Fli so I ^HHI Life Long Student and Author Finishes Another Volume C Mr. James Croil, the well-known mthor and ex-editor of The Presby- .erian Record, recently celebrated his ilnety-second birthday, after a lifetime levoted to literature and active work n many paces. Mr. Croil was born m Glasgow in 1821, and educated at the Vew' Academy, Edinburgh; the Grange School, Sunderland, and Glasgow Uni- versity. After an apprenticeship of wo years to farming in East Lothian, hen, as now, the garden of Scotland, le sailed for New York in the emi- grant ship "Clyde." and reached his lestlnation after a fine voyage of forty ind the thermometer indi- cting 106 degrees in the shade. close upon three thousand years ago For twenty- five years in all, Mr. ( occupied the old Orysler farm. 1865 he was appointed General Agent 'of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, , in connection with the Church qf Scot- land, and in 1870 bade farewell to Archerfield, to the County of Dundas, and to a host of friends, and took up his residence in Montreal. Croil'S "Dundas," published in 1 contains a concise sketch of Canadian history and more particularly ot the County' of Dundas, ending with a full account of the visit, of the Prince of WaSs to Canada in 1860. The address presented to the Prince by Dundas County was 1 written by Mr. Croil, and '/? ^- c^ I*4*0FORD F^x Steam IRavngation ITS RELATION TO THE COMMERCE OF CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. Croil, MONTREAL. AUTHOR OF "DUNDAS: A SKETCH OF CANADIAN HISTORY.' ttf) ^lustrations cmb ftortrait*. TORONTO : WILLIAM BRIGGS. MONTREAL: THE MONTREAL NEWS COMPANY, LIMITED 1898. ENTKRED according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, by WILLIAM BRIGUH, at the Department of Agriculture. vM IDolume (0 dedicated bg permission to tbe lEarl of Hberfceen, ik.G:., .<3., etc., 0o\>ernor*<3eneral of Canaoa from 1893 to 1808, a nobleman wbo will long be gratefully remembered as tbe benefactor ano frienO of all classes of tbe community, ano wbo, witb bis Consort, Gbe Countess of Hberfceen, OLOL.D, will always be associated bg tbe Canadian people witb a period in tbeir bistort of great national prosperity, tbeir joint efforts in furtbering lofts ideals baving done mucb to advance tbe btgbest interests of tbe Dominion. 837627 "0-0-0-0-0- IN HONOUR OF THE MEN The First Vessel to Cross the Atlantic by Steam Power was whollyconsuucted in Canada and navigated to England in 1833. The Pioneer of Those Mighty Fleets of Ocean Steamers by which Passengers and Merchandise of all Nations are now conveyed on every sea throughout theWorld. ORDERED BY -o-o- THE PARLIAMENT OF CANADA . JUNE IS tS i804. DEPARTMENT Of PUBLIC WOBS T T o^o^-c>-o-o-c>-o-o- FACSIMILE Of 1 THE MEMORIAL BRASS. ROYAL WILLIAM." PREFACE. WHEN the history of the nineteenth century comes to be written, not the least interesting chapter of it will be that which treats of the origin, the development, and the triumphs of Steam Navi- gation that mighty combination of inventive genius and mechanical force that has bridged the oceans and brought the ends of the earth together. During the past few years several important con- tributions to this class of literature have issued from the metropolitan press. Three of these deserve special mention: (1) "The Atlantic Ferry; its Ships, Men, and Working," by Arthur J. Maginnis, gold medallist and member of the Institution of Naval Architects, 1892 ; (2) " Our Ocean Railways, or the Rise, Pro- gress, and Development of Ocean Steam Navigation," by A. Fraser-Macdonald, 1893 ; (3) " The History of North Atlantic Steam Navigation, with Some Account of Early Ships and Shipowners," by Henry Fry, ex-President of Dominion Board of Trade of Canada and Lloyd's Agent at Quebec, 1896. Each of these writers, in his own way, has treated the subject so thoroughly and satisfactorily, the author feels as x PREFACE. though the wind had been taken out of his sails somewhat, and it is not without hesitation that he has yielded to the advice of friends in whose judg- ment he has implicit confidence, and ventured to follow in the wake of such accomplished writers. If I am questioned as to motif I cannot better justify the rash deed than by endorsing the sentiment in Byron's apostrophe : " And I have loved thee, Ocean ! and my joy Of youthful sports was on thy breast to be Borne, like thy bubbles, onward ; from a boy I wantoned with thy breakers they to me Were a delight. " These pages are of a much less pretentious char- acter than the above-named books. They are but a compilation of materials more or less intimately connected with Steam Navigation, gathered from many sources, during many years, and now woven into homely narrative. They necessarily contain much in common with these other writings on this subject, but they are projected from a different stand- point and embrace a wider field, supplying informa- tion not easily obtained, respecting th'e far-reaching waterways of Canada, her magnificent ship canals, and the vast steam commerce of the Great Lakes. So numerous are the sources of information drawn upon, it is impossible to make adequate acknowledg- ment of them all. The agents of Atlantic lines of steamships were particularly obliging in their replies to inquiries made of them. Without in any way PREFACE. xi making them responsible for the use made of their communications, upon these my remarks on that branch of the subject are chiefly based. Among other publications I have consulted the " Transactions of the Imperial Institute," London, and of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec; Government reports emanating from Ottawa and Washington ; also many pamphlets, magazine and newspaper articles bearing on the subject, not to speak of my capacious scrap- book and some well-thumbed note-books. Additional authorities will be indicated as the narrative proceeds. Besides these, grateful acknow- ledgments for valuable assistance are due to Sir Sandford Fleming and Mr. George Johnson, F.S.S., of Ottawa ; to Messrs. Douglas Battersby, R. W. Shepherd, and the late Captain Thomas Howard, of Montreal ; to Mr. Archibald Campbell, of Quebec ; Captain Clarke Hamilton, of Kingston ; Mrs. Holden, of Port Dover, Ont., and Mr. T. M. Henderson, of Victoria, B.C. ; to members of the Boards of Trade in Montreal, Minneapolis and Duluth ; and to the follow- ing clergymen : Rev. Dr. Bruce, of St. John, N.B. ; Rev. T. F. Fullerton, of Charlottetown. P.E.I. ; Rev. James Bennett, of L'Orignal, Ont., and Rev. W. H. L. Howard, of Fort William, Ont. The illustrations have nearly all been made for this work : the wood-cuts by Mr. J. H. Walker, and the half-tones by the Standard Photo-Engraving Company, Montreal. J. C. MONTREAL, October, 1898. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE THE DAWN OF STEAM NAVIGATION 17 CHAPTER II. EARLY YEARS OF STEAM NAVIGATION 50 CHAPTER III. THE CUNARD STEAMSHIP COMPANY 71 CHAPTER IV. NORTH ATLANTIC STEAMSHIP COMPANIES .... 103 CHAPTER V. STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST 142 CHAPTER VI. STEAM IN THE BRITISH NAVY 166 CHAPTER VII. THE ST. LAWRENCE ROCJTE 192 CHAPTER VIII. STEAM ON THE GREAT LAKES .... - 244 CHAPTER IX. STEAM COMMERCE OF THE GREAT LAKES .... 268 CHAPTER X. STEAM NAVIGATION IN ALL THE PROVINCES OF THE DOMINION AND IN NEWFOUNDLAND - 307 ILLUSTRATIONS. STEAM VESSELS. PAGE ALBERTA 285 ATLANTIC - - - - - - 105 AUGUSTA VICTORIA - - - 133 BEAVER - - 335 BRITANNIA - - - - - 72 CALEDONIA - 146 CAMPANIA 78 CANADA 226 CHARLOTTE DUN DAS - - - 32 CLERMONT ----- 42 COLUMBA - - - - 38 COMET - - 35 CORONA 329 CRESCENT ... - 191 DUKE OF WELLINGTON - - 167 EMPIRE - ... 2">5 EMPRESS OF JAPAN - - - 162 GREAT BRITAIN - - - - 62 GREAT EASTERN - - - - 63 HORNET - - - 169 JEANIE DEANS - - - 51 JOHN S. COLBY - 363 KAISER W. DER GROSSE - 137 LAKE ONTARIO .... 230 MAJESTIC - - - - - 119 MANITOU 271 MILLER'S TWIN BOAT - - 31 MISSISSIPPI STEAMER - - 43 NELSON - - - 337 NEW YORK - -47 NIAGARA 74 I'AOK NORMANNIA 131 NORTH- WEST - .... 273 OCEANIC 117 OHIO STEAMER - - - 45 PARIS - - - - 107 PARTS DINING-ROOM - - - 109 PARIS (Stern View) . - - 108 PARISIAN -..-.- 204 PASSPORT 327 PENNSYLVANIA 135 PILGRIM 16 PRINCETON 233 PRISCILLA 46 QUEBEC - - - 311 QUEEN CHARLOTTE - - - 249 QUETTA ------ 150 RENOWN ... - 172 RHINE STEAMER - - - - 39 ROBERT GARRETT- - - - 49 ROYAL WILLIAM - - - - 8 ST. Louis Ill SAVANNAH 53 SCOTIA - 77 SIRIUS 59 SOVEREIGN 317 STANLEY 352 TEUTONIC 174 VANDALIA 251 VICTORIA AND ALBERT - - 184 WALK-IN-THE-WATER - - 250 WILLIAM IV. 325 XIV ILLUSTRATIONS. PORTRAITS. I'AOK PAOK AIRD, CAPTAIN - - - - 215 MCMASTER, CAPTAIN - 197 ALLAN, SIB HUGH - 208 MCLENNAN, HUGH - - - 296 ALLAN, ANDREW - - - - 296 MOUNTSTEPHEN, LORD - 4 BURNS, SIR GEORGE- - 93 NAPIER, ROBERT - - - 97 CAMPBELL, CAPTAIN - - - 233 Q7 CUNARD, SIR SAMUEL - - 93 OGILVIE, W. W. - - 296 BUTTON, CAPTAIN - - - - 218 RITCHIE, CAPTAIN - - - 216 FLEMING, SIR SANDFORD 4 SHEPHERD, R. W. - - - 322 GRAHAM, CAPTAIN - - - 211 SMITH, CAPTAIN W. H. - 194 HAMILTON, HON. JOHN - - 331 STRATHCONA, LORD - - - 4 LINDALL, CAPTAIN - - - 223 TORRANCE, JOHN - - - - 308 MACAULAY, CAPTAIN - 227 WYLIE, CAPTAIN - - 212 MAC!VER, DAVID - - - 93 MISCELLANEOUS. CANAL LOCK, CANADIAN - 264 CANAL LOCK, U. STATES - 278 CUNARD TRACK CHART - GRAIN ELEVATOR - - - - 90 - 289 GREAT REPUBLIC, SHIP - - 26 WIND-BOAT PAGE HORSE-BOAT - - - - 29 MAP GULF PORTS, ETC. - - 241 ROYAL WILLIAM MODEL - 55 SHIP OF THE DESERT - - 143 70 HH UH a, O X CHAPTER I. THE DAWN OF STEAM NAVIGATION. Ah ! what pleasant visions haunt me As I gaze upon the sea ! All the old romantic legends, All my dreams come back to me. LONGFELLOW. The up-to-date standard Old-time sailing ships The clipper packet-ship Dawn of steam navigation Denis Papin on the Fulda Bell's Comet Fulton's Clermont American river steamers and ferry-boats. TRAVEL increases in faster ratio than do facili- ties for inter-communication. The prophecy surely is being fulfilled in these latter days, " Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be in- creased." It is estimated that at least 750,000 per- sons travel yearly between Europe and America; 99,223 cabin passengers and 252,350 steerage pas- sengers landed at New York from Europe in 1896. The Cunard Line brought the largest number of cabin passengers, 17,999, from Liverpool, and the North German Lloyd Line the largest number 'of steerage, namely, 38,034, from Bremen. 18 HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION. Notwithstanding the wonderful development of railway and steamship systems, means of conveyance during the summer months often fall short of the demand. Passages by the more popular lines of steamships must be engaged months ahead ; in many cases the ships are uncomfortably crowded. At such times sofas take the place of berths, and all the offi- cers' rooms, from the coveted Captain's cabin to the second and third stewards' bunks, are called into requisition and held at a round premium. On Satur- day, the 8th of May, 1897, no less than 1,500 saloon passengers left New York for Liverpool on the great ocean greyhounds. The travelling season is compar- atively short, the competition is keen, and the enor- mous expense of building, furnishing and running up-to-date steamships renders it difficult to provide the requisite accommodation on a paying basis. The up-to-date steamship must be built of steel, to com- bine light weight with strength. It must have triple or quadruple expansion engines to economize fuel. It must be propelled by twin or triple screws, as well for the easier handling of the vessel as for safety in case of a break-down of machinery, and for attaining the highest possible speed. Our ideal steamship must be able to turn quite round in its own length, and to go through the water at an average speed of at least twenty knots an hour. To attain these results, ships of a very large class are called for nothing short of from eight to ten thousand tons burthen will come up to the mark. There are many magnificent steam- ships in the North Atlantic trade and elsewhere but D A WN OF 8TEA M NA VIGA TION. 1 9 a>8 yet few have in all respects reached the up-to-date standard, and even those that are such this year, a few years hence are certain to be regarded as quite behind the times. There is no valid reason to suppose that the process of development which has been going on during the last fifty years in this direction is to be arrested at the close of the century. The indications, so far as they can be interpreted, are all in the opposite direction. The paddle-wheel ocean steamer reached its zenith with the launch of the Scotia of the Cunard Line in 1862. She was the last of the race. The wooden steamship, "copper-fastened and copper- bottomed," etc., etc., is long since a thing of the past. The iron age, which succeeded the wooden, has been changed to steel, and steel may change to something else, and steam to electricity. Who knows ? Mr. Maginnis, who is himself an engineer and an archi- tect, speaks with authority when he says that, " Whether the improvements be in the ship or in the machinery, gradual advances will be made in the near future." The thirst of competing steamship companies for conquest on the high seas at any cost and the ambition of ship-builders to improve upon the latest improvements, will not b# satisfied with present attainments, even if it can be proved to a demonstration that thousands of additional horse- power and hundreds of additional tons of coal per day would be required to increase to any appreci- able extent the maximum rate of speed that has already been reached. In the meantime some idea may be formed of the possible saving in the con- 20 HISTORY OF STEA M NA VIGA TION. sumption of fuel when it is stated that, by a system of induced draught, discovered since the last two Cunarders were designed, the number of boilers necessary to generate steam enough for 30,000 indicated horse-power may be reduced to little more than one-half, which, to put it briefly, means a corresponding saving in space, weight and first cost.