STEAMSHIPS ON THE COLUMBIA

In 1866 the stern-wheeler "Forty-Nine" started regular service, carrying thousands of paying passengers to the Big Bend gold fields. Captain White proved that the Columbia could be navigated to the foot of Death Rapids. Other steamships followed, hauling in addition to passengers, supplies for railway construction and mining camps. For almost 100 years, these ships were a lifeline to the isolated communities along the Columbia and the Arrow Lakes.

The solitude of the Columbia valley was rudely broken on a December day in 1865 when a steam-driven paddle wheeler appeared from the south, chugging its way upriver. It was the American ship "Forty-Nine", which had been launched at Marcus, Washington "by the light of some candles, and fitful glimpses of the polar star". It was built for service on the Columbia from Marcus to La Porte, at the foot of Death Rapids. La Porte was a community which grew to service the placer mines along tributaries of the Goldstream River, a few kilometers to the north. During the inaugural voyage, the "Forty-Nine " could not make her way through the ice in the Narrows between the two Arrow Lakes, and her passengers had to reach the gold-fields on foot. During the next season, however, Captain Leonard White was successful in tackling the imposing rapids of the Columbia and reaching La Porte. His policy was to charge his passengers full fare on the upstream journey, and to allow poor miners free passage back out to civilization "if they were truly broke". Unfortunately, the gold deposits of the Big Bend were soon exhausted, and late in 1866, on his third voyage of the year Captain White had only three paying passengers. Although business to La Porte dwindled, other gold strikes such as the one on Forty-nine Creek near Nelson allowed a continuation of service until the steamer ran aground below Downie Creek in 1869. She was patched up and continued intermittent service when there was a demand, such as supplying Walter Moberly's survey party through the Selkirks in November 1871.

The river remained relatively quiet for the next 14 years until prospects again developed for upriver traffic. The impetus this time was the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Selkirks. The "Kootenai" was launched at Little Dalles (near Northport) in 1885 to haul construction materials and general supplies to Farwell (Revelstoke). Again, work was temporary, and after completion of construction in the fall, the "Kootenai" was idled like its predecessor. The period of inactivity, however, was relatively brief. The discovery of the Silver King ore deposit near present-day Nelson precipitated a flurry of mining exploration and conditions were again right for launching a steamship enterprise on the Columbia.

With the completion of the C.P.R. mainline, the picture was significantly altered. It now became possible to run a scheduled service from Revelstoke to Little Dalles, essentially in reverse direction from the first two ventures. The challenge was accepted by Fred Hume and Robert Sanderson who took on an additional partner and in 1888 launched a small twin-hulled vessel named the "Despatch" . She left Revelstoke on her inaugural run on August 8, 1888, and reached Sproat's Landing (the access point to the Silver King claim) two days later. It quickly became obvious that her design imposed limitations of speed and hauling capacity. Sproat's Landing was named after Tom Sproat who started farming on the site, having preempted 310 acres on May 28^th of the same year. The following year, we find G.M.Dawson doing surveys in the area and booking passage upriver on the boat on July 9^th.

The three partners of the Columbia Transportation Company had by now realized that they could only meet the ever increasing demand by the infusion of additional capital, and thus three additional partners were added and the expanded venture was renamed the Columbia and Kootenay Steam Navigation Company. It was incorporated on January 21, 1890 with capital resources of $ 100,000. Immediately, they commissioned the construction of a much larger and more luxurious vessel, the "Lytton" for $ 38,000. Another $ 10,000 was spent in purchasing the idle "Kootenai" and immediately putting her back into service. The "Lytton" left Revelstoke on July 3, 1890 on her maiden run. Amongst the dignitaries on board was William van Horne, journeying to Sproat's Landing to check on the progress of the Columbia and Kootenay Railway which was inching its way towards Nelson. They arrived at the Landing on July 4^th, finding a bustling community which included a government building, railway buildings, sawmill, two stores, at least one hotel, three restaurants, and several houses. On August 15^th, Corbin's railway from Spokane to Northport commenced operations and connections were worked out with the C.K.S.N. steamers.

