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A NEW STEAM BOAT ON LAKE ONTARIO Kingston Chronicle Sept 14 1816 On Saturday the 7th of
September, the Steam Boat FRONTENAC was launched at the village of Ernest
Town. A numerous concourse of people
assembled on the occasion. But, in consequence
of some accidental delay, and the appearance of an approaching shower, a part
of the spectators withdrew before the launch actually took place. The Boat moved slowly from her place, and
descended with majestic sweep into her proper element. The length of her Keel is 150 feet; her Deck 170 feet. Her proportions strike the eye very
agreeably; and good judges have
pronounced this to the best piece of naval architecture of the kind yet
produced in America. It reflects honor
upon Messrs. TIEBOUT & CHAPMAN, the contractors, and their workmen, and
also upon the proprietors, the greater part of whom are among the most
respectable merchants and other inhabitants of the County of Frontenac, from
which the name is derived. The
machinery for this valuable boat was imported from England, and is said to be
of an excellent structure. The
FRONTENAC is designed for both freight and passengers. It is expected she will be finished and
ready for use in a few weeks. Steam
navigation having succeeded to admiration on various rivers, the application
of it to the waters of the lakes is an interesting experiment. Every friend to public improvements must
wish it all the success which is due to a spirit of useful enterprise. A Steam Boat was lately launched at Sacket’s Harbour.
The opposite sides of this Lake, which not long ago vied with each
other in the building of ships of war, seem now to be equally emulous of
Commercial superiority. STEAM BOAT RENCOUNTER Kingston
Chronicle Aug 16
1828 On Saturday last the Team Boat Dalhousie,
Captain McDonell, in order to oblige a number of
the inhabitants of Kingston, made a trip to Bath. About 7 o’clock in the evening, the
Dalhousie left Mr. Ham’s wharf, and steered for Kingston. A few minutes afterwards, the Toronto,
Captain Sinclair, got under way from a wharf a short distance to leeward of
the Dalhousie, and proceeded towards Kingston also. When opposite to a point of land below
Bath, the Toronto came within hail of the Dalhousie, and Capt. McDonell, perceiving that danger was at hand, requested
Captain Sinclair to stop his engine.
This request, however, was disregarded, and the next minute the stem
of the Toronto struck the Dalhousie on her larboard quarter, carrying away
the stanchions, railing, &c. The Toronto then shot ahead, and the two
boats became wedged together, in which situation they ran more than half a
mile. Here again Captain McDonell intreated Captain
Sinclair to stop his engine, and he would do the same, in order that the
boats might separate without doing further injury to each other; but all to no purpose - the Capt. of the
Toronto continued obstinate and unyielding.
At length Capt. McDonell, fearing that
serious consequences might ensue, stopped the Dalhousie’s engine, and allowed
the Toronto to escape. The foregoing is a plain relation of the
facts as the occurred under our immediate observation, and in the presence of
twenty or thirty other passengers. We
abstain from comment, as they affair will probably hereafter become the
subject of legal investigation. Herald. THE SIR JAMES KEMPT STEAM-BOAT Kingston Chronicle Aug 9 1828 This boat, which was recently built at the
village of Bath, under the superintendence of Captain Gildersleeve,
was launched on Monday last - and on Wednesday Morning was brought in tow to
this place by the Toronto. She
is to ply between Prescott & the head of the Bay of Quinte. Her engine is 45 horsepower. She is handsomely fitted up for the accommodation
of passengers, and is to be under the command of Captain Gildersleeve,
formerly of the Charlotte, a gentleman well known for the urbanity of
his manners, and his unremitting attention to the comforts of his passengers. THE FIRST TRIP Weekly
British Whig May 7 1885 The steamer Hero had a great display of
bunting on Tuesday. She took on an immense load of general freight at Swift's
wharf, and started on her trip up the Bay of Quinte about midday. This
steamer has been thoroughly overhauled, having been repainted and re-lettered
on the outside and repainted inside. Her saloon is fitted out elegantly. New
carpets have been laid, and the chandeliers and radiators beautifully
bronzed. In the lower panels of the saloon there are French plate glass
mirrors, and over the top panels are landscape paintings by noted artists.
The dining saloon has received new glassware and crockery, and the machinery
has been put in first-class shape. The officers this year are: C.H.
Nicholson, captain, S. Cox, steward; N. Bloomfield, mate; R. McColl,
engineer, an efficient staff STEAMBOAT COLLISION THE HERO AND QUINTE COMES INTO
CONTACT NEAR BATH - LITTLE DAMAGE Weekly
British Whig Oct 8 1885 On Thursday a collision of steamboats
occurred on the Bay of Quinte, about a hundred yards off Bath. The Quinte,
the property of Rathbun & Co. was running on
the South Bay and Kingston route in place of the Armenia, which broke her
rudder the day before. the Hero was on her regular trip and en route to
Kingston, from Belleville and intermediate ports. When yet some distance
apart the boats whistled, and still they approached a point at which their
meeting was certain. the captain of the hero was not on watch when the danger
first appeared, but he was at the pilot house in time to take in the
situation, to perceive that he was on the Quinte's
starboard bow, and that he should have the right of way. He says he whistled
to the Quinte to this effect and go no response. Presently the boats came
together, the Quinte striking the Hero in the side and forward the gangway.