* In fact, well-informed marine engineers do not hesi- tate to express their opinion that the day is not far distant when Atlantic greyhounds may be coursing across the ocean at the rate of thirty knots an hour, bringing Queenstown and Sandy Hook within ninety-three hours of each other. It is difficult to form a correct idea, from any verbal or pictorial representation, of the elegance, the con- venience and the comfort attaching t3 the '' Express Steamship." Nothing short of a voyago cr voyages in one of these floating palaces would suffice to give an adequate conception, of their excellence. And yet, when all is said that can be said in praise of the steamship, some of us " old stagers " can look back, if not with lingering regret, at least with pleasant recol- lection, to the days of the packet-ship, and even of the sailing vessel of humbler pretensions. Some of the early emigrant ships were certainly of a mean order, and many emigrants suffered cruel hardships before they reached their destination. It was not an uncommon thing for five or six hun- dred men, women and children to be huddled together * " The Atlantic Ferry," p. 175. DA WN OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. 21 indiscriminately in the hold of a vessel of from 250 to 300 tons, doomed to subsist on coarsest food, and liable to be immured beneath hatches for days or weeks at a time, without medical attendance, obliged to cook their own food, and scantily supplied with water ; and all this for eight or ten weeks at a stretch ! In one of his autobiographic sketches the late Bishop Strachan says that he sailed from Greenock in the end of August, 1799, " under convoy," and such was then the wretched state of navigation, he did not reach Kingston, by way of New York and Montreal, till the 31st of December. In a letter before me an aged friend recites the story of his adventurous voyage from Liverpool to Quebec, some fifty years ago. The ship was a superannuated bluff- bowed East Indiaman, but counted good enough in those days to carry five hundred emigrants across the stormy Atlantic. When ten days out they encountered a hurricane which drove the vessel out of her course. Her three masts fell overboard. The cook's galley and the long boat, the water casks, and everything else on deck, vanished in the gale. The huge hulk rolled like a log in the Bay of Biscay for several days, the passengers meanwhile being confined between decks in horrible confusion. A passing steamer towed them back to Plymouth, where six weeks were spent in refitting the ship, each adult receiving ten shillings and sixpence per week for board and lodging until the repairs were completed. After seven weeks more of great discomfort " and tyrannical treatment on the part of the captain," they finally reached Quebec in 107 days after first embarking at Liverpool, HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION. My own experience of sailing ships, though fifty- seven years have elapsed, is still fresh in mind and recalls some pleasant memories. My first voyage to New York was from the Clyde in a new American ship, commanded by one Captain Theobald, a typical New Englander, as fine a man as one could desire to meet. The voyage was uneventful in the ordinary sense of the term, but one's first voyage in a sailing ship is an event never to be forgotten. It was anticipated with peculiar interest, and regarded with far greater importance than attaches to crossing the Atlantic nowadays. So far from being monotonous, there were incessant changes in sea and sky, in the dress of the ship, and the occupations and songs of the sailors. One day the ship might be bowling along beautifully, decked out in her royals and sky-sails, her studding-sails and stay sails ; next day, perhaps, she might be scudding under reefed topsails before an easterly gale, pooping seas that washed the quarter- deck and tumbled like a waterfall into the waist of the ship. Occasionally, a " white squall " coming up would make things lively on deck while it lasted. If becalmed in the right place we caught cod-fish. For the most part, however, the familiar refrain of " tacks and sheets " would be heard many times a day and in the night watches, as we tacked this Avav and O v that way against westerly breezes, thankful if the log showed that we had advanced on our course forty or fifty miles in twenty-four hours. My second voyage westward in a sailing ship was also a memorable one. The Scotch captain of the DA WN OF STEAM NA VI G A TION. 23 good ship Perthshire, in which we sailed from the Tail of the Bank, oft' Greenock, on June 19th, 1844, "was very unlike the Yankee skipper of the previous voyage. Captain S - - was kind and attentive to his passengers, but not at all popular with his crew. As I watched him taking the sun, the first day out, he said, " Young man, you are going to be some weeks on board this ship, with nothing to do but to eat and drink and sleep. Suppose you take a few lessons in navigation ? Here is a spare quadrant which you can use." I jumped at the offer, and very soon mastered at least the outlines of the business. Much was learned in these six weeks how to find the lati- tude and longitude at sea ; to ascertain the precise deviation of the chronometer from Greenwich time, and of the compass from its true bearing ; to measure the trend and velocity of ocean currents, and, failing solar observations, how to consult the moon and the stars. This was not only interesting ; it was a fascin- ating pastime. The captain of a twenty -knot steam- ship has seldom need to " resolve a traverse ; " he steers a straight course for his destination, and can usually estimate within a few hours, or even minutes, when he will reach it. It is quite different with the master of a sailing vessel ; after contending with contrary winds and being driven out of his course for weeks at a time, he must often wrack his brains before he can locate his exact position on the chart. To be enveloped in dense fog in the near neighbour- hood of Sable Island for several days at a time, as happened to us on this voyage, is a very perplexing position to be in. 24 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGATIOX. For a slight offence Captain S would send a man aloft to scrape masts in a gale of wind ; for a graver misdemeanour he would clap him in irons ; had the lash been permitted, he would probably not have hesitated to use it. As might be supposed, things did not go very well in the fo'castle. At length a climax was reached, when the starboard watch came aft one day and lodged a complaint. Getting little or no satisfaction, they retired sullenly, went below, and refused to work for a whole week. The working of the ship then devolved on the first and second mates, the carpenter and the cook, with such of the cabin passengers as could give them assistance. The steerage passengers, siding with the sailors, would not touch a rope, and things even went so far that one of them was placed in confinement for insolence. Some of us were rather glad of the opportunity thus afforded of running up the rigging and creeping through the lubbers' hole without being " salted." When orders were given to shorten sail or shake out a reef, we "lay out" on the yard in sailor fashion ; but how much good we did on such occasions will never be known.* At any rate, we counted it fine fun, and it gave the fiasco a touch of romance that we slept with loaded pistols under our pillows. But the mutiny ended harmlessly when the pilot came on board. One may cross the Atlantic nowadays without any kind of * If my recollection serves me aright, there were not more than a dozen cabin passengers, and the only one of them who ventured aloft with me was my now venerable friend, Mr. Robert W. Graham, of the Montreal Star. bA WX OF STEA At NA VIGA TION. 25 "adventure" like that to adorn a tale, even without so much as once speaking to the captain. Not every one has the chance of seeing Jack in his citadel. I was deputed by the captain to interview the strikers and endeavour to pacify them. Armed with a copy of the shipping articles which the men had all signed, and another formidable document printed in very large type, I went down into the dingy cabin at the dinner hour. Such a place as it was ! I shall never forget it. It corresponded in minute detail to Dana's description of his fo'castle in " Two Years Before the Mast." It was devoid of furniture. There was not even a table to place their food on. In the centre of the floor stood a dirty- looking wooden tub containing a junk of boiled salt beef ; near it was a pail full of boiled rice and some hard-tack. The men, about a dozen of them, sat each man on his sea-chest, using his jack-knife to cut and carve with. There were no plates. Imagine the rest. The only grievance they would mention to me was that they had been refused molasses with their rice ! Their mind was made up to stay under hatches till the pilot came aboard. They would work for him, but not for the captain ; and they kept their word. As I was about leaving, the spokesman of the party, pointing to the mess on the middle of the floor, said with a look that constrained pity, " Mister, how would you like that for your own dinner ?" He had the best of the argument. It may be added here that this voyage to New York lasted forty-two days, and the last entry in my log is to the effect that we made as 26 fftsrokY OF STEAM good a passage as any ship from England, " beating the Columbus packet-ship by two days !" The clipper "packet ship" was a vast improvement on the ordinary sailing ship. It had just reached its highest point of development when the ocean steam- ship first made its appearance. It was to the upper "GREAT REPUBLIC." L^vst of the Clipper Passenger Packets, 1854. strata of the travelling community, sixty yea^rs ago, the counterpart of the express steamer of to-day. The packet-ship was built for fast sailing, with very fine lines, was handsomely fitted up and furnished, was exceedingly well found in eatables and drinkables, and carried a great spread of canvas. To see one of these ships under full sail was a sight to be remem- DA WX OF STEAM XA V1GA TION. 27 bered a rare sight, inasmuch as all the conditions of wind and water necessary for the display of every stitch of canvas are seldom met with in the North Atlantic. They not unfrequently crossed in fourteen or fifteen days. In winter they might be three months on a single voyage, but their average would be from twenty-five to thirty days. There were many separate lines of packet-ships sailing at regular intervals from London and Liver- pool, and from Hamburg and Havre, to New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and other American ports. Among these were the famous Black Ball Line, the White Star Line, the Old and the New Line of Liverpool packets, etc. The New Line was American, and of it E. K. Collins, the promoter of the Collins' Line of steamers, was the New York agent. The ships were named Shakespeare, Siddons, Sheridan, Garrick, and so forth, hence this was called the " Dramatic Line." It is refreshing to read one of their advertisements in the Montreal Gaze'te, as old as November 20th, 1838 : " These ships are of the first-class, upwards of 800 tons bur- then, built in the city of New York, with such improvements as to combine great speed with unusual comfort to passengers. Every care has been taken in the arrangement of their accom- modation. The price of passage hence is $140, for which ample stores, including wines, etc., will be provided; without wines, etc., $120. These ships will be commanded by experienced mas- ters, who will make every exertion to give general satisfaction. Letters charged at the rate or 25 cents per single sheet. K3T The ships of this line will hereafter go armed, and their peculiar construction gives them security not possessed by any other but vessels of war." E. K. COLLINS, NKW YORK. WM. & JAS. BROWN & CO., LIVERPOOL. 