The ghost of the SS City of Ainsworth

As far as I can tell, this story of a ghost ship has not been republished since it was first told almost 128 years ago.

A spookfied version of the SS City of Ainsworth, sailing somewhere on the Kootenay River between Kootenay Lake and Bonners Ferry. (Rendered by ChatGPT, based on image D-000654, courtesy Royal BC Museum and Archives)

On Nov. 29, 1898, the SS City of Ainsworth sank in Crawford Bay during a storm, claiming nine lives. It remains the deadliest disaster on Kootenay Lake in recorded history. You can learn more about it in Susan Hulland’s excellent book, The Story of the SS City of Ainsworth.

On Dec. 2, 1898, the following appeared in the Nelson Daily Miner:

A GHOST STORY

The Ainsworth loses no time in resuming her voyage

A strange story is current in town to which several witnesses are willing to swear, and to which one of them, Jim Howarth of the [tugboat] Hercules, did swear to a Miner representative last night.

It appears that on Tuesday evening about the time the Ainsworth went down, the Hercules was coming through the Narrows when a steamer have [sic] in sight, having no lights but the port light. The Hercules drew aside to let her pass, and as she got nearer it was seen that it was the Ainsworth.

Surprised at seeing her there at such a time, the whole crew turned out to watch her go by, and to their amazement and consternation she passed without noise or ripple, and the crew stood spell-bound as the latest “phantom ship” vanished into the shades of the night.

The crew questioned those on board the Surprise, which came down shortly after, and they too averred they had seen the same thing. They also located the probable position of every boat on the lake, but could not account for the phenomenon in that way.

Nothing will persuade the crew of the Hercules, but that the Ainsworth, despairing of being again used as a passenger steamer, has taken to plying her accustomed route in ghostly wise.

The most extraordinary part of the story, however, is that the crew of the Hercules are equally emphatic in their assertions that they had no whiskey aboard.

What of Jim Howarth? Did he repeat this story for the rest of his life? I have no idea. There is no sign of him on the 1901 census, although his name pops up in passing in 1900 in The Paystreak, which mentioned that he lived in Nelson and was visiting his brother William in Sandon. There was a James D. Howarth who died in Kamloops in 1912, but I don’t know if it was the same guy.