The shock was a violent one, and displace the steampipe
on the Quinte. The escape of steam caused considerable excitement among the
passengers on board, but they were quickly calmed and landed at Bath. Then
the true nature of the injury was ascertained. Both hulls were the worse of
the collision, but the damage was not of a serious character. The break in the Quinte's
steampipe, however, prevented her continuing her
trip, and the Hero brought most of her passengers to Kingston. Capt.
Nicholson regrets the accident, but says it would have been much worse had he
not abandoned his rights, put the wheel hard to port, changed the course of
the Hero, and reversed the engine. The purser of the Quinte was in the city
Thursday, and contended that that boat had the right of way, that the Hero
run into her. It is a question of law which the courts may decide. The Quinte
came to the city late yesterday, the injury to her having but temporarily
disabled her. STRUCK BY A BIG SQUALL THE SCHOONER KATE WAS CAPSIZED
AND TWO DROWNED Daily
British Whig July 28 1892 Mrs. Pappa, Cook, was from Kingston - A
Sailor From Belleville Sleeping in the Forecastle - The
Sad Circumstances Detailed - A
Heavy Loss to the Captain The steamer Hero's crew brought sad news
to Kingston this morning. The intelligence had reference to another drowning
accident which occurred at 5:30 o'clock this morning when the schr. Kate capsized just abreast of Thompson's Point in
the reach. Capt. Johnston, of the str. Hero was on watch at the time of the
accident. He says he was about one mile and a half from the schooner when a
regular tornado sprung up and swept by his craft on to the Kate with the
speed of lightning. The squall hid the vessel from view for a while and when
Capt. Johnson next perceived her all that was visible of the schooner was her
quarter stick out of the water. She had been upset without a second's
warning. The anchors located in the bow fell out and held her down. The Hero
immediately headed for the distressed vessel and in about seven minutes time
was abreast of the Kate. Most of the Hero's crew was up and about and Capt.
Johnson, owing to perfect discipline, had a lifeboat lowered and at work
three minutes after his arrival. Capt. DeWitta and two of his sailors were
found clinging to the boat which was laying on its side. The yawl then
floated around the wreck until finally Capt. DeWitta abandoned all hope of
securing the bodies of the already drowned persons. Mrs. Pappa,
cook, was in the cabin up and about preparing breakfast for the crew while
sailor James Salmon was in the forecastle sound asleep at the time the storm
broke. The vessel was forced headfirst into the sea and filled with water in
a second. The poor unfortunates being hemmed in on all sides, escaped was
impossible and were drowned with succor but a few yards distance. In telling the story to Capt. Johnston,
Dewitta said that the squall struck him before he had time to make the
slightest preparations for it. He called to the men to raise the main gaft topsail, but they were so slow in getting word that
he left the wheel himself to attend to it. The hurricane caught the vessel on
her beam and she went over like a shot. Capt. Dewitta says he could hear the
cook in the cabin as the vessel went down shrieking for help. Under the
circumstances this, of course, was out of the question. Capt. Dewitta says
that the accident meant ruin to him. The Hero headed for Kingston after assured
that nothing more could be done, and left Capt. Dewitta and his men there. Capt. DeWitta purchased the schr. Kate from M. Clark of Milford, for about $1,600,
three weeks ago, and extensively improved her. He had left Belleville for
Oswego the afternoon previous light. Capt. Johnston says the Kate is a vessel
of probably 8,000 bushels. The scene of the accident is about six
miles from Picton. Capt. Johnston says that he was never more surprised in
his life than when struck by the squall. He had just remarked to one of this
wheelmen that he believed it was going to be a windy day when the terrific
gust of wind struck them. It lasted about ten minutes. Singular to say the
storm did not reach Picton. The Kate was a two masted
schooner. Capt. DeWitta is a well known mariner and
looked upon as a first class seaman but it is thought his crew consisted of
green hands. He is a resident of Picton and has telegraphed the Donnelly
salvage wrecking company from there to come up with their appliances at once.
The schr. Gearing, burned a year ago was owned by
Capt. Dewitta. He has also sailed the schr. R.W. Folger. Mrs. William Pappa,
cook, was well known here. She was a daughter of Isaac Asselstine, and
married a printer, who worked for many years in the WHIG
office. He had to retire from work and is now an invalid. His wife and
children have had to work for some years to maintain themselves. Their eldest
daughter me the same fate as the mother, having been lost three or four years
ago off the prop. California, sunk in one of the upper lakes. Mrs. Pappa was about thirty-five years of age. Six children
are living. The blow will be a terrible one to the afflicted family. THE NORTH KING THIS POPULAR LAKE VESSEL SAFER
AND FASTER THAN EVER Daily
British Whig May 14 1897 The steamer North King completed its first
week's service of the present season yesterday. Between $7,000 and $8,000 has
been expended for improvements during the winter. The most noticeable change
from the outside is that the vessel has but one smoke stack, instead of two
as formerly. A ton of white lead is what constitutes her new suit, as it
required that amount, with the colorings, to complete the artistic appearance
and interior decorations. There is a welcome increase of deck room.