2 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIG The Great Republic, one of the last of the clipper packet-ships, was built in the United States in 1854. She was a four-master of 3,400 tons, 305 feet long, 53 feet beam, and 30 feet in depth. She made the run from New York to the Scilly Islands in thirteen days. She ended her sailing career as a French transport ship, and finally was degraded to a coal hulk. The largest sailing vessel afloat at the present time is the five-masted steel ship La France, built on the Clyde by D. & W. Henderson for French owners. She is 6,100 tons burthen, 375 feet long, 49 feet wide and 33f feet depth. Her fore mainmast is 166 feet high. On her first trip from Cardiff to Rio Janeiro she carried 6,000 tons of coal, and attained a speed of twelve and a half knots. THE DAWN OF STEAMSHIP NAVIGATION. Paddle-wheels for driving boats through the water were used long before steam-engines were thought of. They were worked by hand and foot-power without, however, any advantage over the old-fashioned oar. The horse-boat, in a variety of forms, has been in use for many years, and is not yet quite obsolete. In its earlier form two horses, one on each side of a decked scow, were hitched to firmly braced upright posts at which they tugged for all they were worth without ever advancing beyond their noses, but communicat- ing motion to the paddle-wheels by the movable platform on which they trod. For larger boats four or five horses were harnessed to horizontal bars con- DA WX OF STEAM NA VIOA TION. 29 verging towards the centre, and moved around the deck in a circle, the paddles receiving their impulse through a set of cog-wheels. The " latest improve- ment" was on the direct self-acting treadmill principle, the power being regulated by the weight of the horses and the pitch of elevation given to the revolving- platform on which the unfortunate animals were perched. Newcomen's steam-engine had been invented ;\ J:. ...x,-..,... : .~J HORSE-BOAT AT EMPY'S FERRY, OSNABRUCK, ONT. and used for other purposes eighty years at least, before it was applied to the propelling of vessels. The modern steamboat is not an invention, but rather the embodiment of many inventions and experiments, extending over a long series of years by different men and in different countries. One of the first actual steamboats of which there is authentic record sailed down the River Fulda, in Prussia, in the year 1707. It was built, enginect and 30 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TIOX. navigated by a clever Frenchman, Denis Papin,* who was born in 1647, was educated as a physician, and became assistant to the celebrated philosopher, Huy- gens, in Paris, where he published a small volume on the mechanical effects to be obtained by means of a vacuum. While this attracted the attention of savants, it had little or no interest for practical men, and yet in it lay the germ of the power that was to revolu- tionize the world. He went to London with letters to the Royal Society, and was employed by that society several years, during which he continued his experiments on atmospheric pressure and the vacuum, and the power of steam. He was next appointed Professor of Mathematics in the University of Marburg, from which he removed to Cassel. He had seen the horse-boat in England, and the idea of employing steam to turn the paddles took strong hold of him. He had a boat built and fitted with a steam- engine, in which he embarked with his family and all his belongings, with a view to making his experi- ment known in Britain and exhibiting: his steamboat. o All went well until he reached the junction of the rivers Fulda and Weser, where the boatmen got up a hue-and-cry that their craft was endangered by this innovation. In vain Papin protested that he merely wanted to leave the country. On the plea that their rights of navigating these waters had been infringed upon, they rose up en masse, seized the steamboat, dragged out the machinery and smashed it to atoms. * "Denis Papin," by Henry C. Ewart, in Sunday Magazine, 1880, p. 316. DA WN OF STEAM XA VIGA TION. 31 Poor Papin found his way back to London a broken- hearted man, never to see the day when his great discovery was to enrich the world. Fifty years later another experiment was made by MILLER'S TWIN-BOAT ON LOCH DALSWINTON, 1788. From "Chambers' Book of Days." Patrick Miller, a banker in Edinburgh, aided by Mr. Taylor, tutor in his family, and Alexander Syming- ton, a practical engineer. Mr. Miller had a boat built and fitted with a small steam-engine, for his amuse- ment, on Dalswinton Loch, Dumfriesshire. It was a twin-boat, the engine being placed on one side, the 32 HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION. boiler on the other, and the paddle-wheel .in the centre. It was launched in October, 1788, and attained a speed of five miles an hour. The engine, of one horse-power, is still to be seen in the Ander- sonian Museum, in Glasgow. Encouraged by his experiment, Mr. Miller bought one of the boats used on the Forth and Clyde Canal, and had a steam- engine constructed for it by the Carron Ironworks SYMINGTON'S "CHARLOTTE DUNDAS," 1802. From "Our Ocean Railways." Company, under Symington's superintendence. On December 26th, 1789, this steamboat towed a heavy load on the canal, at a speed of seven miles an hour ; but, strange to say, the experiment was dropped as soon as it was tried. In 1801 the London newspapers contained the announcement that an experiment had taken place on the Thames, on July 1st, for the purpose of propel- ling a laden barge, or other craft, against the tide, by D A WN OF STEA M NA VIGA TION. 33 means of a steam-engine of a very simple construc- tion. " The moment the engine was set to work the barge was brought about, answering her helm quickly, and she made way against a strong current, at the rate of two and a half miles an hour." In 1802 a new vessel was built expressly for steam naviga- tion, on the Forth and Clyde Canal, under Sym- ington's supervision, the Charlotte Dundas, which was minutely inspected on the same day by Robert Fulton, of New York, and Henry Bell, of Glasgow, both of whom took sketches of the machinery to good purpose.* This boat drew a load of seventy *Mr. Symington's account of his interview with Mr. Fulton, as given in the " Encyclopnedia Britannica," is as follows : "When engaged in these experiments. I was called upon by Mr. Fulton, who told me he was lately from North America, and intended returning thither in a few months, but could not think of leaving this country without first waiting upon me in expectation of seeing the boat, and procuring such information regarding it as I might be pleased to communicate. ... In compliance with his earnest request, I caused the engine fire to be lighted up, and in a short time thereafter put the steamboat in motion, and carried him four miles west on the canal, returning to the point from which we started in one hour and twenty minutes (being at the rate of six miles an hour), to the great astonishment of Mr. Fulton and several gentlemen, who at our outset chanced to come on board. During the trip Mr. Fulton asked if I had any objection to his taking notes regarding the steamboat, to which I made no objection, as I considered the more publicity that was given to any discovery intended for the general good, so much the better. ... In consequence he pulled out a memorandum book, and, after putting several pointed questions respecting the general construction and effect of the machine, which I answered in a most explicit manner, he jotted down particularly everything then described, with his own observations upon the boat during the trip." 34 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. tons, at a speed of three and a half miles an hour, against a strong gale of wind. Under ordinary conditions she made six miles an hour, but her ad- mitted success was cut short by the Canal Trust, who alleged that the wash of the steamer would destroy the embankment. BELL'S " COMET."* Nothing more was heard of the steamboat in Britain until 1812, when Henry Bell surprised the natives of Strathclyde by the following advertise- ment in the Greenock Advertiser : STEAM PASSAGE BOAT, "THE COMET," BETWEEN GLASGOW, GRKEXOCK AND HELKXSBUROH, FOR PASSENGERS ONLY. The subscriber having, at much expense, fitted up a hand- some vessel, to ply upon the River Clyde, between Glasgow and Greenock, to sail by the power of wind, air and steam, he intends that the vessel shall leave the Broomielaw on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, about mid-day, or at such hour thereafter as may answer from the state of the tide ; and to leave Greenock on Mon- days, Wednesdays and Fridays, in the morning, to suit the tide. The elegance, comfort, safety and speed of this vessel requires only to be proved to meet the approbation of the public ; and the proprietor is determined to do everything in his power to merit public encouragement. The terms are, for the present, fixed at 4s. for the best cabin, and 3s. for the second ; but beyond these rates nothing is to be allowed to servants, or any other person employed about the vessel. The subscriber continues Ms establishment at HELENSBURGH BATHS, the same as for years past, and a vessel will be in readiness to convey passengers to the Comet from Greenock to Helensburgh. HBKRY BELL. HELBKSBURGH BATHS, 5th August, 1812. Bell's Comet was a quaint-looking craft, with a tall, slender funnel, that served the double purpose of mast and chimney. Her length was 42 feet, breadth * "The Story of Helensburgh," 1894, p. 92. DA OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. 35 11 feet, draught of water 5| feet. She had originally two small paddle-wheels on each side with four arms to each. The engine was about three horse-power, and seems to have been the joint production of Bell and the village blacksmith. The boiler was made by David Napier, at %i cost of 52. The engine is still BELL'S "COMET," OFF DUMBARTON ON THE CLYDE, 1812. From "Chambers' Book of Days." preserved in the patent office of the South Kensing- ton Museum. The Comet was lengthened at Helens- burgh, in 1818, to 60 feet, and received a new engine of six horse-power, by means of which her speed was increased to six miles an hour. This engine was made by John Robertson, of Glasgow. The Comet did not pay as a passenger boat on the 3 36 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TIOX. Clyde, and was soon after her launch put on the route to Fort William, and continued on that stormy route till December loth, 1820, when she was wrecked at Craignish, on the West Highland coast. She had left Oban that morning against the advice of her captain, who deemed the boat unsa worthy and quite unfit to encounter the blinding snow storm, in the midst of which she went ashore. But Bell had over- ruled the captain. Fortunately there was no loss of life. She was replaced in the following year by a larger and improved style of vessel, called by the same name and sailed by the same master, Robert- Bain, who was the first to take a steamer through the Crinari Canal, and the first to traverse the Cale- donian Canal from sea to sea by steam, in 1822. The second Comet came into collision with the steamer Ayr off Gourock in October, 1825, and sank with the loss of seventy lives. She was raised, however, was rigged as a schooner, renamed the Anne, and sailed for many years as a coaster. Mr. Bell was born in Linlithgow in 1767. The son of a mechanic, he worked for some time as a stone- mason, afterwards as a carpenter, and gained some experience in ship -building at Bo'ness under Mr. Rennie. He removed to Helensburgh in 1808, where his wife kept the Baths Inn while he was experi- menting in mechanical projects. He was a man of energy and enterprise, but like most inventors was always scant of cash. Had it not been for the gen- erosity of his friends, and an annuity of 100 which he received from the Clyde Trust, he would have. DA WN OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. 