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PART THREE
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As years count, It has not been so very
lone since the shores of Simpson's "lovHv
river" were a wilderness, untrod save by
the moccaslned feet of the Indian who,
armed with feathered shaft and bow,
threaded the dus?ky gloom in search of
game. Less than half a century has
elapsed since the placid waters of the
Willamette were first disturbed by the
noisy inventions of civilized man. But
now the canoe, with Its carved and paint
ed prow, silent as a dream, slipping
along the reed-fringed shallows, or lurk
ing In shaded pools; has passed forever.
In its place the steamer, spacious and
handsomely appointed, makes a commo
tion In the once quiet stream and wakes
the echoes with churning paddles and
shrieks of steam.
The evolution of the steamboat on the
"Willamette wu a process as Interesting
as It was difficult. It is a far cry from
the clumsy flatboats and picturesque
bateaux of early pioneer days to the
swift and serviceable river craft that ply
upon the river and Its tributaries in this
year 1909. And yet any captain who
had experience in those earlier days will
tell you, with a sigh and shake of the
head, that. In spite of steam and steel
and perfected proportions, freighting on
the river Is not what it once was.
First Orgnnlied Service.
It was not until 1S50 that any regularly
organized transportation company began
to operate upon the "Willamette. Prior
to that time small boats and barges,
owned by private individuals, or by the
'Hudson's Bay Company, at Vancouver,
did most of the carrying, rolnforced, as
occasion required, by the large and light
canoes of the Indians who peopled the
shores of the lower river.
All the craft built and owned by that
first company wore flatboats that had to
be poled or "lined' up stream, and which
were, as k rule, manned by Indian crews.
It was slow, hard work, getting up the
river In those days, and It required the
servlco of willing hands and an unlimited
store of patience to accomplish the
Journey at all. Sometimes, when the na
ture of the shore or the swiftness ot
the current rendered towing impossible,
or poling ineffectual, the great, awkward
barge was drawn up stream by means of
the willows that drooped and trailed
along the river's marge, and to which the
dusky boatmen clung. The progress in
PORTLAND, OREGON,
OLb LOCKS
such case was necessarily slow and not
altogether unattended with danger. Some
times the fragile branches broke and
the boat went whirling down the angry
tide, for even the "bright "Willamette"
shows signs of temper at certain sea
sons of the year. A Ilatboat, 65 feet long
and heavily laden, was not, one can easily
Imagine, the most manageable craft in
the world, In time of a freshet. It was
not so difficult coming down, of course,
although the delightful element of dan
ger was not always lacking. In many in
stances, horses were employed to furnish
the motive power, and in the downward
journey the boat was handled usually
with sweeps.
First Steamer on Upper River.
However, this pioneer method of boat
lng gave place, in the course of a few
years, to steamers. The first of these to
ply upon the upper river was built at
Salem, in 1851. As a freight carrier she
was not a success. Her size was against
her. So diminutive was she that two
men could careen her, as she lay upon
the bank, prior to launching. Her period
of usefulness was brief, although her
name, "Hoosler," proved so popular that
It was long continued, being borne by
two of her successors. Her "bones" are
said to repose In the bed of the Wil
lamette some 300 feet above the head of
the locks at Oregon City.
The year 1831 wltnesyd, theaflyent of
three other boats, the Washington, Mult
nomah and Canemah. The first of these
was a side-wheel steamer, purchased In
San Francisco and brought to the upper
Willamette, where, at Canemah, one love
ly Junf- morning, she was launched, to
run on the Yamhill route for a short sea
son. At the close of the season she was
taken below the falls and operated there.
Two years later she was restored to the
upper river, and, finally, for some unre
corded reason, she was despatched to
the Umpqua, and the Willamette knew
her no more.
It was no light undertaking In those
days, before the construction of the locks,
to transfer a steamer from the upper
to the lower route, or lce versa. Still
It was often found either necessary or
desirable to do so, and It was not the
fashion In pioneer times to be daunted
by difficulty, or to hesitate In the pres
ence of an obstacle.
A sort of basin had been built on the
Oregon City side of the stream, abreast
the cataract, and Into this the boat was
floated. Thence It was drawn out upon
the beach and let down a skidway, by
means of ropes and cables and primitive
machinery, to the river level below the
falls. If it was to be a transference
from the lower to the upper route, the
process was simply reversed.
Multnomah's Advent.
The "Multnomah was built In the .East
and brought out to Oregon In sections.
She was put together at Canemah and
launched In June, the same month and
year as the Washington. She was not
beautiful at least, her portrait does not
convey the Idea of grace but she pos
sessed both pow er and speed, and was en
thusiastically welcomed by the Inhab
itants of Corvallls and Its outlying dis
tricts, for she was the first boat to as
cend to that point, Albany having pre
viously been considered the head of navi
gation on the river. However, her pas
senger accommodations so far exceeded
her capacity as a freight carrier that
It was not found profitable to operate her
upon the Corvallls route, and so, at the
ond of the year, she was transferred to
Portland and ran .for 12 years upon the
lower Willamette and .-Columbia. The
Canemah, a somewhat larger and slower
craft of local construction, took the place
of the Multnomah in the traffic of the
upper river.
