The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-09-13
Tale of Two Rival Steamboats,, the
Cudahy and the Power.
THE DISTANCE 1000 MILES
Tom Morrin's Graphic Story of an Ex-
citing Contest - The Captain of the
Power Knew His Business, but
Was an ALI Around Crank.

boats on the Yukon river. He said
to a reporter yesterday:
There are perhaps 20 first class
steamers plying on the Yukon and the
North American Transportation and
Trading company own and operate
about half a dozen of them. This
company is really a Chicago concern
and the officers of the Cudahy Pack
ing company are the chief ma aagers
| and stockholders of the N. A. T. &
T. Co., and the steamboats, are named
after Them so one notes such names
as the p. B. Weare, John Cudahy, T.
C. Power, ]. ]. Healy and similar
names flying from the mastheads and
painted on the pilot houses of those
steamers.
Two of those boats, the Cudahv
and the Power, are of the same age
and built exactly alike and built by
the same firm, and in fact are sister
boats. During the summer of 1898 the
Cudahy, commanded by Captain Nc
earthly, made the fastest run from
the Boring sea to Dawson, beating al
records and came into Dawson with
a broom tied to her flagstaff
ION June rs, 1899, the Cudahy Tuli-
ed out of Dawson for st. Micha els and
the Power started just two days later.
l was at Circle City with $50 Others
who had started down the river on
the steamer Pilgrim of the White Star
line, which boat had stuck on a sand
bar, and is there now. The. Oil City,
a freight steamer, owned by the
Standard Oil company, had taken Us
from the Pilgrim and landed us at
Circle City. declining to take us fur
Their, as they had no license permit or
accommodations for carrying pa5sen
gers The Cudahy pulled into Cilole
City on June %, and though they mad
full complement of passengers, they
took half of our crowd and toll the
remainder that the Power would be
along in a couple of days and take
them. On June 30 the Power appear
ed and the balance of the Pilgrims
passengers were once more on their
way down the river.
Between Circle City and Fort Yu-
kon is the worst navigation on that
river, and the difficult navigation ex-
tends, in fact, 200 miles further down
and below Fort Yukon, but it is not
so bad as that above the fort. Along
there the hills retreat and the river
breaks up into many channels and
islands, and here in the natural home
of the wild duck and wild goose the
steamboat men have their troubles.
About neen of the next day after leav-
ing Circle City the people on the
Power sighted a large white steamer
lying broadside to the general direc
ton of the river, and apparently stuck
on a sand bar and the captain after
taking a look with a glass, said it
was the Cudahy. The captain of the
Power was an old Mississippi steam
boater, an ex-confederate soldier, a
fire eater and all round crank, but a
good man to handle a steamer. When
at Circle City a fine shepherd dog
str.p, I.n
the boat pulled out the dog went
along, leaving his owner behind. 1t
was against the rules of the boat for
dog to run loose aboard. The cap
tain was on the upper deck and Fido
came along wagging his tail in at
tempts to make new friends Now
dog in that country is general IA
vorites and usually has an opportunity
to display his natural faithfulness,
courage and endurance. The captain
asked who owned the dog, and as no
one answered he picked the brute up
and flung him into the river, heart
less piece of cruelty which was con-
demned by every one who saw it. The
dog swan after the boat as long as we
could see it, and it probably landed
on an island to there starve.
This illustrated to us the kind of
captain that was running. the Power.
As we approached the Cudahy and
about two miles distant the water
commenced to get shallower, and
when it was apparent that We We're in
the wrong channel the steamer was
stopped and an attempt was made to
turn round with the purpose of run
ming up the river and strike the proper
channel, but in turning the boat ran
backward on a bar and stuck tight. A
spar was quickly run over the bow,
the end placed on the bar alongside
of the boat and the upper end leaning
over the bow. Purchase blocks and
tackle connected the upper end of
the spar with the bow of the steamer
ana the steam windlass set to work
and inch by inch the boat was swung
around, and after IL hours of hard
work was finally foated. and in "a
snort time was alongside the Cudahy,
TO which three Inch hawser was at
tached, and the Power took this haw
ser to the shore and made it fast to
a tree, the other end being fast to the
steam wfndlass or capstan of the
Cudahy.
Another line was made fast to the
capstan of the Power and taken then
to the Cudahy and made fast to the
|. bow of that boat While the crews
We're hard at work getting lines where
they would do the most good the cap
tains were exchanging compliments in
steamboat language, and what they
seemed the most anxious to do was
TO disagree on everything. The Cudahy
had on board A tons of beans which
the n. A. 7. company was sending
down the river to St MichaelS as
Dawson was oversupplied with them,
and they had become a drug on that
market. The beans were transferred
to the Power. In the sneantime the
passengers had offered to buy the
beans and throw them overheard to
tighten the boat, but the offer was re-
fused. After both lines were made
fast and the beans transferred and the
Power tied securely to a spruce tree,
both capstans were set to work, which,
with the engines of the Cudahy. soon
pulled her into deep water, and in
few minutes was alongside of the sis
ter boat and reloading beans, and the
captains again exchanging compli-
ments and consigning each other to
places where it is hotter than on the
Yukon. Finally everything was ready
and both boats started down the river,
when it was found that the Power
had one of her iron rudder posts bent