A large portion of the money expended was used in a pair of steel boilers,
which are wholly below the main deck, while the old boilers rose above it and
occupied considerable room. The new boilers give fifty per cent more steaming
power than the old ones, making the North King the fastest passenger craft
afloat between the Welland canal and Montreal. The
great speed is necessary to meet the increased service which her schedule
requires her to carry out. Besides making daily trips to Cobourg and Port
Hope and return, making sure connections with trains on either side, and in
all weather, on Tuesday and Thursday nights, the boats will make trips to
Brighton, connecting there with the steamer "Hero," of the same
line, for Bay of Quinte and the Thousand Islands, and on Saturday night going
through herself as far as Kingston, and in the summer as far as Alexandria
bay, returning on time to make her regular trip out of Charlotte on Monday
morning. It is seldom if ever that the North King
has to stay in port on account of bad weather, and when she is not out, it is
safe to wager that there is not another passenger craft on the lake. The
great strength in the hull of the boat comes from the numerous steel knees,
arches and other braces with which the ship's hold is filled. All in all, the boat is a model of
neatness, the immense saloon and
dining room being the chief attractions. Life boats, life preservers and life
rafts are provided, and passengers under the protection of captain Jarrel may feel sure of a pleasant voyage, rather than a
leaky boat and slow time. The boat is handled under the direction of the
manager of the company, H.H. Gildersleeve, and
there is a competent corps of officers, as well as a first-class crew.
The "North King" from an old
postcard. A DISASTROUS FIRE - A HEAVY LOSS TO A NAVIGATION COMPANYT THE STEAMER HERO BURNED Daily British Whig June 14 1901 Caught Fire at Belleville Early
This Morning - And is a Total Loss - Origin of Fire Unknown - Loss $25,000 - Partially Insured - A Short
Sketch of the Staunch And Popular Steamer
The steamer Hero, of Kingston is no more. At two o'clock this morning
while lying at the Rathbun company wharf, Belleville,
she caught fire in a manner yet unknown, and was burned to the water's edge.
It was midnight when she reached Belleville, and the crew and few passengers
could not have been asleep long when the fire broke out. When the blaze was
discovered it had made great headway and all efforts to save the steamer were
unavailing. A watchman was supposed to be on the wharf, but the atmosphere of
Belleville may have put him to sleep.
Those aboard had barely time to get off the steamer and left much of
their clothing behind. So necessary was it to hurry that the purser had not
time to take seventy five dollars in cash from the till. There were several
narrow escapes, some of those aboard jumping into the water; all, however
were rescued. The Hero's lines were burned, and she drifted in the harbour
before a south wind, bringing up against some small crafts to which the
flames did a little damage. At daybreak what remained of the Hero a
smouldering ruin was lying ashore. The boat is a total loss.
The steamer Hero was built at Sorel, Que., seventeen years ago. In
1887, she was purchased by H.H. Gildersleeve for
the Bay of Quinte route, and has been running between Kingston, Picton and
Belleville ever since.
The Hero was one of the staunchest vessels on these waters, her hull
being exceptionally strong. The Gildersleeves were
very particular about keeping their boats in first class shape, every spring
having them thoroughly overhauled. Capt. Crawford can bear testimony to this,
and he told a reporter this morning that when the inspectors came to examine
the Hero they found the hull so hard that their augurs were often broken in
trying to bore a hole. No Gildersleeve boats were
ever allowed to get out of repair, the dry dock often being used for the
slightest damage done after a stormy trip. No
steamer was more popular with the people of Kingston than the Hero, the pride
of the Bay of Quinte. She and the old steamer Maud, now the America, were
rivals twelve years ago and their river excursions will be ever remembered.
Let a tear fall over the remains of the gallant little Hero.
H.H. Gildersleeve, general manager of the
Bay of Quinte line, received a telephone message at an early hour in the
morning, telling of the catastrophy. He lost no
time, and before eight o'clock this morning had chartered the steamer Aletha to take the Hero's
place next week. After that it is likely he will bring the company's
steamer Richelieu down from Toronto to go on the route for the season.
The Hero was valued at $25,000, and is insured for $15.000.
The officers of the burned steamer are Capt. Bongard,
Samuel Newman, mate, George Boyd, first engineer M. Redmond, second engineer,
James Bartlett, pursor. The Crew are Here
The crew of the Hero arrived in the city this afternoon by the G.T.R.
