George E. Starr
The steamboat George E. Starr operated in late 19th century as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet and also operated out of Victoria, B.C. "Geo. E. Starr" also served for a time in California and on the Columbia River. Construction. "Geo. E. Starr" was built at Seattle in 1878 at the shipyard of J.F.T Mitchell for the Puget Sound Steam Navigation Company’s (the "Starr Line") international route to Victoria, B.C. "Starr" was a sidewheel steamer with a single-cylinder walking-beam engine, 148' long, 28' in beam over the hull, and 9 foot depth of  hold, and rated at 473 tons. Early operations. In 1881, the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, under Henry Villard bought out the Starr Line and all their steamers, including "Geo. E. Starr", "Isabel", "Alida", "Otter", and "Annie Stewart". The new management ran "Geo. E. Starr" hard in a rate war with an older sidewheeler on the Sound, "Eliza Anderson". In 1889, the "Eliza Anderson" nearly sank "Geo. E. Starr" in a fog-bound collision off Coupeville. In 1892, the "Starr" was transferred south to California for a year. When she returned, she was under the control of the Northwest Steamship  Company, and ran between Seattle, Port Townsend and the mill ports. Purchase by Joshua Green. "George E. Starr" was one of the first vessels, along with the sternwheeler "Fannie Lake", "Annie M. Pence", "Utopia", and "Rapid Transit", purchased by Joshua Green and his partners of the La Conner Trading and Transportation Company. "Geo. E. Starr" was considered sufficiently elegant at that time to allow President Rutherford B. Hayes, visiting Seattle, to spend a night in one of her cabins. Transfer to Alaska. When the Alaska Gold Rush started in 1897, many older vessels were pressed into service in an effort  to make money off gold seekers headed for the north country. "Geo. E. Starr" was no exception. Under Capt. E.E. Caine, the "Starr" was made ready to, and did in fact depart for Skagway and Dyea on August 3, 1897 with 90 passengers and a cargo of 100 horses. Return to Puget Sound. "Geo. E. Starr" survived her service in Alaska, and by 1904 was running in Puget Sound again, under the ownership of the La Conner Trading and Transportation Company. On alternating days, "Starr" and "Utopia" left Pier 2, at the foot of Yesler Street in Seattle bound for  Whatcom, Fairhaven, and Anacortes, with the "Starr" on her trips going on to Blaine where travelers could make connection with a steamer bound for Point Roberts. On this run, "Starr" and "Utopia" were competing against the "Bellingham" (ex "Willapa", ex "General Miles") of the Bellingham Bay Transportation Company. Reputation as slow boat. "Geo. E. Starr" served a long time, and towards the end she acquired the reputation as a very slow boat, as shown by the following waterfront doggerel: Maneuvering the old boat was difficult, as when making turns, she would list over and not right herself, which, as she  was a sidewheeler, caused her to spin round and round in circles. To prevent this from happening, her skipper, Capt. Gunder Hansen set up a counterbalance on the deck consisting of an old cart loaded with two or three tons of old anchor chain, rigged to cross the deck with a traveler arrangement of block and tackle. Captain Hansen, a native of Norway, instructed all deck hands: "When I yingle the bell, you move the car," which resulted in Captain Hansen’s becoming known on the Sound as Yingle Bell Yohnny. Despite all this, Joshua Green remained fond of "Geo . E. Starr", remarking sometimes when she was particularly tardy: "The Starr must have an exceptionally fine load of freight this trip to be this late." Later, Green wrote of the Starr: Transfer to Columbia River. Near the end of her career, "Geo. E. Starr" was transferred to the Columbia River, where she worked as a tow boat. Final disposition. "Geo. E. Starr" was abandoned about 1921 in (or was eventually towed to) Lake Union, where she rotted and slowly sank.