The Republican journal., 1904-06-02
CAPT. ISAAC F. GILKEY DEAD.

| Portland Business Man and Master Mariner
Who Took the First Cargo of Grain from
| Port of Tacoma.
Capt. Isaac +. Gilkey of Portland,
well known in former years AS d sue
ceSsful master mariner commanding
some of the largest and best vessels III
| the world, but who ten years ago retired
/ from service in the merchant marine to
| take up a line of work on land, died
| Nav 24th at his home. Since coming to
| Portland Capt. Giikey has conducted a
commission business in tea, etc, at $50
Commercial street, where he was we'll
known among the business men. Capt.
Gilkey had not been i'll good health for
several months, and a few days ago
submitted to surgical operation, but
the shock was too great for him and he
died Tuesday, at the age of 65 years
and s months.
In 1881 Capt. Gilkey was the comman-
der of the ship Dakota, built and own
ed by Hon William Rogers of Bath.
He went to Tacoma with cargo of rail
road supplies generally for the Northern
| Pacific railroad, then having its terml-
nus there.
While in Tacoma, and looking for a
return cargo, Capt. GiIkey pondered III
his mind the feasibility of shipping a
load Of grain from Portland, Oregon,
to Tacoma by rail, in that way avoiding
long delay and the high port charges
at Portland. Capt. Gilkey subsequent
! ly decided that Tacoma and not Port
land was to be the great grain shipping
port because of the fact that Tacoma
had a natural and deep harbor. Every
thing in Portland was i'll monopoly
and the port charges were excessive,
and had Capt. Gilkey attempted to go
| to Portland it would have cost him
about $4,000. He didn't propose to do
! it if he could help it. He went to Port
/ land by rail and saw the merchants who
were shipping grain and tried to get a
! cargo sent by rail to Tacoma At the
! time the merchants were willing to ship
wheat but they did not propose to do 1t
to injure their port, so they refused
Capt. Gilkey a cargo, and told INN
frankly that they did not propose to
open up port that they would event
ually have to compete with. Capt Gil
key returned to his ship and remained
on board ten days giving serious thought
to the matter He did not wapt to take
the ship back to Portland, but there
seemed to be nothing else to do. He
made a second trip to Portland with a
plan that he thought might carry,
/ He found the English house of Bal.
four, Guthrie & Co. which was willing
to let him have a cargo if he could sug.
gest plan to ship the grain without
taking it from the port of Portland
! Capt. Gilkey proposed to take a cargo
from the company's warehouse and
! himself assume all cost of tranSporta-
i ton and all risk of transportation.
He further agreed to sign the usual
terms of the charter party the same as
! if the ship was in the Columbian river
thereby clearing the firm from theil
agreement with the rest of the ship
pers, so the firm of Balfour, Guthrie &
Co. agreed to let him have cargo fol
France at Portland rates. The matter
was arranged with the railroads and
the first cargo shipped to Tacoma at a
cost of about $500 as compared with
the cost of $4,000 which it would have
cost to ship it by water.
That single shipment opened the eyes
Of the merchants of Portland, who
made charters to load ships at Tacoma,
! the first after the Dakota being ship
owned by the late Hon. Arthur Sewall
of Bath.
Tacoma was then town of about
1900 inhabitants while today it num-
bers over 100000 The merchants and
business people of Tacoma in recog-
milton of what Capt. Gilkey had done
for their city presented him with a
handsome watch and chain valued at
$500 and invited him to take up his
residence in Tacoma, which the captain
decided not to do.
When Capt. Gilkey sailed from Ia
coma the city was a mass of flags set to
the breeze in his honor.
After that great trip Capt. Gilkey
commanded the ships William G. Davis
| and Rufus E. Wood and then concluded
to enter business on land. Capt. Gilkey
is survived by widow and three chill.
dren, a son by his first marriage and
two daughters by the surviving widow.
The funeral services were held from
his late residence, Milton street, West
end. The interment was at Searsport,
| Me.-Portland Press.