Capt. Bongard stated that the fire was discovered
by the steward, Henry Wemp, near his stateroom. Wemp immediately awoke all on board, and rushed up town
in his night dress to give the alarm to the fire hall. The captain thinks
that the fire may have originated from lightning as there was a severe
electric storm on the Bay of Quinte last night. Miss Lettie
Ga-----, jumped from the saloon deck to the wharf in her night
robe, not having time to put on anything but a pair of shoes. James Bartlett,
purser, had his foot badly cut in trying to gain access to the office. STEAMER RICHELIEU SANK FOUNDED IN LOWER GAP AT NOON
TO-DAY Daily
Whig Oct 2 1901 Took
a Lurch in Heavy Swell - Crew Got Into Lifeboats and Reached Kingston Story
of the Disaster The steamer Richelieu, running on the Bay
of Quinte route, between Kingston and Picton, foundered while crossing the
lower gap at noon today. She was bound down from Picton on her regular daily
trip, and had a cargo of fifty tons of tomatoes on her deck, consigned to a
Rochester N.Y. firm. Long swells were rolling as the Richelieu entered the
gap. Suddenly the steamer gave a lurch to one side, the cargo shifted, and
the vessel began to fill rapidly. The fate of the vessel was sealed; nothing
could save here. The crew were on deck in an instant, two life-boats were
swung out, and all aboard the doomed vessel jumped into them. There was no
time to waste for the Richelieu sank inside of two minutes after making the
lurch which heeled her over. The life-boats reached here about half past one
o'clock. There was but one passenger aboard - J.A. Lalonne, traveller for the Reinhardt manufacturing
company, Montreal. The steamer's officers consisted of: Capt. VanVlack; S. Newman, mate, H. Windel,
purser; George Boyo, chief engineer; M. Redmond, assistant engineer; T.
Harrison, fireman. The deckhands were H. Danard,
W. Robinson and H. Newman; maid Annie Switzer; cook, Jane Perry. E.E. Horsey,
of the Bay of Quinte navigation company was also aboard. Most of the officers
and crew belonged to Kingston. So quickly did the whole affair occur that
the captain and those aboard could tell nothing beyond the bare facts. They
simply made for the life-boats, cut away, and that's all there was about it.
On arriving here the depositions of those aboard were taken separately by
J.L. Whiting, K.C. The place where the Richelieu foundered is
100 feet in depth. This afternoon the Donnelly wrecking company were to send
a steamer to see if the Richelieu can
be located, and to determine if she can be raised. The Richelieu is owned by
Capt. Filgate, Montreal, and was chartered last
spring by H.H. Gildersleeve. She ran during the
summer from Toronto to Oakville. Last May she was partially rebuilt above
decks. Her value would be about $8,000. "We haven't anything to say,"
said a member of the crew. "We had a most miraculous escape, and hardly
yet realize the terrible danger we passed through. You can see how quickly we
had to leave the steamer. We didn't have time to pick up a hat or coat." The men appeared on the streets in their
shirt sleeves and bare heads afterwards going to outfitters to get enough
apparel to keep out the weather. The Richelieu was built at Montreal in
1845. She was very light draught. Mr. Gildersleeve
has been very unfortunate this season with his boats, the Hero having been
burned at Belleville last June. CAUGHT IN ICE JAM - STEAMERS COULD NOT GET INTO CAPE VINCENT Weekly British Whig April
20th 1911 Pierrepont and Island Wanderer Had to
Return to Kingston on Sunday Scout Arrived in Port on
Saturday Afternoon Marine Notes of Interest. The steamers Pierrepont
and the New Island Wanderer had a big battle with ice, in their endeavor
to make Cape Vincent, on Sunday, and had to give up the task, and return to
Kingston, after getting within a couple of miles of the Cape. A big ice jam was encountered, which made
it impossible to get any farther. The steamers made a trip both by the head,
and by the foot of the island, and both stood the test well. In another day, it is believed, there will
be no trouble in making the route. The government boat Scout arrived
in Kingston, on Saturday afternoon, after a great trip from Prescott,
breaking the ice. She cleared, this
morning, to look after the buoys in this district. The Scout left Gananoque on
Saturday morning, and for the first five hours out, made only about a quarter
of a mile. This was the worst
experience of the entire trip. The government boat Speedy went on
the Kingston dry dock to-day. The steambarge Sowards will be one of the first of the local
vessels to clear for Oswego. The Sowards would
have cleared on Sunday, but could not get away, owing to the fact that some
last-minute repairs had to be looked after. The harbor is now practically free of ice. Capt. James Roach, of the steamer Rosemount,
has arrived from his home in Ottawa. The steamer Reindeer is undergoing
a thorough over-hauling and being painted and out in shape for the opening of
navigation at Napanee. The work is
being rushed, and when navigation opens she will be placed on the same route
as last season. Navigation in Chaumount
Bay will be safeguarded this summer by the installation of two tower lights
by the United States government. One
light will be erected off Independence Point, warning mariners against coming
too close to the shoals, and the other of Cherry Island. The lights will be of the acetylene gas
flash variety and will not necessitate a caretaker. The Wolvin line
boats that wintered at Ogdensburg are fitted out ready to leave and after
they coal up they will steam for the Welland canal,
leaving probably this week. The work of
loading the first boats of the Rutland line that will be started westward
will begin to-day. The Hall fleet of
coal carriers will begin to move on the 20th, and the Hannon fleet
will start for Oswego on the 25th, according to present
calculations. The Picton Gazette says: Mr. Kirwood, who
has been trying unsuccessfully to establish a daily line of steamers along
the north shore, and asked the municipalities to assist, is, we understand,
going to run the steamer Algerian between Toronto and Picton. The
steamer Alexandria has had many improvements made to her during the
winter, and will start the season April 30th, with a trip to
Rochester. On May 2nd, she
commences her regular run to Montreal.