Once the Columbia and Kootenay Railway was completed at the end of May 1891, a steamer service was also launched on Kootenay Lake, from Nelson to Bonner's Ferry. In August of the same year, the largest and beautifully outfitted vessel, the "Columbia" was put into service on the Arrow Lakes. Business was booming, especially after Captain J.W. Troup was hired as general manager. Another addition to the fleet was the ungainly but very practical "Illecillewaet", which replaced the worn out "Despatch" on October 30, 1892. She was designed by Troup as a work horse and especially with such a shallow draft that she would never be impeded by low water in the Narrows. It was said "she could float on dew". New mining developments as well as railway construction near Upper Arrow Lake kept the fleet profitably occupied. New docking facilities were built at Robson to take advantage of more suitable terrain than was offered at Sproat's Landing.

All things, however, were not going well. On August 2, 1894 the luxurious "Columbia" caught on fire south of Trail and was quickly reduced to a total loss, only three years after her initial run. Plans were made for a replacement, and an even more stately vessel, the "Nakusp" was launched on July 1, 1895. Later that year, the "Kootenai" grounded on Upper Arrow Lake and was written off. On June 11, 1896, her replacement the "Trail" started service.

C.P.R. embarked on an aggressive program of expansion, not only on the Arrow Lakes, but also on Slocan, Kootenay, and Okanagan Lakes. The problem of interrupted service through the Narrows due to low water or ice was licked when the Nakusp and Slocan Railway opened at the end of 1897. Steamers on Slocan lake closed the gap in the rails between Slocan City and Rosebery. On November 18, 1897, a radically different vessel was launched to offer express service on the Arrow Lakes. Her speed was increased by a more rounded hull design and very powerful engines. She was the "Rossland" and she was capable of doing a return trip between Arrowhead and Robson on the same day. The year closed sadly for the Lake and River Service: on December 23 the "Nakusp" burnt to the water line while at dock at Arrowhead, having been in service not quite 2 ½ years.

Thus in 1898 C.P.R. confidently pushed ahead with railway expansion westward as well as additional improvements to the steamer service. Two steamers ordered for service on the all-Canadian route to the Klondike via the Stikine River were diverted to the Kootenays. One of these was the "Minto"; she joined the fleet on Nov. 19th 1898. The culmination of C.P.R. expansion on the Arrow Lakes arrived in 1911 when the palatial "Bonnington" was launched at Nakusp on April 24.

The "Minto", like her sister ships, represented a way of life and a set of values which appear to be at odds with our super-efficient, profit-motivated society. The ships were built to a standard of luxury which would be hard to justify in the competitive world of today. The meals served on board were far superior to today's standard fare and they were affordable to all. Great pride was taken in providing a homely atmosphere and the schedules were flexible enough to allow for adventures:

" On Saturday morning as the MINTO, with Captain Lyman Fraser in command, was approaching Fire Valley, watchman Douglas saw two gigantic eagles circling around a tree on the west bank. He called the attention of the Captain, and every available fire-arm was used: the Captain, Mate and Purser, Baptiste, who was the hero of the last eagle battle, and several others taking part. The first successful shot was made by the Pilot, who brought down the female bird. The male bird disappeared but Mate McCarthy put on climbers and got up the 70 ft. tree about 30 ft. when he slipped and fell to the ground, but was not injured. Asst. Engineer Swan Peterson then tried, and succeeded in reaching the nest. There he found a young bird which he threw down and it was captured uninjured. Peterson's descent was the most exciting feature of the whole adventure. When 50 ft. from the ground, his strength gave out. At that height the girth of the tree was too great to encircle with his arms so he remained there, helpless. As soon as his danger was recognized, all the MINTO's ladders were lashed together end to end and placed against the tree. From the top, one of the crew succeeded in throwing a rope to Peterson, who made it fast over a short branch. He then slid down the rope and was assisted to the top of the ladder and then to the ground, exhausted but unhurt."

Another newspaper article, written before C.P.R. took over the fleet, projects us back into that seemingly too-distant time:

" To ride on the steamer COLUMBIA, from Nakusp to Robson, when the sun is shining and a gentle breeze flip flaps the curtains in the staterooms is a pleasure deliciously delightful.

The officers are courteous, obliging, and handsome. Steward Thompkins knows how to cater to the inner man, while Purser Anderson's winning ways cause the lonely tenderfeet to think they own the boat. Up in the pilot house, we found Captain Gore twirling the wheel, first one way, then the other, as the occasion demanded. In conversation with him, we increase our stock of navigation knowledge."

If only we could step on board again.