Not a boat that plied the waters of the
Willamette in that first decade of steam
navigation on the river but had an event
ful, If sometimes brief, career. There "was
the Shoalwater, whose original title was
all but forgotten in the seven years of
her existence, during which period shn
steamed under four different names. Her
.. TT"
vCIXYJ3FJEUGENE.7
SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 11, 1900.
OREGON CITY
life as a river steamer was- one long
chapter of accidents, and she finally end
ed as a floating sawmill, after having
proven a disastrous investment to her
owners, in her first capacity.
The Walamette, another steamboat of
the same date, was considered the most
magnificent boat on the Inland waters of
the Northwest. She was not, for some
reason, a success on the upper river
route, and was "lined" over the Falls and
taken to the Sacramento, In California.
Blown to Atoms.
In 1834 the Gazelle was built, at a point
on the bank of the river, opposite Oregon
City, by a company organized for the
purpose ot founding a rival town. Fate
apparently frowned upon this ambition.
The first boat constructed by the com
pany was burned oefore she was fairly
completed; the second, the ill-fated Ga
zelle, was blown to atoms within 20 days
after launching. This disaster involved
loss of life, as well as destruction ot
property, for her crew, together with a
score of passengers, shared her sudden
fate.
The Enterprise, launched In 1S55, eventu
ally found her way northward to the
Fraser River. The James Clinton, built
the following year, was the first boat to
ascend the Willamette as far as- Eugene.
She was successfully operated upon this
route, giving the people of the upper
Valley efficient and satisfactory service
until she was, at last, broken up and
her machinery shipped to Coos Bay, to
become an Integral part of a steamer be
ing constructed at that point. The Port
land, built the same year as the James
Clinton, below the falls, was, when com
pleted, taken up and run for a twelve
month, under command of Captain Jamie
son. The story of the Portland's tragic
end Is told by those who witnessed her
mad leap over the brink of the foaming
cataract at Oregon City.
It was the 17th of March, 1857. There
had been an accident on the trip down
the river, which resulted in an injured
rudder. The damage had been temporarily
repaired by means of rope lashings. At
Canemah, Just above the falls, the boat
landed some freight and started to cross
to the opposite s,hore. When in midstream,
the rope lashing parted, and the craft
swung head-on down the river. The cur
rent was swift and strong and the engines
were powerless In its relentless sweep.
Her Dying: Protest.
As she went over the falls, her whistle
sounded a wild, walling shriek, that was
echoed back from the hills beyond the
river. It was the craft's dying protest
against her untimely fate a fate which
was shared by her captain and one of
her crew. In the steamer's safe was
money to the amount of J2000. The safe
with Its contents, to this day, for aught
man knbweth to the contrary, reposes
on the bed of the Willamette.
Agent Frank J. Smith, of The Dalles,
Portland & Astoria Navigation Company,
who has had many years experience In
Inland navigation In the Northwest, and
to whom, among others, the writer is In
debted for supplying Information for this
article, says this concerning the lost eafe:
"Time has wrought great changes in the
face of the ragged cliff over which the
Willamette tumbles, and now the spot
where the Portland struck is a shell-like
basin, the rim of which appears above
the surface and In the center of which
is barely 16 feet of water.
"Aware of this, some old-time steam
boatmen, 35 years after the disaster, left
Portland to endeavor to get the safe and
its precious contents. There seemed little
to contend against, excepting the accumu
lation of silt' and debris beneath which
the cafe lies burled, for the change in the
face of t'ae fall has left' the basin dead
, water, without current or cataract. " The
treasure-hunters took a full and complete
outfit to aid them in their wbrk. but tfieir
attempts proved futile." Captain Smith
regards it - as unlikely that the safe
will ever he recovered.
The Elk was a small steamer, built by
farmers to run on the'Tamhlll, and chief
ly' memorable on account of an effective
GB 109.0
boiler explosion, in which, although the
destruction of the boat was complete, no
one was. fatally Injured. It is chronicled
that "two passengers who were plajing
cards In the after-cabin at the time w ere
lifted bodily and found themselves sitting
In a dazed condition, but unhurt, upon
the debris which floated near the wreck."
The St. Claire was not much more than
a steam scow, and ' was available only
for freighting purposes, but she achieved
fame, by her successful leap In mld-alr
over the falls at Oregon City, in the
never-to-be-forgotten year of 1SG1. It was
during the great flood in December that
her captain brought her safely down.