The steamer St. Joe loaded coal at
Oswego for Toronto. The steamer Aletha,
now on the ways at Picton, had a good deal of work by way of
improvement. The steambarge
Waterlily has had a new boiler installed. There will be no change of the routes of
the several steamer taken over by the merger, says the Picton Gazette. The work on the new boat being built at
Collingwood is going rapidly ahead.
She will start on her route July 2nd. She will leave Picton, Mondays, for
Quebec. Steamer Alexandria will
leave Fridays during July and August.
No name has as yet been selected for the new boat. THE PICTON FLEET Weekly British Whig , April 20th 1911 Officers appointed to the Picton fleet are
announced as follows: Steamer Alexandria - Joseph Renfret, captain;
Joseph Ledue, mate; T.J.S. Milne, engineer; H. Vandusen, steward, except during July
and August, when he will transfer to the new boat. New Steamer - M. Heffernan, captain; Raoul Chatel, mate; John
McFaul, engineer; H. Vandusen,
steward; C. Wilson, purser. Steamer Lloyd S. Porter - Nelson
Hudgins, captain; Louis Smith,
engineer. Steamer Aberdeen - William Dulmage, captain;
Hugh McWilliams, engineer Steamer Waterlily
- Nelson Palmateer, captain; K. Demille,
engineer. Steamer Brockville - D. B. Christie,
captain, Charles McWilliams, engineer. Steamer Aletha
- M. Palmateer, captain, Thomas Hazlette, engineer. Steamer Veruna
- J. Rathbun, captain; Walker, engineer. Barge Isabel Reid - P. McManus,
captain. Barge Roy Roy -
Nelson Kellar, captain. Yacht Madge, - Harry Brooks, captain
PIERREPONT MADE TRIP TO SAPE Daily Whig, April 18th
1911 Captain Reid, of the Baker & Reid
Wrecking Co., is now at the steamer Sharples,
on Galloup Islands, to wreck the stranded
vessel. It is believed among Oswego
mariners that the boat will not be damaged very much about the hull as the
heavy coating of ice which formed during the winter months protected it from
the severity of the waves. The upper
portion of the boat is a mass of ruins, according to reports, her cabins
being washed away, as was her smoke stack.
The officers of the steamer St.
Lawrence have been announced as follows:
Master, Capt. D. H. Kendal,
first mate; G. H. Grown; second mate, D. E. Grandee; quartermasters, John Cree and Richard
Grandee; chief engineer, Barney
Farrell. Work fitting out the steamer
will begin May 1st and she will start on her regular trips on June
1st. A new and direct rail and water route
between central New York and Toronto is proposed by the Beebe syndicate. A new company called the buffalo, Lockport
and Rochester Transit company has been formed and has purchased a large steel
steamer that is to run between Olcott, on the
American shore, and Toronto. This is
an independent company but traffic arrangements have been made with it by the
Beebe syndicate which will connect with the boat via the Buffalo, Lockport
and Rochester railway and the Buffalo, Rochester and Eastern. The government quarantine boat Polana, being built at the Kingston dry dock, will
be finished on May 7th. The
engine is at the station now and will be installed as soon as possible. Everything is going along fine, and barring
accidents, the boat will be finished on scheduled time. The government boat Speedy is in
the Kingston dry dock having two new screws put in and other repairs made. The government boat Scout is at the
Kingston dry dock charging the gas buoys and painting them. When they are charged and painted she will
drop them in their respective places. The steamer City of Hamilton, at
the Kingston dry dock, slip, is undergoing extensive repairs. A large number
of men are engaged working on her. William Harris, late of the Congress
hotel, will be steward on the steamer City of Ottawa this season. That veteran ice-breaker, the steamer Pierrepont, succeeded in getting through the ice,
on Monday afternoon, and reached Cape Vincent. As a result, the route to Cape Vincent has
been officially opened. Capt. John Fleming, Newboro,
is her to commence his duties with the Rideau Lakes Navigation company for
the season. The members of the crew of the steamer City
of Montreal, have arrived in the city. The schooner Ford River will clear
on her first trip across the lake in the course of a day or so. Cap. Lefevre has
returned to the city after spending a few days at his home in Valleyfield. The crews of several more of the M. T.