37 come to want in his old age. He seems to have had steam navigation on the brain as early as 178(5, and had communicated his ideas on the subject to most of the crowned heads of Europe, as well as to the President of the United States, before he built the Comet. Mr. Bell's memory is perpetuated in an obelisk erected by the city of Glasgow corporation on a picturesque promontory on the banks of the Clyde at Bowling, " in acknowledgment of a debt which it can never repay." There is also a handsome granite obelisk to his memory on the esplanade at Helensburgh, the inscription on which testifies that " Henry Bell was the first in Great Britain who was successful in practically applying steam power for the purpose of navigation." The stone effigy of the man adjoining his grave in Row churchyard was placed there by his friend Robert Napier, whose fame and fortune were largely the result of Bell's enter- prise. Mr. Bell died at his inn in Helensburgh, November 14th, 1830. Fifty years later witnessed the full development of Mr. Bell's ideal in the Columba, then as now the largest river steamer ever seen on the Clyde, and the swiftest. The Columba is built of steel, is 316 feet long and 50 feet wide. She has two oscillating engines of 220 horse-power, and attains a speed of twenty-two miles an hour. Her route is from Glas- gow to Ardrishaig and back, daily in summer, when she carries from 2,000 to 3,000 persons through some of the finest scenery in Scotland. She is provided with steam machinery for steering and warping her 38 HISTORY OF STEAM XAVIGATIOX. into the piers, and with other modern appliances that make her as handy as a steam yacht. She resembles a little floating town, with shops and post-office where you can procure money orders and despatch telegrams And what is the Colamb i after all but an enlarged and perfected reproduction of Bell's Comet ! The reputation of the Clyde in respect of ocean steamships and " ironclads " has become world- wide. Some of the best specimens of marine architecture rflVn "COLUMBA," FAMOUS CLYDE RIVER STEAMER, 1875. are Clyde-built. Her own river steamers are the .finest and fleetest in the United Kingdom. The Thames river steamers, though far inferior to the Clyde boats, answer their purpose by conveying vast numbers of people short distances at a cheap rate. The Victoria Steamboat Association, with its fleet of forty-five river steamers, can carry 200,000 people daily for a penny a mile. The Rhine steamers and those plying on the Swiss lakes are in keeping with the picturesque scenery through which they run, DA WN OF STEAM NA VIGATION. Painted in bright colours, they present a very attrac- tive and smart appearance. They are kept scrupu- lously clean and are admirably managed. Many of them are large, with saloon cabins the whole length of the vessel, over which is the promenade deck covered with gay awnings. They run fast. The captain sits in state in his easy chair under a canopy "WILHELM KAISER" ON THE RHINE, 1886. on the bridge smoking his cigar. The chief steward, next to the captain by far the most important per- sonage on board, moves about all day long in full evening dress his main concern being to know what wine you will have for lunch or dinner that he may put it on ice for you. The table d'hote is the crown- ing event of the day on board a Rhine steamer, i.e., for the misguided majority of tourists to whom a 40 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. swell dinner offers greater attractions than the finest scenery imaginable. The success of the first Comet induced others to fol- low the example. The year 1814 saw two other small steamboats on the Clyde. Next year the Marjery, built by Denny of Dumbarton, made a voyage to Dublin and thence to the Thames, where she plied between London and Margate for some time, to the consternation of the Thames watermen. In 1818 David Napier of Glasgow went into the business, and equipped a number of coasting steamers with im- proved machinery. At this time the Rob Roy, claimed to be the pioneer of sea-going steamers, began to run to Belfast, but being found too small for the traffic she was put on the Dover and Calais route. In 1819 the Admiralty of the day had a steamboat built for towing men of -war, called the Comet, 115 feet by 21 feet, with two of Boulton & Watt's engines of 40 horse- power each. This vessel was followed by the Light- ning, Echo, Confiance, Columbia and Dee the latter vessel having side-lever engines of 240 horse-power, with flue boilers carrying a pressure of six pounds to the square inch, which developed a speed of seven knots an hour. In 1822 a large number of steam vessels fitted with condensing engines were afloat. The James Watt was built in that year to ply between Leith and London. The largest steamer at that time was the United Kingdom, built by Steele of Greenock, 160 feet long by 26J feet wide, having engines of 200 horse-power as much an object of wonder in those days for her " gigantic proportions " as was the DA WN OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. 41 Great Eastern thirty years later. In 1825 there were 168 steam vessels in Britain; in 1835 there were 538; in 1S55 there were 2,310, including , war vessels afloat and building; in 1895 the number of steam vessels built in the United Kingdom was 638, of which number 90 per cent, were built of steel. In 1897 the number of steamers over 100 tons in the United Kingdom, including the colonies, was computed to be 8,500, with a net tonnage of 6 ; 500,000 tons. THE " CLERMONT." Three years before Bell's achievement on the Clyde, a clever American, profiting by the experiments of Symington, applied his inventive genius to perfecting the application of steam as a motive power for vessels, and gained for himself the honour of being the first to make it available for practical use on a paying basis. This was Robert Fulton, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1 765, who commenced business as a portrait painter and followed that profession for some years in France and England. He invented a number of " notions," among the rest a submarine torpedo-boat, in which he claimed that he could remain under water for an hour and a half at a time ; but failing to receive the patronage of any naval authorities, he returned to New York, and, with the assistance of Mr. John Livingstone, had a steamboat built and fitted with an English engine by Boulton & Watt, of Birmingham. The Clermont (after being lengthened) was 133 feet long, 18 feet beam, and 7 feet deep. Her wheels 42 HISTORY OF STEAM XA VMIATION. were uncovered, 15 feet in diameter, with eight buckets, 4 feet long, to each wheel, and dipping 2 feet. The cylinder was 24 inches in diameter, with 4 feet stroke of piston. The boiler was of copper, 20 feet long, 7 feet wide and 8 feet high. The Clermont made her first voyage from New York to Albany, August 7th, 1807. Her speed was FULTON'S " CLERMONT " ON THE HUDSON, 1807. about five miles an hour. During the winter of 1807-8 she was enlarged, her name being then changed to North River. She continued to ply successfully on the Hudson as a passenger boat for a number of years, her owners having acquired the exclusive right to navigate the waters of the State of New York by steam. The Car of Neptune and the Paragon, of 300 and 350 tons, respectively, were soon added to DA W N OF STEAM NA VIGA 770JV. *3 the Fulton & Livingstone Line. Both of these vessels were fitted with English engines. The Paragon con- tinued to ply on the Hudson for about ten years, earning a good deal of money for the owners. About 1820, while ascending the river, she ran upon a rock and became a total wreck. Other steamboats were built for other -waters, and very soon there were steamers plying on all the navigable rivers of the > MISSISSIPPI STEAMBOAT "J. M. WHITE," 1878. United States available for commerce. Mr. Fulton married a daughter of Mr. Livingstone. He died in New York in 1815, at the height of his fame and prosperity. The contrast between Fulton's Clermont, or Bell's Comet and the Atlantic Liner coursing over the sea at railway speed is very striking, and scarcely less remarkable the comparison of the river steamboat of to-day with these early experiments. America 44 HISTORY OF STEA M NA VIGA TION. has developed a type of steamboat, or rather types of steamboats, peculiarly its own. The light-draught Mississippi steamers* bear little resemblance to the Hudson River and Long Island Sound boats, while the American steam ferry-boat is a thing certainly not of beauty, but unique. Dickens in his American Notes speaks of the Burlinyton, the crack steamer on Lake Champlain in the early forties, as " a perfectly exquisite achievement of neatness, elegance and order a model of graceful comfort and beautiful con- trivance." But Dickens never saw the Priscilla. She was only launched in 1894, and is claimed to be " pre-eminently the world's greatest inland steamer the largest, finest and most elaborately furnished steamboat of her class to be found anywhere." The Priscilla is 440| feet long, 52J feet wide, or 95 feet over the paddle-boxes. The paddle-wheels are of the feathering type, 35 feet in diameter and 14 feet face. Her light draught is 12| feet, and her speed easily 22 miles an hour, though the ordinary service of the line does not demand such fast running. Her night's work is 181 miles, which she covers leisurely in ten hours. She cost $1,500,000. All the interior * These cuts, copied from Stauton's " American Steam Vessels," represent first class Mississippi and Ohio light-draught, high-pres- sure river steamers. The J. M. White, of 1878, was deemed "a crowning effort in steamboat architecture in the West." She was 320 feet long and 91 feet in width, over the guards. Her saloons were magnificently furnished, and all her internal fittings of the most elaborate description. She carried 7,000 bales of cotton and had accommodation for 330 cabin passengers. Her cost was $300,000. She was totally destroyed by fire in 1886. DA WN OF STEAM NA VIGATION. 45 decorations are very elaborate and handsome. In her triple row of staterooms there is luxurious sleeping accommodation for 1,500 passengers. In the spacious dining-room 325 persons may be seated at one time. The grand saloon is a magnificent spectacle, large and lofty, superbly decorated and lighted by electricity. The Priscilla has cargo capacity for 800 tons of OHIO STEAMBOAT "IRON QUEEN," 1882. freight. " Her machinery is not only a marvel of design and workmanship, but it fascinates all persons interested in mechanical devices." It consists of a double inclined compound engine, with two high- pressure cylinders, each fifty-one inches in diameter, and two low pressure, each ninety-five inches in diameter, all with a stroke of eleven feet. There are ten return tubular boilers of the Scotch type, each 46 HISTORY OF STEAM NA V1GA flOlt. fourteen feet in diameter and fourteen feet long, constructed for a working pressure of 150 Ibs. to the square inch. The indicated horse-power is 8,500. The machinery is principally below the main deck, leaving "PRISCILLA." Fall River and Long Island Sound Line, 1894. all the space on and above this deck available for general purposes. This floating palace was built at Chester, Pa., by the Delaware Iron Shipbuilding and Engine Works Com- pany. She is built of steel. Her registered tonnage is DA WX OF STEAM NA VIGATION. 47 5,398 tons. Although so vast in her proportions, the Priscilla sits on the water as lightly and gracefully as a swan. Painted white as snow outside, as nearly all American rivef steamers are, she presents a beauti- ful, you might say a dazzling, appearance ; and she is only one of five magnificent steamers of the Fall "NEW YORK." The latest Hudson River Day Steamer, 1897. River Line, all substantially alike in design and equipment, running regularly all the year round between Fall River and New York, with a perfection of service that cannot be surpassed. This cut, kindly furnished by the owners, gives a faithful representation of the exterior of a very beautiful Hudson River day steamboat, The New 48 HISTOR Y OF STEA M NA VIGA TIOX. York is built of steel, 311 feet over all, breadth of beam 40 feet, and over the guards 74 feet ; average draught of water 6 feet. She combines speed, luxuri- ousness of furnishing and a beauty of finish in all parts that has not been surpassed on vessels of this class. She is capable of running 24 miles an hour. This boat and her consort, the Albany, are claimed to be the finest day passenger river steamers in the world. She is not crowded with 2,500 passengers, of whom 120 may sit down together to an exquisite dinner in the richly decorated dining-room. A distinct class of steamboats peculiar to America is the ferry-boat. In one of its forms it is to be found fully developed in New York harbour, and serves to convey daily countless thousands of people whose business lies in New York City, but whose homes are on Brooklyn Heights or elsewhere on Long Island, or the New Jersey coast. The boats are very large and very ugly, but do their work admirably, being adapted for the transport of wheeled carriages of every description as well as for foot-passengers. One of the sights of New York worth seeing is a visit to the Fulton Ferry in the morning or in the evening, when the crowds are the greatest. The Robert Garrett, which runs down the bay to Staten Island, carries from 4,000 to 5,000 passengers at a trip, and is said to be the largest steam-ferry passenger boat in existence. She is owned by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Co., and cost $225,000. Another type of ferry-boat is that which, in addi- tion to carrying passengers, is specially adapted for DA WN OF STEAM NA VIGATION. 