Nine years ago, Dale Jarvis wrote about one person’s premonition concerning the event. In his “The Oldest City”, Paul O’Neill had only to mention St. John’s businessman Walter Grieve to have the 300-ton Lion come to mind as it was one of Grieve’s ships. P.J. Wakeham, who searched for stories lying hidden in our history, chose the “Lion” as one of his topics.
I was drawn to the story of the loss by a small listing in an obscure 1898 publication, “Historical Notes Concerning Queen’s College, St. John’s”: Foster, C.H. - Deacon, 1880; Curate, Bonne Bay, 1880; Trinity West, 1881-1882. (Drowned with bride a week after marriage by foundering of S.S. Lion January 6, 1882).
It is recorded that the children of the light keeper on Baccalieu Island discovered the body of a woman floating on the morning of January 6th. Identified as that of Mrs. John Cross of Trinity, the body and clothing were intact, even to a brooch clasping part of the collar on her dress. In her hand, Mrs. Cross still gripped a small parcel tied with string.
The ship had left St. John’s around midnight. It was believed to be carrying just under 40 people. Harrington suggested the Lion may have been destroyed by an explosion in the powder magazine or from bursting boilers; it carried a quantity of kerosene and lumber and was particularly burdened with coal to feed ships at Trinity then taking on supplies for the spring sealfishery. He also suggests the Lion could have foundered. But for a ship to founder, rough seas would have had to come into play. The night was beautifully calm.
To try and find if there was any information extant in accounts other than those of the standard St. John’s newspapers of the day, I turned to a little known and now long-defunct publication, The Carbonear Herald. There are gaps in the collection of this newspaper at the Provincial Archives - I could not find any issue of the time of the disaster, around January 6th - but to my surprise, I did find a first-hand account from an apparent witness, published in the paper two weeks later, on January 20th. I do not know whether this has ever been given much mileage. Amazingly, the author (witness) is not identified.
“JANUARY 20th., 1882. The Lion Disaster - Latest News from Bay de Verde - An Eyewitness - Probably Explosion:
“Between 5:00 and 6:00 o’clock after leaving the wedding on Friday morning in company with Thomas Moore Jr. we saw something in Baccalieu Tickle arising like a flash of lightening out of the water and lasting about four seconds. We reported what we saw but very little attention was paid to it until Saturday when the report of the Lion disaster reached here. It is my opinion that as they had freight for the island they were laying in the tickle awaiting daylight and could not have got water enough in the boiler and neglected to blow off steam, or, as the water was very low in the boiler and it being very hot, immediately the cold water would go into it, an explosion would follow … Friday the people on the island were engaged picking up (illegible) … lumber, etc., on Friday night the ‘binnacle fire’ was lit on the island which means death and intended to draw the attention of Mr. - - of Red Head Cove whose duty is to bring out a boat on seeing the fire. It was this boat which picked up a body of a woman (Mrs. Cross of Trinity). On Saturday they made further discovery of wreckage and another woman was picked up on the following Tuesday.”
I have not read any other accounts which show that a second body was found. There were several stories of poor seamanship, of holing the ship on rocks off Grates Point and so on. However, there is an additional fact about Mrs. Cross. She was clothed in outdoor wear. It was known in St. John’s that she intended to spend the night not in a cabin, but bundled in her winter clothes and resting on deck where she could have warmth from the funnel nearby. Why? Did she fear the over-burdened ship might keel over? Was she merely nervous about going to bed below decks in a vessel at sea? As she was one of only two victims to float free, it would seem an explosion followed immediately by sinking, sealed the fate of the S.S. Lion.
No doubt even now, 134 years later, some of the heavier, imperishable remains of ship and cargo (the coal … perhaps a brass bell…) very likely lie on the ocean floor beneath Baccalieu Tickle.