Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1900-11-13
HIS BOAT WALKED ASHORE.
I Some Interesting "Reminiscences of Early
Days. Corvallis Genius.

An 2Tt1Cle 1eplSte Will iiilehN0l
ing data appeared in Sundays
Oregonian under the caption,
"Early Navigation on the Will
la,nette. - 1t recounts the his
tory of stea1nboating on Sam
Simpsons '1ovely river' from
the time the dirninutive "Hoos.
ier," built at Salem in 1851,
first piled its waters, until the
present day.
The year 1851 witnessed the
advent of three other boats, the
Washington, Multnomah and
Canemah. The first of these was
a side-whee1 steamer, purchased
in San Francisco and brought to
the Upper Willamette, where, at
Canemah, one lovely June morn
ing, she was launched, to run on
the Yanhil1 route for short sea-
son. At the close of the season
she was taken below the falls and
operated there. Two years later
she was restored to the upper
river, and, finally, for some un-
recorded reason, she was dis
patched to the Umpqua, and the
Willamette knew her no more.
The Mu1tnomah was built in
the East and brought out to Ore
gon in sections. She was put to
gether at Canemah and launched
in June, the same month and
year as the Washington. She
was not beautiful-at least, her
portrait does not convey the idea
of grace-but she possessed both
power and speed, and was en-
Enthusiastically welcomed by the
inhabitants of Corvallis and its
outlying districts, for she was
the first boat to ascend to that
point, Albany having previously
been considered the head of navi-
CATION on the river. However,
her passenger accommodations so
far exceeded her capacity as a
freight carrier that it was not
found profitable to operate her
upon the Corvallis route, and SO,
at the end of the year, she was
transferred to Portland and ran
for II years upon the lower Will
lamette and Columbia. The
Canemah, somewhat larger and
slower craft of local construction,
took the place of the Multnomah
in the traffic of the upper river.
The Shoalwater, which navi'
gated the Willamette for seven
years, changed her name four
times. Her life was one long
chapter of accidents and she
ended her career as a floating
saw1nill.
The Willamette, another steam
boat of the same date, was con-
sidered the most magnificent boat
on the inland waters of the North
west. She was not for some rea-
son a success on the upper river
route, and was ''lined" over the
falls and taken to Sacramento, in
California.
In 1854 the Gazelle was built
at a point on the bank of the
river, opposite Oregon City, by a
company organized for the pur-
pose of founding a rival town.
Fate apparently frowned upon
this ambition. The first boat
constructed by the company was
burned before she was fairly
completed; the second, the i'll
fated Gazelle, was blown to
atoms within 20 days after launch
ing. This disaster involved loss
of life, as we'll as destruction of
property, for her crew, together
with score of passengers, shared
her sudden fate.
The Enterprise, launched in
1855, eventually found her way
northward to the Frazer river.
The lanes Clinton, built the fol-
lowing year, was the first boat to
ascend the Willamette as far as
Eugene. She was successfully
operated upon this route, giving
the people of the upper valley
efficient and satisfactory service
until she was, at last, broken UP
and her machinery shipped tc
Coos bay, to become an integral
part of steamer being con.
structed at that point. The Port.
/ land, built the same year as the
James Clinton, below the falls,
was, when completed, taken ur
,, and run for twelve-month, un'
! der command Of Captain Jamie
: son. The story of the Portland
tragic end is told by those who
: witnessed her mad leap over the
brink of the foaming cataract a
: Oregon City.
! It was on the 18th of March
a 1857. There had been an acci
!, dent on the trip down the river
O -h;o1, rac,,1ted IN ar, injured r,1d