Ally

Owned by the Canadian Pacific Railroad Company, the steamship Montrose was most famous not for her size; she was an iron hulled ship weighing only 5,431 tons, nor her luxury; she was a simple immigrant ship on the Liverpool - Montreal run. Montrose found 15 minutes in the limelight during the summer of 1910 after departing Antwerp, Belgium to sail for Quebec. This particular crossing would make her a part of front page headlines around the world.

At the time, rumors placed Doctor Hawley Harvey Crippin in Belgium. Crippin, along with his lover, Ethel le Neve, were wanted by London police for the murder of Crippin's wife Cora. Cora Crippin's dismembered body had been found under the cellar floor of their London home. Crippin and his lover had fled and been on the run ever since.

Montrose's captain was Henry Kendall. He was a sharp man, keen and observant. One passenger, a Mr. Robinson, had aroused Kendall's suspicions. Robinson was traveling with his son, whose voice, mannerisms and build suggested a woman disguised as a man. Robinson had recently shave a mustache, made apparent by a pale area under his nose, and deep imprints on his nose told of glasses he no longer wore.

The two were uneasy and restless and when Kendall spotted a revolver in Robinson's pocket, he wired the Liverpool office of Canadian Pacific and informed them that he had strong suspicions as to the true identity of these two passengers. Scotland Yard was notified immediately and an inspector departed on White Star's Laurentic. Much faster than Montrose, White Star's ship caught up with the Canadian steamer just off the coast of the North American mainland. The inspector boarded Montrose and took the murderous duo into custody. What happened at the time of their arrest is debatable.



One story has Crippin, confronted by the inspector and Captain Kendall, saying "Thank God it's over, the suspense has been far too great". Another version has Crippin cursing Kendall. This version tends to have support among the more superstitious; less than four years later, Kendall was in command of another Canadian Pacific steamer when she was struck by a collier and sank not far from the spot where Crippin allegedly uttered his curse. Empress of Ireland's sinking was the worst in Canadian history. Was her fate sealed by "Kendall's Curse"?

As for Montrose, she continued to travel the same route for several years. Steaming in obscurity, she never again made any headlines. Not until she was sold to the Admiralty in October 1914, that is. The steamer was to have her hull filled with cement and used to block Dover Harbour from enemy attack. Before the work was completed, however, Montrose broke her mooring lines and drifted onto the Goodwin Sands. There her hull was gouged and she sank in the shallow waters. In fact, her mast remained visible for nearly 50 years! It wasn't until 1963 that it finally snapped off and vanished into the ocean.