The Russellville Democrat., 1888-05-31
AN HISTORIC COASTER.
singular story of Canadian Steamer
which Plies the Pacific.

which Plies thc Pacific.
Eighteen hundred and thirty-five.
How many people are there in Van
couver whose memory can run back to
| that time when the sailor king sat on
the throne of England, and the Duke
of Wellington was power In the land,
when the railroads as yet only existed
| in the brains of an enthusiast long
| before the click, click of the electric
needle had been heard; when Canada
was only known as an arctic region,
where the inhabitants had to wear
| furs all the year round to keep from
freezing, when British Columbia was
unheard Of, save as preserve OF the
Hudson's Bay Company Yet there
came into the harbor boat yesterday
| whose virgin bows were first kissed by
old Father Thames in that year rs she
| glided down the ways Of one of the
numerous shipyards on that river,
and was christened by the fair hands
of a Duchess 1.-The Beaver" in
honor of the old company whose
chief source of profit lay in that now
scarce animal. The youngest city on
the Pacific yesterday greeted the old
| est steamboat on these waters. Fifty
| three years have come and gone since
the sianch old craft first proudly
rode the waves. What changes has
she witnessed the settlement of an
almost unknown country by hardy
and enterprising people-the creation
of mighty dominion stretching from
the Atlantic 10 the Pacific. and gir-
| died with a slender band of steel-the
birth of young and lusty city spring
| ing into life where impenetrable for
| ests grew; all these marvels have oc-
| Cured since the Beaver first floated.
| The steamer Beaver, after being
launched and her engines, built by
| Bolton & Watt, son of the celebrated
| James Watt, fitted on board. was
rugged ms brigg, and. under COM
mand of Captain Home. proceeded
under sail round Cape Horn and up
the Pacific to Astoria. arriving after
| quick passage of 163 days. AT that
| place, then the chief trading point of
the Hudson Bay Company on the Pa
| cific, she began her career as steamer
| proper, and under command OF Cap
tain Mcneil sailed mp and down the
coast trading with tho Indians for
| furs. After this she was employed by
| the British Government rs survey.
ing ship, and many of the hydro
| graphic charts now in use were COM
piled from surveys made by the old
| Beaver After many vicissitudos she
| passed into the hands of Captain
Saunders, her present owner, and was
used for towing purposes. but was ac-
cidentally sunk in Victoria harbor
| year ago.
Captain George Merchant the pres
! ent commander. conceived the idea OF
again raising the old craft, and using
her for towing logs, and carried it
| out. She will in future be regularly
employed in bringing timber to the
Hastings mill. Captain Merchant is
we'll and favorably known on the Pa
cific coast, having first come to the
Pacific on H. NJ S Jealous. the first
ironclad in these wa, ers, III 1855 He
Is a thorough seaman and right
good fellow and the venerable old
craft could not be in better hands
Many alterations have been made
in the vessel, but these have been con-
fined mainly to her upper works, her
machinery and cabin fitting remain
ing pretty much as they were when
she first left the yard. The hull is a
splendid specimen of thorough work.
manship. Built of British oak, with
knees closely joined together and
ceiled inside with heavy planking. it
looks good for one hundred years TO
come. The twin engines would puz-
zle many modern marine engineer.
in fact in motion they would proba-
bly, almost frighten him. Four great
walking beams down in the lower
hold, instead of being above the deck
as now, work slowly up and down,
while eccentrics. we'll named, move
about his head. and great lev
ers and connecting rods ponder
ously work around him. Her
certificates show her to have eighty
horse power and she is allowed
to use twelve pounds of steam. but
even with that low pressure she does
splendid work. One popularity Is
that she uses salt water the encrusta-
tions of which are periodically blown
out when the salinomerter shows it TO
be necessary. Her cabin, which is
aft. is still fitted up as it was at first,
and is surrounded by old-tashloned
lockers and bulkheads. The old bell,
with the word Beaver and the date
1885 on 1t, still hangs in its old place,
and in deep and rich tones warns the
weary watch of the passing hours.
The anchor. with its heavy tlukes and
long chains. is still as serviceable as
when it dropped with splash into the
deep waters of Astoria fifty-three
years ago. - Vancouver NeW&