Valencia Tragedy, The

In 1906, on a beautiful sunny January 20, the steamer Valencia sailed from the Embarcadero in San Francisco on her way to Victoria and Seattle. The Valencia carried some 104 adult travelers in first and second class, including 17 women and small children as well as 65 officers and crew. The Valencia's voyage north was quite ordinary but the crew had been uneasy since departure. Somehow they sensed something wrong. They were right - the ships voyage would be her last. There was a violent storm. The Valencia struck a rock, or ledge, a few hundred yards off shore and this was to be her final resting place. The crew and passengers were marooned and at the mercy of the sea "Wholesale Murder" was one charge made after the steamship struck Vancouver Island's rugged coast. Over the next 40 hours the vessel was pounded to pieces less than 100 feet from shore, helpless men, women and children on board. Men watching from shore offered no assistance, nor did three rescue vessels which sailed away, condemning all to a lingering, lonely death.