, 1866-01-12
I .,.s.h ot ,he steamer ..Forty.NIne.,,

By the light Of some candles, and huul gimp
ses of the polar star, the Steamer "Forty-Nine,"
built BY Messrs. White Briggs, was launched
at the old Hawkins Barracks, the winter-quar-
tsrs of the Boundary Commissioner, on the even
ing fthe 18th of November, 1865, in the pres
.ncs of a large crowd of the citizens and militia
~ of Colville Valley.
As she slid into the Columbia on her port
broadside, there was a strong northwest gale
upou her bows, and on the heads Other sPecta-
tors. Yetthose trans-planted mountaineers and
,pectators gave the brave little vessel three
hearty cheers, which borne b. the passing breeze
struck tb . Colville hills with the sound Of q
fac. that never happened before nor shall happen
again. There she lay aAoat, and nearer the foot
of the celebrated Mount Hooker, the source of
the Columbia, by four hundred miles, than any
craft, propelled by steam, ever was.
Shortly before the launch, two riders were
seen on the banks Of the Columbia eyeing the
boat One of these was a medium sized savage,
Of more than ordinary cranium and name, riding
. beautiful elk cOlored horse. He was the great
red orator of Oregon fame, called "The Eagle
Of the Light" which signifies, when translated,
1.-THE Eagls Of the Dawn" The other rider was
tall, Heshless son of Scotland, riding the cele-
brated Rocky Mountain black horse, that, in
his day, performed the extraordinary feat of
overtaking, in one heat, i've elk stays in sue
eession.
A few days after the launch of the "Forty-
Nine" she steamed down to the old landing
of the Hudson Bay Company, in front Of Fort
Colvile. With her decks crowded with miners,
hunters and farmers, Celestials, Gentiles and
Jews, she cautiously and boldly edged the Ket-
tie Falls, to her temporary landing. Her crew
they saw=And knew that few yards below them
was grave that possibly might cover them with
a watery sheet Her lady passengers were Mrs.
Brewn with her daughters, and Miss Christina
Mcdonald, daughter of Mr.. A. Mcdonald, chief
factor of the Hudson Bay Company, at Colville.
When the steamer appeared in sight of the fort,
and upon hearing the whistle, the officer in
charge sgnaed the Union Jack, and fred a ss-
Lutte from the old brass piece said to have been
taken at the battle of Waterloo.
Upon the draining of few bottles of Hudson
Bay by the people of the steamer and the Fort,
the vessel started up the river on her trial trip
She performed the trip with skill and power,
turning back at the upper end ofthe Lower Col
lumbia Arrow Lake, with the thermometer at
% degrees below zero. If it had not been for
the ice forming in the river, Upper Lake and
the "Rapids of the Dead" 26O miles above Col.
vile, would have beenreached, having gone over
the difficult portion of the river. This proves
beyond doubt, contrary to previous notions oi
travellers, that the Columbia River is navigable
for steamers 100 miles above the 49th parallel
The steamer was named in allusion to the 49th
parallel.
Engagements for wood all along the river and
lakes we're concluded on the upward trip. Th,
steamer returned in safety, and is laid up fol
the winter above old Fort ColVille, some two
miles, at the point where she was built.
The dimensions Of the steamer are as follows
Length, II4k.
Width, 2OA Ain
Depth, 5ft.
She is furnished with pair of engines, eacE
l24 inches bore, BY 4 feet stroke, with a Domina
! power of 80 horses,
The boat will ascend the river to within TWEEN
Ey miles of the newly discovered mines, thus en-
abling miners to get their provisions in at low
rates. Yours, KE-WA.