Ptarmigan after the fire in 1908. The vessel on the left may be Isabella McCormack which appears to have been the only other large steamer on the route in 1908
Ptarmigan was built at Golden, BC and was the last vessel built for the Upper Columbia Navig. & Tramway Co., of which Capt. Frank P. Armstrong was the principal owner and manager. Ptarmigan's engines were over 60 years old, and had been originally built for a ferry crossing the St. Lawrence River. The engines had been previously installed in two other sternwheelers on the upper Columbia River, specifically the first Duchess, and the second Duchess.[2] The blunt-ended bow of Ptarmigan allowed the vessel to be more capable of pushing barges, which increased the vessel's utility and effective cargo capacity.[1][3]
Operations
Ptarmigan was placed on the Columbia River route that began at Golden and ran south, at least during high water, to Columbia Lake, the ultimate source of the Columbia River. In 1903, soon after completion, Ptarmigan was sold to the Columbia River Lumber Company, which hired Armstrong to manage its steamboat operations.[2] In 1907 Ptarmigan hit a snag and sank (A snag is a sunken log jammed in the river bottom but sticking up through the water to just below the surface). Captain Armstrong was able to raise Ptarmigan and return her to service. However Ptarmigan caught fire later in 1907, and her upper works were destroyed. Again, Ptarmigan was salvaged, her upper works were rebuilt and she was returned to service.[1][3]
Race with launch Gian
The gasoline launch Gian, from which Northcote Cantlie taunted Captain Armstrong of Ptarmigan into racing.
The gasoline engine was a new development in the early 1900s. Captain Northcote Cantlie, who has gone down in history as "an eccentric Scot"[3] purchased a gasoline-engined launch, Gian, and placed her on the upper Columbia. Unlike Armstrong, Cantlie came from a wealthy background, drank champagne for breakfast, and kept a bagpiper as his personal attendant.
Cantlie, knowing that Gian was at least theoretically faster than Ptarmigan made several challenges to Armstrong to race. There is a story that one day in late August 1906 Cantlie was out in his launch in the river at the same time as Ptarmigan. Cantle seized the moment and sped past Ptarmigan with his bagpiper blasting out airs as Gian sped past. This was too much for Captain Armstrong, a master steamboat man and veteran of the Klondike Gold Rush. Armstrong ordered full steam ahead, and when Ptarmigan caught up to Gian, two or three roustabouts reached over to Gian, seized the still-playing piper, and lifted him unharmed over to the foredeck of Ptarmigan while the piper reportedly never missed a note. Ptarmigan passed Gian and thereafter Cantlie steered clear of the big steamer.[2][3]
Dismantled
Ptarmigan was dismantled in 1909. Ptarmigan's engines, which had been under water at least twice when the vessels they powered sank (once with Ptarmigan, once with the first Duchess) were installed in another vessel, the Nowitka.[1]
Notes
1 2 3 4 Affleck, Edward L., A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska, at 58, Alexander Nicholls Press, Vancouver, BC 2000 ISBN0-920034-08-X
1 2 3 McCurdy, H.W., ed., H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, at 88-89, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1966
1 2 3 4 Downs, Art, Paddlewheels on the Frontier -- The Story of British Columbia and Yukon Sternwheel Steamers, at 101-112, Superior Publishing, Seattle WA 1972
Faber, Jim, Steamer's Wake—Voyaging down the old marine highways of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and the Columbia River, Enetai Press, Seattle, WA 1985 ISBN0-9615811-0-7
Timmen, Fritz, Blow for the Landing, 75-78, 134, Caxton Printers, Caldwell, ID 1972 ISBN0-87004-221-1
Bonnington was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Arrow Lakes in British Columbia from 1911 to 1931. Bonnington and two sisterships were the largest sternwheelers ever built in British Columbia. Bonnington was partially dismantled in the 1950s, and later sank, making the vessel the largest freshwater wreck site in British Columbia.