Co’s barges have arrived in the city. W. M.
McNeil, Jr., has left for Windsor, where he will represent the Inland Navigation
company. MARINE NOTES Weekly British Whig, April 20, 1911 The steamer Marshall cleared from
Brockville for Oswego. Ice is packed up the lake from Buffalo for
a distance of thirty miles. J. C. Eaton’s beautiful yacht Florence
will clear from Toronto for Ogdensburg, N.Y., in a few days to go on the Main
dock there. The steamers Senator Derbyshire and
Samuel Marshall, left Brockville, on Tuesday, for Oswego, the first
boats to clear from that port this season. The Sowards
went over to Oswego on Monday night and had a fine trip. From now on the Sowards
will keep the line warm between Oswego and Kingston. Capt. Henry Matthews, acquitted at Cobourg
of murder, sailed into this port as master of the steamer City of New York
last year, and on the schooner Oliver Mowat the year previous. Capt. Byron J. Estes, mate Henry Burtch, and several sailors, of Alexandria Bay, are in
Oswego fitting out the steamer Island Belle, which had new boilers
installed there. Capt. Estes expects
to get away this week. An offer of 1¾ cents on grain, Fort
William to Buffalo, has been made for spot tonnage. This is one-fourth higher than has been
offered this spring. Vesselmen do not consider the price worth the chance
under present condition, as there is too much uncertainty of a return cargo. Several of the Rutland boats which
wintered at Chicago are being loaded there and will start for Ogdensburg this
week. The outlook for package freight business has improved considerably
within the past few weeks, and while the season will not be a record-breaker,
it will average up will with recent seasons, despite the pessimism which has
existed in marine circles. The steamer Britannic is being
fitted out for the season’s work and will make her first trip from Montreal
to Kingston on Thursday, May 4th.
The Britannic will have the same run as last year and will be
manned by the following officers:
Captain, F. S. Andress; mate, C. Hart; first engineer, I. F. Marchand; second
engineer, Eugene Marchand; purser, A. N. Smith. The honor of having brought the first
cargo of coal into the city this season goes to Commodore Max Shaw, of the
speedy little steamer Sowards. The Sowards
arrived from Oswego on Wednesday morning and is now being unloaded of her
cargo at Crawford’s slip. It would be
in order for the harbor master to present Commodore Shaw with a fine new hat
- that is, providing the rules in other places were carried out. THE RIDEAU STEAMERS The officers of the Rideau Navigation company
steamer this season will be: Rideau Queen - Edward Fleming,
captain; William Fleming, mate; W. F. Noonan, purser; George Tuttle, engineer. Rideau King - William Scott,
captain; Thomas Lynch, mate; George Shannon, engineer; D. G. Donovan, second engineer. The Rideau King will make her first
trip Monday, May 1st. She
has been thoroughly overhauled and repaired and has new furnishings. Everything about her is in first-class
shape. TO LAUNCH VESSELL - THE BUENA VISTA IS ABOUT READY The British Whig, April 20 1911 The Launching Will be on
Wednesday Afternoon - Boat Built by the Davis
company, of This City The new steamer Buena Vista, which is
being constructed by the Davis Dry Dock company, of this city, is about completed,
and will be launched on Wednesday afternoon, at three o’clock. The boat is ninety-feet keel, ninety-six
feet over all, eighteen feet beam and six and a half feet depth of hull
amidships. It is a composite built
boat. The keel, stem, stern post and deadwood are of selected white oak. The planking of white oak, two-inch sides
and two and a half inches bottom. The
bilge strakes are three inches thick.
The frames are 2 ½ x 2 ½ steel angles and the shear strake is plate
one-quarter inch thick, and two feet wide, running the entire length. The centre keelson is 12 x 5 girder
iron. The boiler and machinery
keelsons are 12 inches by 3 inches channel iron, and the bilge keelsons are
three inches by three inches angle iron.
