The Foolkiller
March 10, 2020 5:30 PM   Subscribe

In 1915, the SS Eastland overturned in the Chicago river, killing hundreds. Subsequent investigation discovered a mysterious 40 foot long submarine on the river floor, containing the remains of a man and a dog. It was named for a local Niagra Falls daredevil and would-be arctic explorer who did not build it. Neither did the many 19th century submarine pioneers. But, someone did. The Constant podcast explores the story. [SL: six hours of audio and associated images.]
posted by eotvos (22 comments total) 32 users marked this as a favorite
 
I assume that this is fictitious? Please clarify.
posted by mwhybark at 6:02 PM on March 10, 2020


A comment on this article seems to say it is mostly true, but it is hard to find accurate information. (From 2007)
posted by Literaryhero at 6:16 PM on March 10, 2020


Even aside from the Foolkiller, it turns out that the SS Eastland was involved with a sunken submarine, in that it was rechristened the USS Wilmette in 1918 when the Navy bought it and used it as part of a gunnery exercise on Lake Michigan to sink the surrendered German UC-97 in Lake Michigan. The Foolkiller was real enough to make it into Oddball Illinois and Mysterious Chicago, at least. Plus, photos! (which appears to be the source of the photos that Constant Podcast flipped horizontally & used in the "40 foot long submarine" link).
posted by sysinfo at 6:28 PM on March 10, 2020 [4 favorites]


Everything the podcast has said in the past that I actually know something about has been true so far. Casual wikipedia searches to check tag spelling don't disagree with anything in the narrative. I think it's true. If not, someone's done a lot of work to make it seem so.
posted by eotvos at 6:30 PM on March 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


Nope. It is true! PBS did a spot on the “Foolkiller”.
posted by fimbulvetr at 6:30 PM on March 10, 2020 [6 favorites]




I started listening to this podcast, and after three episodes, I was like "jesus, when does this story ever end?". In a good way.
posted by 2N2222 at 6:51 PM on March 10, 2020


Well that is just damned peculiar.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:02 PM on March 10, 2020


"Rube" Deneau, who was quite a ball player some years ago, and who managed the London baseball team two years ago, is the discoverer of a submarine. In the off season, "Rube" is a diver, and while working in the Chicago River, he discovered an ancient submarine, lost nearly a quarter of a century ago. It has been raised. The Chicago Tribune has the following to say of Deneau's exploit:
The suave persons who have been inviting strangers to stroll down to the river to see the "submarine from Europe" will have almost a legal excuse to-day.
At about noon a submarine will be hauled from the river bottom and put on a scow.
The Foolkiller, Chicago's lost submarine, was extricated from its grave of mud yesterday, after lying there a quarter of a century.
RAISED, BUT FALLS BACK
A crowd saw the submarine's nose rise above the surface of the river, but the breaking of a cable prevented the boat's being hauled into full view. "Frenchy" Deneau, a diver, had to go to the river bottom several times before the cables were again were adjusted.
The Foolkiller gained its name from the taunts of Chicagoans 25 years ago, when it made its first appearance on the Chicago River.
OWNER DROWNED ON TRIP
Peter Nissen, who died a few years ago, is thought to have been the boat's last owner. Its original owner, a New York man, was drowned during a trial trip.
The boat was tied to a deck near the bridge and disappeared mysteriously one night. Deneau discovered it recently while laying cable on the river bottom.
- Hamilton Daily Times - Wednesday 22 December 1915

Reported in contemporary newspapers, so not a hoax. Looking forward to digging into this.
posted by Leon at 7:07 PM on March 10, 2020 [5 favorites]


I wonder if someone with newspapers.com access could search for the word "submarine" in the Chicago Tribune circa 1890? The information's probably folded into the podcasts, but original sources are always interesting.
posted by Leon at 7:16 PM on March 10, 2020


The Eastland's story is also pretty nuts. All those people died just feet from shore.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:40 PM on March 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


The Eastland story seems more dramatic & sad.
posted by 8k at 8:05 PM on March 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


I was previously familiar with the Eastland story, discovered as I walked past the memorial plaque one day a few years ago, and in the past spent some considerable time reviewing historical accounts, because it is a mindbending event to imagine. In my trawling, the submarine had never, er, surfaced, if you will. So the lack of links to non-podcast sourced corroboration led me to my query. Thanks, everybody. Who knows what other secrets the river that runs green once a year might hold?
posted by mwhybark at 9:47 PM on March 10, 2020


Holy crap, that's crazy. Not only did more passengers die on the Eastland than either the Titanic or the Lusitania, but the Titanic disaster had resulted in the passage of a law that required so many lifeboats that it made the ship top-heavy--and it had almost capsized twice before. Crazy.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:51 PM on March 10, 2020 [3 favorites]


2015 Chicago Magazine article on the Eastland (and a book, and an author). Sometime closer to 9/11 than farther from it, but after, I literally just randomly was walking by the plaque location and read it, and was like, “wait, what?”

It is a fucked up thing.
posted by mwhybark at 10:01 PM on March 10, 2020 [2 favorites]


Also, the photos of the sub being raised in sysinfo’s link appear to be from December 1915. The Eastland sank in July 1915 and her recovery took a while. She was righted and raised in October 1915. So mighty-thewed Rube Deneau, batsman and offseason diver, was almost certainly working recovery operations on the Eastland when he found the submarine.
posted by mwhybark at 10:10 PM on March 10, 2020


I grew up in Cicero. Western Electric was a major employer then, and everyone worked there, or their dad worked there, or they knew someone who worked there.

Squirrel family lore says two cousins-several-times-removed and my great-grandma's best friend all died that day. Ironically, great-grandma did not make it to the outing due to being sick.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 5:10 AM on March 11, 2020


Listening to the first two episodes again for the first time in months, I realize I got a few details wrong in the original post. It wasn't the investigation of the Eastland that found the submarine, but rather the diver involved in the investigation, while laying cable a few months later. And it was a Niagra Rapids daredevil, not a Niagra Falls daredevil. Sorry about that. I hope the story is no less interesting. But, two mistakes in six sentences is a bit embarrassing.
posted by eotvos at 5:57 AM on March 11, 2020


We have a newspaper from the day the Eastland sunk. My greatgrandmother had written on it "I was there!" Sadly, never got to talk to her about that day.

Appreciate the post!
posted by zerobyproxy at 6:35 AM on March 11, 2020 [1 favorite]


Whoa. Here I am, thinking I have a good, if not comprehensive, knowledge of the margins of Chicago history. And today I learned there was a whole submarine-in-the-river episode, complete with a huckster diver who discovered it? Forget broad shoulders, my relationship to this city is far more defined by its uniquely American promoters & power-brokers, and their schemes.

Visited the Chicago Maritime Museum last month with the family, I don't recall any mention of this -- though to be fair I glossed over the Eastland exhibit, thinking I had heard that story through and through.
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 8:21 AM on March 11, 2020 [2 favorites]


>Reported in contemporary newspapers, so not a hoax.

Not a new one, anyway.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:55 AM on March 11, 2020 [3 favorites]


The SS Eastland previously on MeFi.
posted by rewil at 4:15 PM on March 11, 2020


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