49 railway purposes. The best sp3cirnen of this kind of steamboat is probably to be found on Lake Erie, where a pair of boats, precisely alike, keep up regular com- munication twice a day, summer and winter, between Coneant, Ohio, and Port Dover, Ontario. They are named Skenango, 1st and 2nd. They are each 300 feet long and 53 feet in width. On the main deck are four railway tracks, sufficient for twenty-six loaded cars '/J ini imiU."- "."I...'.! m nl1 ** " "' " Hii'i'ii " ROBERT GARKETT," FERRY STEAMBOAT, NEW YORK. each containing 60,000 Ibs. of coal. On the upper deck are handsomely fitted cabins for 1,000 passengers. The ferry is sixty-five miles wide. Sometimes it is pretty rough sailing? but these steamers never fail to make the round trip in thirteen hours. They are fitted with compound engines, Scotch boilers, and twin screws; they draw 12 \ feet of water when loaded and run twelve miles an hour ; they are prodig- iously strong, and can plough their way through fields of ice with marvellous facility. CHAPTER II. EARLY YEARS OF STEAM NAVIGATION. The Accommodation The Savannah Enterprise Royal William Liverpool Sirius and Great Western Great Britain and Great Eastern The Brunels The screw propeller. TWO years after the Clermont had commenced to ply on the Hudson, and three years before the Comet had disturbed the waters of the Clyde, the first steamboat appeared on the St. Lawrence. The Accommodation, built by the Hon. John Molson, of Montreal, made her maiden trip to Quebec on November 3rd, 1809, carrying ten passengers, in thirty-six hours' running time. In accordance with the usual custom, which continued for many years, she anchored at night, so that the whole time occu- pied in the voyage was sixty-six hours. If she ascended the St. Mary's current, she was towed up by oxen. The length of this vessel was eighty-five feet over all, her breadth sixteen feet, her engine was of six horse- power, and her speed five miles an hour. The Accommodation was built at the back of the Molson's Brewery, and was launched broadside on. Her engine was made by Boulton & Watt, of Birmingham, England. The fare from Montreal to Quebec by this vessel was 2 10s.; children, half EARLY YEARS OF STEAM NAVIGATION. 51 price; "servants with birth (sic), 1 13s. 4d. ; with- out birth, 1 5s." The Quebec Mercury, announcing her arrival, remarked : " She is incessantly crowded with visitors. This steamboat receives her impulse from an open-spoked perpendicular wheel on each side, without any circular band or rim. To the end of each double spoke is fixed a square board which enters the water, and by the rotatory motion of the " JEANIE DEANS," CLYDE STEAMBOAT. From " Mountain, Moor and Loch," London, 1894. wheels acts like a paddle. No wind or tide can stop her." The Savannah. In the year 1818 there was built in New York, by Messrs. Crocker and Pickett, a full- rigged sailing ship of about 350 tons, named the Savannah. She was intended to be used as a sailing packet between New York and Havre, but before she was completed she was purchased by William Scar- borough & Co., a shipping firm in Savannah, who 52 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. fitted her up with a steam-engine of 90 horse-power, placed on deck, and a pair of paddle-wheels enclosed with canvas coverings, so constructed that they could be folded up and taken on deck in stormy weather, and that tedious operation seems to have been gone through pretty frequently in the course of her first voyages. Her maiden trip from New York to Savannah occupied 8 days, 15 hours. She left Savannah for Liverpool under steam, May 22nd, 1819, and arrived in the Mersey, "with all sail set," on June 20th, making the run in twenty-nine and a half days. The whole time that the engine was at work during the voyage is said to have been only eighty hours. " She hove to off the bar, waiting for the tide to rise, at 5 p.m. shipped her wheels " so the record of the period runs " furled her sails and steamed up the river, with American banners flying, the docks being lined with thousands of people, who greeted her arrival with cheers." From Liverpool, the Savannah sailed up the Baltic to Stockholm and St. Petersburg. On her return voyage, on account of stormy weather, the engine was scarcely used at all until the pilot came aboard off Savannah, when the sails were furled, and with the flood-tide she steamed into port. After several voyages of a similar kind, the machinery was removed and she plied for some time as a sailing packet between New York and Savannah, and was eventually wrecked on Long Island in 1822. Shortly after this the British Government offered a prize of 10,000 to the party who should first make EARLY YEARS OF STEAM NAVIGATION. 53 a successful voyage by steam power to India. The prize was won by Captain Johnston, who sailed from England on August Kith, 1825, in the Enterprise, of 500 tons and 240 horse-power,* and reached Calcutta on the 7th of December. The distance run was 13,700 miles, and the time occupied 113 days, during ten of which the ship was at anchor. She ran under steam THE "SAVANNAH," 1819. sixty-four days and consumed 580 chaldrons of coal, the rest of the voyage being under sail. Eight years followed without any further attempts in the direction of ocean steam navigation. There seemed to be nothing in these costly experiments that would induce capitalists to invest their money in steamships. Sailing vessels had crossed the Atlantic in much less than thirty days, and had made the * " Our Ocean Railways," p. 69. 54 HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION. voyage to India in less time than the Enterprise took to do it. It would not pay ! and had not scientific men and practical engineers pronounced the idea of transatlantic steamships as Utopian and utterly impracticable ? " No vessel could be con- structed," they said, "that could carry enough coal to take her across the Atlantic by steam power alone." Some of these unbelievers lived to see the day when large ocean steamers not only carry enough coal to take them from Liverpool to New York, but actually enough for the return voyage also. THE " ROYAL WILLIAM." The Savannah and Enterprise were admittedly nothing more than sailing ships with auxiliary steam power. In the archives of the National Museum at Washington there is to be found the full history and log of the Savannah, which proves conclusively that she was not entitled to be called the pioneer of trans- atlantic steam navigation. That the honour belongs to the Royal William, built at Quebec and engined at Montreal, has been clearly proven. The evidence, in support of this claim is embodied in a report of the Secretary of State of Canada for the year ended December 31st, 1894. From this it appears that the Royal William was designed by Mr. James Goudie, Marine Architect of Quebec, and that she was launched from the shipyard of Messrs. Campbell and Black at Cape Cove, Quebec, April 29th, 1831, in presence of Lord Aylmer, the Governor-General, 2 d w c M 00 h^ f g H a ^ S ^ s g j a 5 f 1 o 3 w d a ^ W ^ 5 CO s co" . S ^ as W > H M * *J T) O c o g H H l> i i Jfl O X g 5 K H 3 W O CO 5 Q 5 w d ffi CO M ^j O 1 5S $ O s o t> M O COMM: s ElICAL ROYAL O H w o G o Q % H 1 a CO as o tr< M w rt [t* O o ,_! H ^ H K "^ w a a' O C W > H t> '^j IS d f 1 " i i c- 1 ^ CO GO h^ 00 50 OS I i ^ f CO HANDSO T ATTRA OF QU EXHIBI' as M o TEAMS H td v o a w as j-|H y t W w w c c a w o 1 1 CO d C H d P S3 ^d O H O SENDING 1 GNIZED B1 IPLOMA Bl CONSIDER, H o M H H W 3J t> ^ H ^ ED RESTIN " ROYAL W w CO W w H 8 H a ^s a d ^ o p w f M | SENT, J EXHIBIT G-PLACE WILLI M o ^ W H i i t> 3 o c H ^ H - H 54 . d M p CO O a C g W M d w 5 o o f" Q 1 36 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. 225,000 and 200,000 indicated horse-power. Among these are a number of very fine express steamers, mostly Clyde-built and fitted up with all the latest improvements in machinery and decoration. The Kaiser Wilhelm II., the Havel, Spree, Lahn, Trave and Fulda are all well-known and favourite ships on the Atlantic route. Besides maintaining a weekly service between Southampton and New York, this company has a regular line running direct from New York to Genoa, Naples, Alexandria and other Mediterranean ports, and also lines running to India, China, Japan and Australia. A sad disaster was that which overtook the Elbe of this line in January, 1895, when she was struck amidships by a trading steamer, the Crathie, and sank in a few minutes, with the loss of 332 lives, only twenty -seven of the whole ship's company being saved. In December, 1896, the Salier, of this line, while on her voyage from Bremen to Buenos Ayres, foundered off the coast of Spain, when every soul on board perished, numbering about three hundred persons. Eight gigantic steamships are being added to the already numerous fleet. Some of these have already been launched at Stettin, Germany. The largest of these leviathans is the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, which arrived in New York on September 26th, 1897, having made her maiden voyage from Southampton in 5 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes, the fastest on record. Her average speed was over twenty-one knots an hour, and her daily runs as follows : 208, 531, 495, 512, 554, 564, 186 ; the total distance run was 3,050 NORTH ATLANTIC STEAMSHIP COMPANIES. 137 knots. Not only has the biggest ship beaten the Southampton record, but on her maiden trip she has made the fastest single day's run. This she did on the nautical day ending at noon on the 26th, when she reeled off 564 knots. At times she developed twenty-two knots. Her coal consumption, however, was heavy, being nearly five hundred tons a day. She was commanded by Captain H. Englebart. Her return voyage to Plymouth was made in 5 days, 15 hours, 10 minutes ; her average speed was about 21.40 knots, and her daily runs were 367, 504, 500, 507, 510, 519, 55 ; total, 2,962 knots.* The Kaiser der Grosse is 649 feet in length, 66 feet in width, and 43 feet in depth. ,She is rated at 14,000 tons burthen and 30,000 horse -power. She has quadruple expansion engines, working at a steam pressure of 213 Ibs., and turning her mammoth twin screws at the rate of seventy-seven revolutions per minute, and is otherwise conspicuous by her four funnels. Even the Pennsylvania is thrown into the shade by this new-comer. She is designed to carry 20,000 tons of cargo, and from 1,500 to 2,300 passen- gers. She is the largest steamship afloat at the present time, having larger carrying capacity than the famous Great Eastern ; but her supremacy will be short-lived, for the new Oceanic, of the White Star Line, is still larger, and may prove faster. To * Last April the great Kaiser surpassed her previous record, making the voyage from New York to Southampton (3,065 knots) in 5 days, 17 hours, 8 minutes, showing an average speed of 22.3-5 knots per hour. 138 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGATION. load this great ship entirely with wheat would require the produce of a field of 40,000 acres, at sixteen bushels to the acre ; and to supply her full complement of passengers would depopulate a good- sized town. The Kaiser is essentially a new type of ocean steamship a magnificent experiment, which will be watched with great interest in shipping circles everywhere, and one that is not unlikely to set the fashion for ships of the next decade. THE COMPAGNIE GNRALE TRANSATLANTIQUE, commonly known as the French Line, entered the lists of competition in 1862, and has developed into a first-class marine service. The early ships of this company were iron paddle-wheel steamers, which were built by Scott & Company, of Greenock, but, owing to the prohibitory duty imposed on foreign- built vessels, it was found to be more advantageous to have them built in France, the more so as the Government had introduced the system of giving large "construction bounties." This French com- pany has now a magnificent fleet, comprising upwards of sixty steamships. The Atlantic service employs six very fine express steamers, La Touraine, La Bourgogne* La Bretagne, La Champagne, La *THE "BOURGOGXE" DISASTER. Since the sinking of the Eutopia in Gibraltar Bay in 1891, no such marine disaster has occurred as that which recently befell the SS. Bouryogntn tragedy in some respects the most appalling that has ever been recorded. This vessel of 7,795 tons one of the finest of the French line of steamers sailed from New York for Havre on the NORTH ATLANTIC STEAMSHIP COMPANIES. 