In addition to those keelsons there are two six inch by three inch
angle iron sister keelsons running the entire length of the bottom. Thus making a very strong and substantially
built hull. The deck beams are also 2 ½ by 2 ½ angle
steel and the decks are of white pine. The coamings are
of steel reinforced by oak. The main
deck is clear, leaving the entire space for freight. On the promenade deck there is a very
comfortable and commodious salon cabin with circular front and with two state
rooms in connection. The entrance to the cabin and staterooms is from the
forward deck only. Immediately aft of
the staterooms are two well-arranged toilet rooms, and on each side. The staircase and landing from the main to
the promenade deck is well arranged for the convenience of those using the
steamer. Aft of the staircase and
landing is arranged a galley and mess room for the accommodation of the crew. The stern portion of the cabin enclosure
is taken up by a restaurant, where all the necessities of life are to be
obtained. A very neat little wheelhouse and
stateroom is arranged on the upper or hurricane deck. Also life boats and water tanks. The power used in this steamer will be
steam. The boiler is of the
Fitzgibbons type, built for a working pressure of 150 lbs. And the engine is
a fore and aft compound with cylinders 9 and 18 by 14 inches stroke. The boat is well equipped with the
necessary fire appliances consisting of pumps, piping, hose, etc., and has in
addition to the regular pumping outfit, connections from the condensor to the bilge, which insures splendid means of
keeping water out of the boat in case of accidents. The work on the new steamer was started on
January 1st, 1911, and considering the cold stormy weather in
which the work was carried on much credit is due to the builders for the
despatch they have made in completing the boat. The steamer will be christened the Buena
vista and launched on Wednesday, the 19th, at three o’clock. The boat will be launched stern first. The public is invited to attend. This boat was first named Venture. Later, the marine department found that
another vessel flying the British flag bore the same name, and so the new
vessel was obliged to find a new appellation - the Buena Vista. The new steamer is for the Rideau route,
between Kingston and Smith’s Falls.
FATE OF THE SCHOONER BLANCHE IN
LAKE ONTARIO The
Picton Times, November 10 1932 It is going on forty-five years since the
Blanche of Colborne, vanished with all hands.
Yet still Cat Hollow men stare hard towards the Scotch Bonnet of
moonlight nights, to catch, if may be, the gleam of her bone-white hull under
the proud arching of her silver-sable sails. The Bonnet is a little block of an island
outside of Nicholson’s off the Prince Edward County shore. It flashes nightly across the water to the
tall lighthouse at Presqu’Ile, where the bay runs
up to Brighton and swings east to the Murray Canal, replacing the old
Carrying Place, which once afforded access to the Bay of Quinte. Colborne and Cat Hollow are to the west of
the little peninsula which gives Presqu’Ile its
name. A famous corner for wrecks, since the government schooner Speedy’s finding of the Devil’s Hitchingpost
there in 1804. The Belle Sheridan’s
was another famous wreck near by, eighty years
afterwards. Among them all, the
Blanche’s will be remembered long, both from the mystery of it and from the
completeness of the tragedy it involved. It was fitting out time, in the spring of
1888, and Captain John Henderson, of the schooner Blanche of Colborne, was
outward bound from his winter home in Cat Hollow. Colborne lies inland from Lake Ontario, a
little town of importance, named after the lieutenant-governor of Upper
Canada, whose name was later tagged on to Gravelly Bay on Lake Erie; making it Port Colborne, to some confusion
with the Ontario place. From Colborne
a road winds down to Cat Hollow, the settlement by the shore, which has since
become the village of Lakeport.
Officially vessels from this vicinity hailed from the Port of Cramahe, but Cramahe or Cramha was only the Highland name for the township. Harbor there was none. Once they had to scuttle the Katie Eccles
where she lay loading at the pier there, to save her from pounding to pieces
in a westerly. Schooners did a brisk
trade in grain and lumber from the two wharves and storehouses at Cat Hollow,
but they wintered in Cobourg or Brighton, sheltered in the Bay of Presqu’Ile. Captain Henderson’s bag and his seaboots and oilskins had gone on before, and he was
striding uphill through the thawing slush to meet the Brighton stage. This would carry him to where the Blanche
lay, shimmering in her new white paint, at her winter quarters in Presqu’Ile Bay, eight miles away. At the hill crest, Captain Henderson
turned. He untied a parcel he had held
tightly in his young brown fist. A
pair of heavy woollen socks sprang from the released covering. They were gay and hand-knitted; sailors’ socks, the kind that keep sea
boots from “drawing the feet.” He
whirled them high above his head. “Good-bye, mother, good-bye!” he called,
in a voice of spring gladness matching the cheery chirrup of the roadside
robins. At a door down in the Hollow a grey haired
woman waved a freshly ironed apron of pink and white checks. Tears brimmed her eyes. Captain Henderson could not see them. But he could see, or believed he saw, the
glad smile behind them. A sailor’s eyes
are keen. A lover’s eyes see
farther. Johnnie Henderson was a good
sailor and a loving son. Then he went over the hilltop and out of
his mother’s sight, and out of the ken of the small boy who passed him,
whistling. It is from him comes this
tale, forty-four years afterwards. He
is Harold Batty, and he helps get out the Port Hope Guide. The facts are his. Whose the telling
does not matter. Two months later, Captain Tom Matthews was
swinging down the lake in the old black-and-green schooner then in her
prime. Older Toronto folk may remember
her when she used to bring stone for the cribs of the Eastern Gap, in the 90’s, when Captain “Mack” Shaw had her. Younger Toronto folk may remember her
putting in here in distress one August day in 1906, when she was on her very
last legs. Her sheer was humped then,
and her mastheads sprung and she had a permanent reef in her much patched
mainsail. She had been to Charlotte
with a load of cedar posts, and ran for shelter here in the light half of a
summer gale, with eighteen inches of water in her hold and her crew in
despair. She was owned then in South
Bay, and after she limped away for home with moderating weather no one on the
waterfront here knew what became of her. In 1888, however, the Fleetwing
was still a good vessel, and her master was proud of her. Captain Matthews was Harold Batty’s uncle.
