By Helen Horback
Until skin-diver Harry Cross arrived in town, no very serious tries were made to reach many wrecked craft in Yukon waters. Already Harry and Cal Waddington have ventured into the icy waters of Lakes Bennett and Laberge in their SCUBA outfits. "Scuba diving" means going below with self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.
One of their targets will be the "A. J. Goddard," sunk October 12, 1901 in Lake Laberge. Three lives were lost in this wreck, including Captain MacDonald, cook Fay Ransome and an unidentified deck hand. The old ship is down off Goddard Point on the lake and can be seen easily from the air.
Built at Lake Bennett Shipyards, the "Goddard" came through Miles Canyon to be used for lake and river traffic.
In newspaper accounts of the sinking, it was mentioned that the Goddard's engineer dreamt he saw the steamer sunk in Laberge. He refused to sail on her. Eight days after his dream, the ship did sink.
Thistle Down
Another wreck in Lake Laberge is the small steamer "Thistle," built in Dawson City and lost September 27, 1927.
At Lake Bennett, there is a submerged steam caterpillar which went through the ice about 1908 while hauling wood to Carcross. Driver Joe Knapp with Fred MacLennan and Joe Bolderston managed to escape safely. According to White Pass historian Bill MacBride, the old wood burning cat is still in the lake, just south of Carcross, in about 80 feet of water.
Well qualified to undertake deep water exploration, Harry Cross started skin diving two years ago as a hobby. Born in Victoria 34 years ago, he spent 12 years sailing the world. For three years he was on the Atlantic convoy and was also in the merchant service.
Now working at the Capital Hotel Lounge, Harry was in Whitehorse in 1945 when he worked for the American Government at McCrae. He returned north to join Highway Maintenance Establishment at Brooks Brook, staying from 1949 to 1951. When he came to Whitehorse last winter, he decided to stay awhile, possibly because of the tantalizing tales of sunken ships loaded with loot and whiskey.