139 Gascogne, La Normandie, all of them built in France except the last named, which was built at Barrow-in-Furness, in 1882. The Touraine was built at the company's building yard, at St. Nazaire, in 1890. She is a steel twin-screw ship of 10,000 tons net, and 14,000 horse-power. Her length is 520 feet, breadth 56 feet, and depth 34| feet. She has triple expansion engines, and is classed as a nineteen- knot boat. She has made the voyage from Havre to Sandy Hook (in July, 1892) in 6 days, 17 hours, 30 minutes, the fastest on record between these ports, the average speed being 19.63 knots, 2nd of July, 1898, with a ship's company, including passengers and crew, of 726 souls. Early on the morning of the 4th, when about sixty miles south of Sable Island, during a dense fog, and while running at the rate of some eighteen knots an hour, she came into collision with the British sailing ship Cromartyahire, of 1,554 tons, and in a very short time foundered, carrying down with her about 520 persons. Had it not been for her collision bulk- head the Cromartyshire must have sunk, too. As it was, she was badly damaged, but hove to all day in the hope of picking up survivors. In the meantime the Allan SS. Grecian came up to the scene of the disaster, the rescued passengers were taken on board, and the disabled ship was towed into Halifax harbour. The survivors were the purser of the steamship, three engineers, thirty of the crew, and 170 passengers 204 in all. Of the seventy-two ladies in the first cabin only one was saved. Captain Deloncle, commander of the Bourgogne, was a lieutenant in the navy, and a knight of the Legion of Honour, having under him a competent staff of officers who appear to have done what they could to save the lives of others. All of them went down with their ship into the sailor's grave. The loss of life was appalling, but even more heartrending were the accounts given of the barbarous conduct of some of the steerage passengers and sailors in the terrible struggle for self-preservation. 140 HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION. and the best day's run, 501 knots. The company's capital is said to be $8,000,000, and its credit is good. The line is largely subsidized by the French Government, and receives compensation from the United States for carrying the mails from New York to Havre, the amount thus received in 1896 being $32.806.86. Until the loss of the Bourgogne, the most serious disaster that had overtaken the line was the wreck of the Ville de Havre, in November, 1873, from collision with an iron sailing ship, the Lochearn, which involved the loss of 22C lives, eighty-seven being rescued. Besides the American business, which is very large, the company has extensive trade con- nections with the Mediterranean and the West Indies. THE NETHERLANDS LINE, officially styled the " Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvart Maatschappig," of Rotterdam, has a fleet of thirteen steamers, most of them from the ship- yard of Harland & Wolff, Belfast, and ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 tons each. They are very fine boats of their class, and have attracted a fair share of the passenger traffic between New York and Amsterdam and Rotterdam, sailing alternately for these ports every week, calling at Boulogne-sur-niere. They carry the United States mails, which do not seem to be very weighty, as the pay only amounted to $165.03 in 1896. The latest addition to the fleet is the Spaarndam, formerly of the White Star Line (the Arabic), a fifteen-knot ship, of 4,368 tons and NORTH ATLANTIC STEAMSHIP COMPANIES. 141 3,000 horse-power. The company, which commenced this business in 1872, has a capital of $1,680,000. THE THINGVALLA LINE, dating from 1879, is a Danish enterprise, with a regular service between Copenhagen and New York, consisting of five ships, the largest of which is the Amerika, of 3,867 tons, formerly the Celtic, pur- chased from the White Star Line in 1893. This line came into notoriety in 1889 through the foundering of one of their vessels, the Danmark, in mid-ocean. She had on board 735 souls. On April 5th she was sighted by the British steamship Missouri, Captain Hamilton Murrell. On April 6th, though a heavy sea was running, by an act of heroism almost un- paralleled, Captain Murrell threw some of his cargo overboard, and in four and a half hours saved every soul by means of boats and lines, landing some at St. Michael's, Azores, and the rest at Philadelphia. The gallant rescue was suitably acknowledged by public testimonials from Britain and America to the captain, his officers and crew.* * Fry's "History, "p. 309. CHAPTEK V. STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST. DURING the earlier years of commerce with India, the route from Britain was by the Medi- terranean, the Black Sea, and the Caspian, through Persia, reaching India at its northern extremity. The sea route, via the Cape of Good Hope, was dis- covered by the Portuguese in 1497, and continued to be the great highway of commerce to the East until our own times. Although circuitous, the Cape route was infinitely preferable to that of inland seas and deserts infested by hostile tribes, to say nothing of the advantage of reaching destinations without transhipment. The importance of India as a field of British enter- prise began with the incorporation of the East India Company in the year 1600. From a small trading company it gradually became a vast aggres- sive monopoly, with a large standing army at its back, and a numerous fleet of ships that served the double purpose of carrying merchandise and fighting the French, or any other covetous enemy. In 1811, when the company had reached the zenith of its STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST. 143 power, it owned sixty-seven ships, each armed with from 30 to 38 guns ; thirty-one ships of from 20 to 28 guns, and fifty-two ships of from 10 to 19 guns. The sea route to Calcutta was over 13,000 miles, and not unfrequently a whole year was occupied in making the round trip. In the days of clipper ships, however, the single voyage was sometimes accom- plished inside of one hundred days. Lieutenant Thomas Waghorn, R.N., an English THE CAMEL-POST "SHIP OF THE DESERT." naval officer, applied to the British Government for assistance in carrying out a project he had conceived of opening communication by steam between Britain and her great East Indian Empire. The result of his labours was the opening up of the overland mail route, as it was called, consisting at first of a steam service from Marseilles to Alexandria, thence by camel and Nile steamer to Cairo, a caravan across the desert to Suez, and steamers via the Red Sea to Bombay and Calcutta. The next improvement was 1 44 HISTOKY OF STEAM NA VIGA TIOX. the substitution of a railway for " The Ship of the Desert," in 1 858, and the transmission of the English mails to Brindisi instead of Marseilles, and finally, the construction of the Suez Canal by Ferdinand Lesseps, the French engineer, at a cost of sixty million dollars. The canal is ninety -nine miles long with a width of 327 feet for 77 miles and 196 feet for the remaining 22 miles ; the depth was originally twenty-six feet throughout, but the canal is undergoing progressive enlargement and deepening. The British Government in 1875 acquired by purchase shares in the enterprise to the value of 4,000,000 sterling. By a convention signed in 1888, the canal was exempted from block- ade, and vessels of all nations, whether armed or not, may pass through it in peace or in war.* The North German Lloyd SS. Frederick the Great, of 10,500 tons register, which passed through the canal a few months ago en route for Australia, is the largest vessel that has passed through it. The canal was first opened for traffic in 1869. By the overland route the distance from London to Bombay has been reduced to 5,221 miles, and to Calcutta, 6,471 miles. The contract time for the transmission of mails is 16i and 18^ days respectively. Sir Douglas Fox, engineer of the railway from Acre to Damascus, speaking of the proposal to extend that road to the mouth of the Persian Gulf, prophesied that in a few years the journey from Charing Cross to India will be covered in eight days ! It will be * " Whitaker's Almanack," 1897, p. 543. STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST. 145 accomplished in about the same length of time, via Russia, when the great trans-Siberian railway is completed. When that is accomplished, the actual running time of an excursion around the world may possibly be reduced to thirty days or even less. In preceding pages reference has been almost ex- clusively made to the development of steam naviga- tion on the North Atlantic ; a brief allusion must now be made to the effects produced on the commerce of other parts of the world by the introduction of steam power. The Atlantic steamers were probably the first to bridge the ocean ; they are, perhaps, the most numerous to-day ; certainly they include some of the largest and most magnificent specimens of marine architecture in existence, but they are only a wing of the world's fleet of steamships. There are other great lines of ocean steamers performing services of equal importance elsewhere, though with their his- tory and their " records " we are less familiar. An excellent summary of the lines of communication with India, and the East generally, is given in " Whitaker's Almanacks" for 1896 and 1897, under the caption of " Our Ocean Mail." Mr. Macdoiiald, in " Our Ocean Railways," devotes a couple of chapters to an interesting survey of this branch of our subject. THE PENINSULAR AND ORIENTAL COMPANY, commonly known as the " P. & O." Co., is the second oldest steam-packet company in existence. It had its origin in a small steamship undertaking, started in 146 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIOA TION. 1836 under the name of the " Peninsular Company," to trade between Falmouth and Lisbon. Their first vessel was the William Fawcett, a paddle-steamer of 206 tons, built in 1829. The first steamer despatched for India by this company was the Hindostan of 1,800 tons and 250 horse-power, about the year 1842. From that time until now the history of the company has been a continuous record of progress and pros- P. &O. STEAMSHIP "CALEDONIA. perity. They now carry the mails not only to India, but to China and Australia, having in their service a * o magnificent fleet of over sixty steamers, ranging from 2,500 tons to 7,560 tons, and aggregating some 220,000 tons. The SS. Caledonia is at present the largest and fastest vessel employed in the Indian trade, and has succeeded in landing her mails in Bombay within 12 days of their despatch from London. Their contract time for the delivery of mails in Shanghai is STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST. 147 37J days, and 35| days to Melbourne, Australia. Over $35,009,000 have been expended on the fleet of the P. & 0. Company in the last twenty years, and they are now building several steamers of 8,000 tons for the mail service. Among the larger boats of the fleet at present are the Arcadia, 6,670 tons; Austra- lia, 6,901 ; Himalaya, 6,898 ; Oceanea, 6,670, and the Victoria, 6,527 tons. During the Crimean war, and at the time of the Indian mutiny, this company rendered important services to the Government in the rapid conveyance of troops and stores. The regularity with which the mail service has been conducted is remarkable when the length of the routes is considered. It is seldom that the mails are even an hour late in being delivered. The ships combine all the latest improvements in their construc- tion, machinery and internal fittings. The P. & O. steamers leave London every Saturday for India, and % fortnightly for Australia and China. The first-class ordinary fare to Bombay, Madras, or Calcutta by this line is 55 sterling ; second-class, from 35 to 37 10s. To Adelaide, Melbourne or Sydney, Australia, first-class, 60 to 70; second- class, 35 to 40. To China and Japan, first-class, 73 10s. ; second-class, 42. The rates for special accommodation are, of