Mrs. Matthews, Harold Batty’s aunt, was the
cook of the Fleetwing. Captain Matthews had with him as mate,
James Henderson of Cat Hollow, a brother of Captain John, of the
Blanche. Jim Henderson later became
Captain of the steamer Macassa and carried
thousands of Toronto and Hamilton passengers between those two ports. Poor Jimmy is no more now, and his
well-known command went to the bottom of Georgian Bay two or three years ago
under the name of Manasoo. At midnight on May 27th,
Captain Matthews was called to relieve the mate, it being the custom in lake
schooners for the captain to stand watch at night. In salt water ships, the second mate does
this work for the Old Man, and the latter only turns out when he feels like
it – which is pretty often. Captain Matthews glanced at the barometer
and it seemed to him the glass had dropped materially since he had gone
below. He emerged to find a perfect
moonlight night with a fine steady breeze blowing and the schooner gushing along
quietly in smooth water. The Scotch
Bonnet was winking away in the moonlight bearing north-north-west, about five
miles distant. “I haven’t been drinking, Jimmy, but my
eyes must be playing tricks on me,” said Captain Matthews to his mate, as the
latter prepared to go below. “I
thought the glass was away down, but I come up to as fine a night as man ever
set eyes on. Wait a minute till I have
another look at her.” He popped into the cabin. The glass was assuredly “down.” The mercury had sunk even while he was
talking. He emerged in a moment. All hands were now on deck, standing by for
the order “Go below, the port watch.” “Get the gaff topsails and jibtop sail off her,” shouted the master to the waiting
mate. “Haul the flying jib down too,
and we’ll reef the mainsail!” “What’s wrong, captain?” asked the mate,
amazed. “Plenty,”
said Captain Matthews. “The
glass is down all right, as if the bottom had dropped out of it, and I never
knew her to fool me yet.” With a rattle of complaining blocks, hoops
and downhauls the light sails were clewed up and furled, and the main sheet
was hauled aft for reefing the mainsail, when a vessel hove in sight. “It’s Johnny, in the Blanche. He’s got a load of screenings from Oswego
for Brighton,” commented Mate Henderson. “He may make it before anything hits him,”
agreed Captain Matthews, “Two hours
will about put him inside Presqu’Ile Light. Look at him come!” The Blanche was booming along, her sails
sharp black and white in the moonlight, wing-and-wing with the breeze, a white
roll of foam sparkling like diamonds before her white bows. She had a saucy sheer, and she swam towards
them like a snowy swan in a hurry. Captain Matthews hailed, “This is a fine
night, Johnny!” “Yes,” hailed back Captain Henderson,
“It’s a dandy. We’re making hay while
the moon shines. Is everybody all
right?” He could not understand the Fleetwing shortening down in such fine weather. His question showed it. Capt. Matthews called something about the
glass having dropped suddenly. Captain
Henderson, now almost beyond earshot, hailed back. “Goodnight Tom! Goodnight Jimmy!” and vanished from sight and hearing. Half an hour later the squall struck
without notice form the northwest. It
was a gagger. The Fleetwing
was not a stiff vessel. She was a
shoal American bottom, built at Wilson, N.Y., near Niagara. In 1863, for
Captain Quick, and she capsized and drowned her crew while he had her. After that she had her masts shortened, and
passed into Canadian ownership. She rolled down under this squall till
they thought they’d lose her, although she was already shortened to the
reefed mainsail, foresail, and staysail.
She came through safely. The
same squall must have caught the Blanche with every stitch set, her boom
guyed out to the soft southerly “feeder” that was bringing on this tiger out
of the north west. It must have driven her clean under for nothing was ever
seen of her or her crew after she passed the Fleetwing. Months afterwards the lake gave up one
body. It had been battered by so many
weeks of tossing that it was quite unrecognizable. Even the clothing had been torn from
it. All except the boots and socks on
the swollen feet. They brought the pitiful pieces of
knitting to a grey-haired woman in Cat Hollow. She dried her hands on a pink-and-white
checked apron before putting on her glasses.
The pink-and-white checked apron had faded with many washings since
fitting out time in the spring. So too
had the grey-haired woman’s eyes, since Captain John Henderson passed over
the hill. She looked at the socks and her fingers
shook as she held them. “Yes,” said she, “it must be Johnny, I knit them.” One tombstone in Lakeport, gives the names
of all the village sailors lost in the Blanche. They are: Captain John H. Henderson, William Seed,
mate, Wm. E. Haynes, before the mast,
Annie Smith, cook. The other man before the mast was William
Auckland. He came from Trenton, on the
Bay of Quinte. |