In I860, according to the records, a
genius at Corvallls concluded that steam
boats were too expensive to operate, so
he rigged a craft with tread mill ma
chinery and cattle and horses for motive
power. Coming down the river on her
first trip, the vessel ran, or rather walked,
ashore, at McGooglan's Slough, where she
stayed till the motive power had de
voured all the oats and hay aboard. Then
the skipper, undeniably a man of original
ideas, was forced to sell his oxen and
-give up that method of river transporta
tion. The Reliance was one of the fastest of
the early boats on the Willamette. It Is
recorded to her credit that she once made
the trip from Oregon City to Salem In
six hours and a half, Including the time
occupied in making no less than nine
landings.
Prosperous Days.
Those were gay and prosperous days
in the history of steamboat traffic on the
Willamette. Both the Reliance and her
rival In speed, the Active, carried bands
of music, and their respective arrivals
and departures were notable events, cel
ebrated with Joyous acclaim by the in
habitants of the towns along the route.
When a boat was due at any point on the
upper river the farmers and their fami
lies gathered there from miles about, and
when the hoarse shriek of her steam
whistle woke the echoes, as she neared a
town, the whole population, even to the
babies and the dogs, turned out to wel
come her.
"Fannie Patton" Is a name dear to the
early Inhabitants of Salem. The craft so
named was also a Canemah boat, having
been built and launched from that pio
neer boatyard in August, 1S65, and she
was further known as ' Salem's Pride." A
corporation of the Capital City owned and
operated her and she bore the name of
the wife of an honored citizen of the
place.
Not the least Interesting chapter In the
story that might be told of early naviga
tion on the ever-beautiful Willamette Is
that descriptive of the countless attempts,
sometimes successful, but often failures,
to supply the small towns upon the tribu
taries of the river with steamboat serv
ice. The Santlam, the Long Tom and
many other streams whose adjacent terri
tory Is now effectually tapped by rail
way lines, were once considered navigable
for light-draft steamers, for varying dis
tances from their confluence with the
Willamette.
The Ohio.
The queerest craft that ever plied the
waters of any stream was. It Is claimed,
the Ohio. She was built, so reads the
record of her construction, with a box
hull and a flat bottom. When completed
her draft was only eight Inches. She
was jknown along the river as the "O. H.
Ten."
Judging from the history of the craft
that have been operated on the Willam
ette during the last half century, the fate
of a Tiver steamer Is either tragic or ig
noble. Her term of usefulness isbrief,
and' if she escapes fire and flood, sub
merged snags and gravel bars for a
decade, she Is dismantled and turned into
a scow or a barge, dependent upon some
still vitalized craft for towage.
There are wrecks strewn along the up-
per river, and they are not all visible to
mortal sight. The members of transport
tation companies those, more particularly
speaking, organized on the co-operative
plan could tell 'many a tale of disap
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WRECK OF STEAMER VPM.HOAG
pointment and disaster. And as for the
steamboat captains themselves, the ex
perience of each would fill a good-sized
volume, If written out In Interesting de
tail. There was a charm about steam
boating on the river, In earlier days, that
Is largely lacking in these latter times.
Gave Good Service.
Contrasted with the big, handsomely
appointed boats that now come and go
on tho Willamette, passing with ease
from the lower to the upper river through
the splendidly constructed Jocks at Ore
gon City, those pioneer steamers were
perhaps Insignificant. But when It comes
to a comparison of records, when achieve
ments are taken into consideration, It Is
at once apparent that they were not
without distinction. They were built for
use, not beauty, and" In their brief but
Invariably eventful careers they rendered
efficient service, and to this day they are
remembered and spoken of with prida
and affection by their whilom captains
and crews. The people who journeyed
up and down the river In their crowded
and Inconvenient cabins, and the farmers
who watched and waited for their coming
and hailed the arrival of a boat as an
spoch that brightened the gray monotony
of rainy days In Winter, will tell you
that no modern mode of travel can yield
a tithe of the enjoyment to be gotten out
of a trip on the river In those primitive
and perilous times, before the locks were
built, before the comfortable and spa
cious steamers Invaded the upper river,
and the railway came with Its Pullman
cars and Its other evidences of modern
progress.
Crnmbllnsr to Decay.
Once populous and busy towns like
Buena "Vista and Peoria are, under the
new and existing order of things, de
serted and crumbling to decay. The
roomy warehouses that, less than half a
century ago, were yearly stored with the
cereal products, oats and wheat and bar
ley raised and harvested In the Valley
of the Willamette, almost to the exclu
sion of everything else, are but tottering
ruins. Their floors, where. When the car
go was taken-on and the boat ready for
departure, the deckhands danced with
the village maidens, to the sound of the
flute and the iolln, are green with mold,
or fallen, quite away. The whistle of
passing steamboats echoes sadly along
the shores 'Where once tho eager crowds
gathered to welcome their humble pre
decessors; for the finest boat on the river,
In this period of rapid progress, is .pow
erless to' awaken more than a mlid de
gree of Interest In the dwellers' by the
waterside.
LISCHEN M. MILLER.
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