course, considerably higher. The Orient Steam Navigation Company was formed in 1877 by two well-known shipping firms Anderson, Anderson & Co. and F. Green & Co. The first steamer to leave London under the flag of the Orient Line JO 148 . HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIOA TION. was the Garonne, acquired by purchase, and followed by the Chimborazo, Lusitania and Cuzco. Two of these are now used on exclusively pleasure cruising voyages in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, while a number of large and powerful ships have been built for the mail line. The Orient, built by Robert Napier & Sons, Glasgow, in 1879, was the largest steamer constructed on the Clyde up to that time. She was 400 feet long, 5,365 tons register, and with engines of 6,000 indicated horse-power. Her speed was seven- teen knots on her trial trip. The latest additions to the fleet are the Ophir, 6,057 tons ; Orizaba, 6,077 ; Oroya, 6,057, and the Ormuz, 6,031 tons. The Ophir is 482 feet long, 53 feet beam, and 37 feet moulded depth. She is fitted with triple expansion engines and twin screws, and all the other modern improve- ments which go to make up a "floating palace." The company receives a subsidy from the Imperial Government of 85,000 sterling per annum for carry- ing the mails, which are despatched fortnightly from London calling at Plymouth, Gibraltar, Naples, Port Said, Suez, Colombo, Albany, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney, Australia. The British India Steam Navigation Company dates from 1855, when the East India Company first took steps to establish a mail service between Cal- cutta and Burmah. In 1862 the name was changed o from the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company to that which it now bears. Since then the business has greatly increased, and it now boasts STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST. 149 of having more steamers than any company trading to the East. Its fleet consists of 106 vessels with a total tonnage of about 270,000. They are nearly all called by Eastern names, such as the Golconda, 6,036 tons ; Matiana, 5,000 tons ; Okhla, 5,283 tons ; Onda, 5,272 tons, and Obra, 5,456 tons. The distance annually travelled by ships of this line counts up to 5,000,000 miles. The sailings are about fortnightly from London to Colombo, Madras and Calcutta. The fares to Madras and Calcutta are from 47 10s. to 52 10s., according to accommodation. The first steamers of the line the Cape of Good Hope and the Baltic were despatched to India via the Cape. The India of this line is said to have been the first steamer to pass through the Suez Canal. In 1872 a contract was entered into with the East India Com- pany for a monthly service from Aden to Zanzibar. Then a coast line was established from Bombay to Calcutta, calling at eighteen intermediate ports, with a branch line running up the Persian Gulf. In 1880 arrangements were made with the Government of Queensland for a mail service that soon developed into a large trade. At the breaking out of the mutiny in 1857, a detachment of the 35th Regiment was brought up from Ceylon to Calcutta by one of the ships of this line most opportunely. Again, in 1863, thirteen steamers of this fleet were taken up by the Government in connection with the Abys- sinian expedition. Some years ago the Quetta, of this line, on her voyage from Queensland, struck a rock in Torres 150 HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION. Straits and sank in a few minutes with the loss of 133 lives. Among the survivors was a plucky young lady, a Miss Lacy, who, after having spent twelve hours upon a raft, attempted to swim ashore, and kept afloat in the water for twenty-four hours with- out a life-belt or support of any kind, until she was picked up by a boat from a passing steamer. The Clan Line, established in 1878, has a fleet of THE "QUETTA" GOING UNDER, 1890. some thirty-five ships, all rejoicing in the prefix of "Clan" to their names. They are comparatively small vessels, the largest of them being the Clan Grant, 3,545 tons; Clan MacArthur, 3,934; Clan Macintosh, 3,985; Clan MacPherson, 3,921, and Clan Matheson, 3,917 tons They run from Glasgow and Liverpool to Bombay ; from the same ports to Colombo, Madras and Calcutta ; also to Cape Colony and Natal, Delagoa Bay, Beira and Mauritius. The saloon fare by this line from Liverpool to Madras or Calcutta is 45 ; second class, 30. STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST. 151 The Bibby Line has long been famous on the Mediterranean. It is now the direct route to Burmah, and controls a large share of the trade with Ceylon and southern India. It employs five of Harland & Wolffs first-class steamships the Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire, twin screw ships of 6,000 tons ; and the Lancashire and Yorkshire of 4,260 tons each. This line is the recognized route for officers returning from India at the expiry of fur- lough. The sailings are from Liverpool to Egypt, Colombo, southern India and Rangoon. Only first- class passengers are carried. Fare to Rangoon, 50. The Shaw, Savill & Albion Company, formed some thirteen years ago, has been very successful. It has five fast mail steamers the Arawa, 5,026 tons ; Doric, 4,786 ; Ionic, 4,753 ; Tainui, 5,031, and the Gothic, 7,730. Besides these they have a large num- ber of cargo steamers and sailing ships. The Gothic is said to be the largest steamship employed in the Australian trade, and the Arawa the fastest, having made the run from Plymouth to New Zealand in 38 days, 30 minutes ; and from New Zealand to Plymouth in 35 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes the fastest on record. The Union Steamship Company of New Zealand advertises to take passengers from Auckland to England, via San Francisco, in thirty-one days ! Saloon fare, 66 ; steerage, 32 11s. 7d. The Anchor Line has two services to India : (1) from Liverpool to Bombay and Kurrachee ; (2) from Liverpool to Calcutta. The sailings in each case are 152 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIOA TION. about once a fortnight. Though chiefly adapted for freight, they carry a considerable number of passen- gers at low rates, say, to Bombay or Calcutta, first- class, 45, and second-class, 30. The City Line has also two distinct services, the same as the Anchor Line, to Bombay and Kurrachee and to Calcutta. The fares are the same. This line has a fleet of fourteen steamers, among the largest of which are the City of Bombay, 4,548 tons ; City of Vienna, 4,672 tons ; City of Oxford, 4,019 tons; City of Calcutta, 3,906 tons. The Hall Line, from Liverpool to Kurrachee and to Bombay, calling at Marseilles, sails about once in three weeks The ships are all about four thousand tons. The fare from Liverpool to Bombay is, for first-class, 47 10s., and for second-class, 30. The Henderson Line has sailings from Liverpool to Rangoon every three weeks, with accommodation for second-class passengers. The New Zealand Shipping Company has a fine fleet of steamers, from four thousand to six thousand tons, sailing once in three weeks from London to New Zealand ports, Tasmania and Australia. Fare to Auckland, 68, and to Melbourne or Sydney, 72. The North German Lloyd Line has a monthly service from Southampton to China and Japan, and also to Australia. Holt's Line has sailings once a fortnight to China, Japan and Australia from Liverpool. There are various other lines of steamers in the Eastern trade, but the above-named are the most important, unless we include the Messageries Mari- STEAM TO-1NDIA AND THE EAST. 153 time and the Rubattino Lines, both of which are formidable competitors for the freight and passenger traffic. The former is a French line, which has been in existence since 1852, and has attained a high rank. The fleet numbers about sixty vessels, many of them very large, handsomely fitted and fast. They are noted for their elaborate cuisine, which attracts a certain class of travellers, and though their rates are some- what higher than the other first-class lines, they have long been very popular. The line to India has sail- ings from Marseilles and Trieste once a fortnight. The Messageries Company receives a very large sub- sidy from the French Government. The Ville de la Ciotat, built for the Australian trade, is a magnificent ship of 6,500 tons and 7,000 horse-power. The RubaMino is an Italian line, which has a numerous fleet of steamers, chiefly adapted for the Mediter- ranean trade ; but they have also a number of large vessels sailing at regular intervals from Genoa and Naples to Bombay. The Eastern trade is enormous. The total exports from and to India, Ceylon, the Straits, Labuan and Hong Kong amounted in 1889 to $1,031,000,000. The exports and imports to and from Australia amounted in the same year to nearly $526,000,000.* The net tonnage which passed through the Suez Canal in 1894 was 8,039,105 tons. * "Our Ocean Railways," p. 119. 154 HlSTOti Y OF STEA M NAV1GA TIOX. STEAMSHIP LINES TO AFRICA. The African Steamship Company is one of the oldest and largest shipping concerns in the African trade. It originated in 1832 as a private expedition by MacGregor Laird, of Liverpool, for the purpose of exploring the Niger River. In 1852 the company received its charter, and agreed to perform a monthly mail and passenger service to West Africa in consid- eration of an annual subsidy of 30,000. The pioneer ships were the Forerunner, Faith, Hope and Charity. Year after year numerous fine vessels were added to the fleet, among which are the Leopoldville, 3,500 tons ; Assaye, 4,296 tons ; Mohawk, 5,658 tons, and the Mobile, 5,780 tons. In 1891 this company amal- gamated with the Elder, Dempster Company of Liverpool, and now have regular services from Liverpool to South- West Africa; from Hamburg and Rotterdam to West and South- West Africa ; and from Antwerp to South- West Africa. The Union Steamship Company was first formed in 1853, with a fleet of five small collier steamers. In 1857 a contract was obtained for a mail service to the Cape for five years at 30,000 a year. The service proved so satisfactory that the contract was renewed and extended. The Union Line now carries the English mail to the Cape and Natal, and also from Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Southamp- ton to Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Natal, making calls at Madeira arid Teneriffe. The Scot, built for this company by the Dennys of Dum- STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST. 155 barton, is a fine ship of 6,850 tons, and has made the shortest voyage on record from Southampton to Cape Town, viz., 14 days, 11 hours. The Norman. of 7,537 tons, one of Harland & Wolff's steel twin- screw ships, is the largest vessel employed in the South African trade. The Guelph, Greek, Gaul and Goth are also twin-screw ships, close upon 5,000 tons each. The Castle Line, founded by Sir Donald Currie in 1872, has attained a front rank in shipping circles. Since 1876 this line has carried the Royal mails between England and South Africa. The fleet num- bers some fourteen or fifteen powerful steamers, of from 3,600 to 5,636 tons, such as the TantaUon Castle, Dunottar Castle, Roslin Castle, Doune Castle, etc. The voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, which used to occupy from thirty to thirty-four days, is now accomplished by the Castle Line in half that time. Until recently this company enjoyed an en- viable immunity from marine disasters, not having lost a single life through mishap of any kind ; but one dark and hazy night in June, 1896, one of the best-known ships of the line the Drummond Castle while attempting to sail through the perilous channel between the Island of Ushant and the main- land, struck a sunken rock, and almost immediately went to pieces, only three persons out of a ship's company of 250 having survived to. tell the tale. The British and African Steam Navigation Com- pany, established in 1868, conveys passengers and 156 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA T10N. mails from Liverpool to the west coast of Africa. It has a fleet of twenty-four steamers, and maintains seven distinct services. It is under the management of Elder, Dempster & Co. The ships are from 2,000 to 3,000 tons register, and derive their names from the rivers and ports which they frequent, e.g., the Bakana, Batanga, Loanda, Boma, Calabar, etc. The Natal Line, from London to Natal, Delagoa Bay, and other East African ports, was founded by Messrs. Ballard, King & Co. in 1879. They employ a fleet of ten steamers, ranging from 1,600 to 2,750 tons larger vessels being unable to cross the bar at Natal. They have also a colonial service under con- tract with