The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1903-08-29


time Was a very lively frontier town,
the scene Of great activity, and
became known rs the gateway 10 the
mines. To catch some Of this profit
able business, Capt. SOrenson. G. b.
King and James Monaghan built the
steamer Gen Sherman which was put
On the run up the Occur d'Alene river
to the Old Mission. A little later.
Portland people built the steamer
coeur-d'Alene for the purpose Of
resping u harvest from the traffic TO
tbs mines. Their scheme was to force
the Gen. Sherman out Of business and
secure monopoly Fares were So
from here to the Old Mission aud the
new boat cut them 10 Ell. Mr..
Monaghan then secured the inflnance
Of priest and obtained al exclusive
contract from the Indian agent
for the steamer Gen. Sherman TO take
wood from the Indian reservation and
make landings. This tied the com.
prtitors up and compounds
followed. Later the Gen. Sherman
Nas abandoned and her machinery
removed from the hull. which sank
near the Northern Pacific dock and
remained there. until 1894, when
Capt. l. Is. Sanborn, z. A. McCarty
aud =. A. ShAllis raised her, made
some repairs and put In machinery
and for two years she was on the 81.
jos river under charge Of p. A.
shallis. She continued in the service
for several year,.
The steamer Occur d'Alene, bnllt
In 1883, was At that time the largest
beat on the lake. bsing 100 feet long
with beam of 10 feet. II Was on
this boat thai Capt. /. b. sanborn,
later ia charge Of the Oeorgie Oakes
and now captain ON the Stikeen river.
made bis initial trip on Occur Alenc
lake. The boat proved TO BE- bonanza
for lie owners and stories are told Of
trips made by II and the Gen. Sherman
that netted their owners over e.. 600.
The Occur d'Alene was abandoned in
1880 and her machinery and super
structure placed on a new hull which
IL nov the Deorgie Oakea. The old
Occur d'Alene hull IL u snnksn bulk
tied 20 come piling Dear Johnson's
boat house.
The next boat Of any sire 90
be bnilt was the Kooienai. This
was the most powerful boat ON
the lake and her hull Was constructed
q heavy planking and iron for the
purpose Of breaking Ice aud keeping
navigation open during the winter.
She was completed and made her first
trip ia the fall Of 1857. At that time
the mines were shipping large cAneoes
Of ore. the Spokane aud Idaho rail
road had been completed la lss6 and
this became the only rail and steamer
route into the mining district. The
koosenai carried many valuable
caraoes q ure from the mines Co this
place where = transfer was made to
the cars, which employed large force
II men and kept Occur d 'Alene az the
bead of the list Of active northern
Idaho towns. The completion 81 the
o. X. 4 n branch into the mining
district In 1890 diverted the traffic 10
the railroad route. the ore carrying
trade fell of on the lake and the
kootenai Was tied up a year or two
later Ia remain unused for number
Of year,. when the machinery WAS taken
ou, and the hull sold 60 A. A. Crane.
81 Harrison. His experience with
this big hulk satisfied him with the
steamboat business aud he turned his
attention to the law.
II IL said that Cranes ambition 20
be a steamboat man was largely due
to the fact that in the early days Of
Harrison be was accustomed Co making
daily trips To the landing 60 see the
steamer Echo. Joseph Boughton. cap
tain, and other cn.fts come in from
the ST. Joe run. That was before the
sawmills made busy town Of Harri.
son, aud the citizens had plenty of
time To look after the arrival and de.
parture Of the steamers.
The year following the completion
Of the Kootenai, Capt. Sorenscn built
the Volunteer for w w Roberts and
she was used IN connection with the
construction of the o. r. 4 n. branch
line.
The Echo, 40 feet long with a
beam Of six feet, was the first real
pleasure boat on the lake. She WAS
built by Capt Sorenson soon after
the completion Of the Volunteer and
In the early COS became the property
Of Joseph BouRhtOn who made the
run on the Sc. Joe for couple Of
seasons.
The Torpedo was another small
pleasure boat that piled these waters
thirteen years ago.
In 1891 the Georgia Cakes made
a