Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1918-06-07

tory of tho steamer Beaver" She
had not been present on this north
west coast as long as DR.. Tolmie, but
would tell as much, were she gifted
with the power of speech. How much
of history is embodied in that quiet,
inanimate hull and shape which be-
speaks her of the past, for that model
is of no modern mechanism.
We think of the sea she has plowed
in her lonely voyages to the north
ward, in every nook and corner of
that great archipelago stretching far
beyond the far-famed f1fty-four forty,
which no American ought to mention
except in modification. What we
gave up to British rapacity of claim
the Beaver" has been guardian Of,
before and since the memorable
treaty which brought peace without
honor.
An Adventurous History.
We dwell on the adventures of her
crew and officers, their intercourse
with hordes of savages who boarded
her decks and poured into her lap the
results of their hunting and fishing
and the trophies of their contests
with rival tribes. There among thou
sands the little handful to whom she
was entrusted performed their accus-
toned labor without any help at
hand, trusting only to her staunch
hull, her powerful engines and their
% III;
harm.
Lifeless though she be, mere IMAM
innate wood and iron, yet the roman
tic chronicle of the vicissitudes and
adventures of the Indian and fur
trader are indellibly stamped upon
her, and though she will not commu-
nicate by words, yet she speaks a
various language" as unmistakable
as it is inaudible.
Scarce three years before she left
her native England to be dedicated
to this northwest service, the won
derful feat of vessel relying exclu-
sively upon steam crossing the At
lantic was blazoned to the world as
the triumph of science. Yet so short
ly after, this little steamer in the
unknown Northwest, far remote from
workshop, artisans or coal depOts.
goes and comes unheralded on an
nual excursions into unknown seas,
among barbarons Indians, devoting
longer time in each voyage, accom-
plishing much more of distance, than
the famous voyage which was the
herald of such high expectations and
was chronicled with such exultation.
Vastly Greater Demonstration.
Vastly greater was the demOnstra-
ton OF the utility Of steam as mo-
tive power furnished by the Beaver"
in her north Pacific cruises, than in
that first Atlantic transit by steam,
and yet who ever sang the praises Of
the Beaver" or claimed for her q
place among the demonstrators Of
steam as the great auxiliary Of COM
merce?
The Beaver" was built at Black
wall. England, early in 1885. and
sailed around Cape Horn, her ma
chinery being put ip her after her
arrival at Fort Vancouver In the
spring of 1886. Steamer rugged, she
started down the Columbia river into
which she has never since entered.
She is a side-wheel steamer Of 120
tons register, built of very heavy
timbers, of a model to secure strength
and hard service rather than beauty
or speed. Indeed, she makes no
claim to either of the latter.
The engines are low-pressure, man
ufactured by Bolton & Watts. Her
wheels are too small, set to far for
ward and seriously marring her APP
pearance. Her crew consists Of 80,
with an armament of four five-pOund-
ers and a sufficiency of small arms,
pixies, axes, etc. The decks are pro-
tected by a netting so as to prevent
the access of Indians except by a mar
row gang-way through which only
one at a time can come aboard.
Discipline Similar to Navy.
The discipline on all the Hudson
Bay Co.'s ships varies but little from
the naval service and they are all
fitted with the design to act as war
vessels II the emergency arises. in
their intercourse with the natives.
Their admirable Indian policy rem
ders this almost unnecessary and 1t
is extremely seldom that occasion has
arisen to punish these tribes. When.
however, it occurs, the company is
prompt, not paying premiums to the
wrongdoer but demanding his deliv-
cry from his tribe to receive adequate
punishment. This failing to succeed.
they then mete out just rctribution
to the tribe or band. who assume the
guilt of their member by failing to
surrender him.
The principal use to which this
vessel has been applied has been
cruising to the northward. trading
with the Indians and collecting furs.
Her voyages have extended as far
north as SO degrees. She leaves Fort
Victoria on Vancouver's island some
time in April. returning in the early
part of November with the annual
collections of furs and skins by the
northern posts.
Fort Simpson, just south Of the
Russian boundary, is a sort of rem
doyyouc froro which che vicits cav