 The sternwheeler Alpha in 1878 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Alpha |
| Launched | July 5, 1873 |
| Fate | Ran aground April 1885 |
| General characteristics | |
| Draft | 1 ft (0.30 m) |
Alpha was a wooden steamship that operated on the rivers of Manitoba, Canada. [1] She was launched on July 5, 1873. [1] [2] Her builder and first owner was J.W. "flatboat" McLane. [3] His ownership was complicated by his British citizenship, since the Alpha would routinely have to cross the US-Canadian boundary while traveling from Grand Forks, Minnesota to Fort Garry, Manitoba. So, she was sold to the Kittison Line.
She had a reputation as being one of the fastest vessels in Manitoba, and one capable of proceeding during periods of shallow water, as her draft was just one foot (0.30 m). [1]
Her accommodation was very cramped. [4]
Running aground did not always end the career of prairie steamboats, but it did end the career of Alpha, when she ran aground on the Assiniboine River in April 1885. [1] [2]
Her grounding was due to human error. [3] Her captain took a risk, during flood time. He risked taking a short-cut, by deviating from the river's channel and proceeding across an isthmus that he knew was dry land, during low water.
The wreck was left high and dry, when the flood passed. [3] Locals cannibalized some of the ship's fitting and sound lumber. Silt from subsequent floods buried the wreck site, so the exact site was lost.
The wreck was re-exposed, in 1958, when that year's flood cut a new channel through the wreck-site. [3] Her rudder is now housed in a maritime museum in Selkirk, Manitoba. [1] [2]