The Coquille River starts in the Siskiyou National Forest and flows hundreds of miles through the Coquille Valley on its way to the Pacific Ocean. Bandon, Oregon, sits at the mouth of the Coquille River on the Pacific Ocean. Before the era of railroads and later, automobiles, the steamboats on the Coquille River were the major mode of transportation from Bandon to Coquille and Myrtle Point in southern Coos County, Oregon, United States.
The Rossland was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Arrow Lakes in British Columbia. It was named after Rossland, British Columbia, once a prosperous mining town in the region.
The Enterprise was an early steamboat operating on the Willamette River in Oregon and also one of the first to operate on the Fraser River in British Columbia. This vessel should not be confused with the many other vessels, some of similar design, also named Enterprise. In earlier times, this vessel was sometimes called Tom Wright's Enterprise after one of her captains, the famous Tom Wright.
Klahowya was a sternwheel steamer that operated in British Columbia on the Columbia River from 1910 to 1915. The name "Klahowya" is the standard greeting in the Chinook Jargon.
J.D. Farrell was a sternwheel steamer that operated on the Kootenay River in western Montana and southeastern British Columbia from 1898 to 1902.
North Star was a sternwheel steamer that operated in western Montana and southeastern British Columbia on the Kootenay and Columbia rivers from 1897 to 1903. The vessel should not be confused with other steamers of the same name, some of which were similarly designed and operated in British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington.
Gwendoline was a sternwheel steamer that operated on the Kootenay River in British Columbia and northwestern Montana from 1893 to 1899. The vessel was also operated briefly on the Columbia River in the Columbia Valley.
Selkirk was a small sternwheel steamer that operated on the Thompson and Columbia rivers in British Columbia from 1895 to 1917. This vessel should not be confused with the much larger Yukon River sternwheeler Selkirk.
Marion was a small sternwheel steamboat that operated in several waterways in inland British Columbia from 1888 to 1901.
Annerly was a sternwheel steamboat that operated on the upper Kootenay River in British Columbia and northwestern Montana from 1892 to 1896.
Nowitka was a sternwheel steamboat that operated in British Columbia on the Columbia River from 1911 to May 1920. The name is a Chinook Jargon word usually translated as "Indeed!" or "Verily!".
Isabella McCormack was a sternwheel steamboat that operated in British Columbia on the Columbia River from 1908 to 1910. This vessel should not be confused with others with similar names.
Pert was a sidewheel steamboat that operated in British Columbia on the Columbia River from 1887 to 1905, often transporting large loads of timber. Pert was also known as Alert and City of Windermere at times.
Invermere was a river boat that operated in British Columbia on the Columbia River from 1912 to about 1915. It was named for the town of Invermere.
Hyak was a sternwheel steamboat that operated in British Columbia on the Columbia River from 1892 to 1906. Hyak should not be confused with the Puget Sound propeller-driven steamboat also named Hyak. The name means "swift" or "fast" in the Chinook Jargon.
Francis Patrick Armstrong was a steamboat captain in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. He also operated steamboats on the Kootenay River in Montana and on the Stikine River in western British Columbia. Steam navigation in the Rocky Mountain Trench which runs through the East Kootenay region was closely linked to Armstrong's personality and career. In addition to being a steamboat captain, Armstrong was also a prospector, white-water boat pilot and guide in the Big Bend country of the Columbia River.
From 1886 to 1920, steamboats ran on the upper reaches of the Columbia and Kootenay in the Rocky Mountain Trench, in western North America. The circumstances of the rivers in the area, and the construction of transcontinental railways across the trench from east to west made steamboat navigation possible.
Elwood was a sternwheel steamboat which was built to operate on the Willamette River, in Oregon, but which later operated on the Lewis River in Washington, the Stikine River in Canada, and on Puget Sound. The name of this vessel is sometimes seen spelled "Ellwood". Elwood is probably best known for an incident in 1893, when it was approaching the Madison Street Bridge over the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. The bridge swung open to allow the steamer to pass. However, a streetcar coming in from the east end of the bridge failed to notice the bridge was open, and ran off into the river in the Madison Street Bridge disaster.
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