the Government of Natal, from Cape Colony and Natal to Madras and Calcutta. There is also the Aberdeen Line from London to Natal direct; the British and Colonial Steam Navigation Company from London to South and East Africa; the East African mail service of the British India Line, and the German East African Line. The fares from London to Delagoa Bay vary according to the class of ships, from 35 guineas by the Natal Line, to 67 10s. by the British India Line. WEST INDIES AND PACIFIC LINES. The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, the ships of which line sail from Southampton to the West Indies, Central America, North and South Pacific, Brazil and River Plate, was founded in 1839, and has a large fleet of powerful steamers. STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST. 157 The Danube, Nile, Clyde, Thames, Magdalena and Atrato are all over 5,000 tons, with engines of from 6,773 to 7,500 indicated horse-power. Among the smaller ships is the Trent, a namesake of the historic vessel which was boarded by the United States cruiser, San Jacinto, in 1861, when the seizure of Slidell and Mason nearly provoked a war with Great Britain. The West India and Pacific Steamship Company, with a fleet of seventeen steamers, keeps up a good line of communication between Liverpool, the West Indies, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Carib- bean seas. The American and European are each 7,730 tons ; the Barbadian, Cuban, Jamaican, Mexi- can and Tampican are from 4,020 to 4,500 tons. The Pacific Steam Navigation Company, incor- porated in 1840, conducts a line of mail steamers from Liverpool to Brazil and River Plate, continuing the voyage to the west coast of America via the Straits of Magellan. This company are the pioneers of steam navigation along the southern shores of the Pacific, and between Europe -and the West Coast. They have also running in the Orient Line, from London to Australia, four of their largest steamers, viz., Orizaba, Oroya, Oruba and Orotava, all over 6,000 tons. They have a large fleet of other ships, such as the Orisia, Orcana, Potosi, Lignria, Iberia, ranging from 4,000 to 5,000 tons each, and they are building others of large dimensions. Messrs. Lamport and Holt have a fine fleet, con- sisting of over sixty steamers, running from Glasgow, 158 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIOA TION. Liverpool, Manchester, London, Antwerp and New York, to Brazil, River Plate, and the west coast of South America. A large percentage of their steamers are capable of carrying between 5,000 and 6,000 tons of cargo, and have a speed of from 10| to 12 knots at sea. They also carry a limited number of passengers. The largest of their steamers are the Canova, 5,000 tons; Cavour, 5,500 tons; Cervantes, 5,000 tons, and the Horace, 4,000 tons. The Wilson Line Thomas Wilson, Sons & Co. (Limited), Hull in addition to their North American lines of steamers, have a fort- nightly service to Bombay and Kurrachee, a monthly service to Australia, and a line of steamers running to River Plate ports, to suit the trade. The fare from Southampton to the West India Islands runs from 25 to 35 ; from New York, by the Atlas Line, $50 ; and to Bermuda, by the Quebec Steamship Company, sailing from New York every Thursday, $25. THE CANADIAN TRANS-PACIFIC STEAMSHIPS. The idea of connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean by a railway through British territory had long been a cherished vision of British and Canadian statesmen, railway engineers, and travellers in the far West ; but owing to the vastness of such an enterprise for a people of four millions, a " baseless vision " it continued to be until after the confederation of the provinces in 1867. Twenty years before that time, Major Carmichael Smyth, writing to " Sam Slick," STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST. 159 advocated the construction, by convict labour, of a trans-continental railway through British territory, and prepared a map on which the possible route of such a railway was marked almost identical with that of the Canadian Pacific Railway.* Hon. Joseph Howe, in course of a speech made at Halifax in 1851, said he believed that many of his auditors would live to hear the whistle of the steam-engine in the passes of the Rockies, and to make the journey from Halifax to the Pacific in five or six days. Hon. Alexander Morris, in his lecture, "Nova Britannia," delivered in 1855, predicted the accomplishment of such an enter- prise in the near future. Judge Haliburton, Sir Edward Bulwer, Sir George Simpson and other savans had all prophesied after the same manner. Sure enough, it was one of the earliest measures that came to be discussed in the first Parliament of the new Dominion. Preliminary surveys were commenced in 1871 by Sandford Fleming, chief engineer, and the work of construction by the Government fol- lowed soon after. But it early became apparent that Government machinery was ill adapted for success- fully dealing with a work of such magnitude, and one unavoidably leading to political complications. It was therefore resolved to have the road built by contract. Finally, in 1881, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company was organized, the prime movers of the enterprise being Messrs. George Stephen and Donald A. Smith, of Montreal. At this time the * "Statistical Year-Book, 1896," under Railways, p. 20, 160 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIOA TION. Government had under construction 425 miles be- tween Lake Superior and Winnipeg, and 213 miles in British Columbia. This company undertook to com- plete the railway from Quebec to Vancouver, a distance of 3,078 miles, within ten years, for which they were to receive $25,000,000 in money, and twenty-five million acres of land, together with the sections of railway already under construction by the Government, the entire railway when completed to remain the property of the company. Such was the energy of the con- tractors and the skill of their engineers, the railway was completed in one-half of the time stipulated ; for on the 7th of November, 1885, the last rail was laid on the main line, and by next midsummer the whole of the vast system was fully equipped and in running order. The opening of the Canadian Pacific Railway was followed by an immense development of traffic. The natural outcome of this was the inauguration of a line of steamships from the western terminus of the road to Japan and China, as well as to Australia. Sooner than might have been expected, three very fine twin-screw steel ships were built at Barrow-on- Furness for the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, under contract with the Imperial and Dominion Governments for carrying the mails to Japan and China. The ships are named the Empress of India, Empress of China and Empress of Japan. The inauguration of the " Empress Line " was of the nature of a magnificent ovation. The maiden trips of the three sisters were largely advertised in connection with an all-the-way-around-the-world STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST. 161 trip, via Gibraltar, Suez, Colombo, Hong Kong, Yokohama and Vancouver, and thence by the Cana- dian Pacific Railway across the continent and home again by any of the Atlantic liners, all for the modest sum of $600. The proposal took readily, with the result that the three ships had a full complement of cabin passengers, all of whom expressed themselves as delighted with the arrangements which had been made for their comfort. The first steamer, the Em- press of India, with 141 saloon passengers, reached Hong Kong on the 23rd of March, 1891, under easy steam, in forty-three days from Liverpool ; leaving Hong Kong on April 7th, she reached Yokohama on the 16th. She left on the 17th, and, although encoun- tering a very heavy gale, reached Victoria, B.C., in 10 days, 14 hours, 34 minutes, an average speed of 406 miles a day, or just 17 knots an hour. The regular monthly service from Vancouver to Japan and China commenced in the autumn of the same year. For this service the company receives an annual subsidy of $300,000, and an additional subvention of about $35,585 to secure their services to the British Government whenever the vessels may be required as transports or cruisers. The three ships are all just alike. They are painted white and are beautiful models, with raking masts and funnels, and graceful overhanging bows. They are each 485 feet in length, 51 feet moulded breadth, and 36 feet in depth ; gross tonnage about 6,000 tons each. They have triple expansion engines of 10,000 indicated horse-power, which with 89 revolutions per minute, and a con- STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST. 163 sumption of only 170 tons of coal a day, drive the ships at an average speed of 17 knots an hour. The arrangements and fittings for passengers are of the most complete and even luxurious description. The saloons and staterooms are tastefully decorated, hand- somely furnished, and brilliantly lighted by electricity. They have ample accommodation for 180 first-class, 32 second-class, and 600 steerage passengers, with capacity for about 4,000 tons of cargo. They cost about $1,000,000 each. The distance from Vancouver to Hong Kong is 6,140 nautical miles; the average passage is about twenty-two days. Yokohama is 4,300 knots from Vancouver, and the average passage is from eleven to eleven and a half days ; but in August, 1891, the Empress of Japan made the voyage in 9 days, 9 hours, 39 minutes, the shortest time on record, being at the rate of eighteen and a half knots an hour. After a fairly quick railway run across the continent to New York, and close connection with a swift Atlantic greyhound, her mails were delivered in London in the unprecedentedly short time of 20 days, 9 hours from Yokohama. This feat astonished London, and gave rise to speculations of rapid com- munication with the East hitherto undreamed of. Even with existing facilities, it is now not only possible, but it is easy to go round the world by this route in less than seventy-five days, and to do it in palatial style for less than $1,000 ! In connection with the Canadian Pacific Railway a line of steamers commenced a monthly service in 11 164 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIOA TION. 1893 between Vancouver and Australia, calling at Shanghai, Sandwich Islands, Brisbane, Queensland and Sydney, N. S. W. The pioneer ships are the Warrimoo and Miowera, of about 5,000 tons each, which have so far given a very satisfactory service. They receive a small subsidy from the Canadian and Australian Governments as a means of developing trade and commerce between the two countries, and as forging another link in the chain that binds the colonies to the Mother Country. A third steamer, the Aorangi, has recently been added to this line. The distance from Vancouver to Sydney, direct, is 6,832 knots, and the voyage has been made by the Miowera in 19 days, showing that with a fast Atlantic service and close connections the quickest route from England to Australia will be via Canada. Still more recently, the unprecedented rush of adventurous gold- seekers to the Klondike has induced the Canadian Pacific Railway Company to inaugurate another line of steamships to ply between Victoria and Vancouver and ports on the northern Pacific coast. Two very fine Clyde-built steamers have been placed on this route, the Tartar and the Athenian, of 4,425 and 3,882 tons, respectively. These vessels are fitted up in first-class style, with excellent accommodation for large numbers of passengers. With the exception of the Empress Line of steamships to Japan and China, they are said to be much the finest steamers on the North Pacific coast. STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST. 165 George Stephen, now Lord MountStephen, was born at Dufftown, Banffshire, Scotland, June 5th, 1829 : came to this country in 1850, when he entered into business in Montreal, and was the pioneer of the woollen manufacturers in Canada. He became Presi- dent of the Bank of Montreal and also of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which was completed mainly through his Lordship's energy. Sir George Stephen, Baronet so created in January, 1886 was elevated to the British peerage in May, 1891. Donald A. Smith, now Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal, who was associated with Lord MountStephen in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, was born at Archieston, Morayshire, August 6th, 1820. He came to Canada in 1839 on the Hudson's Bay Company's staff, and eventually became Gover- nor of that corporation. He has represented the city of Montreal in the Dominion Parliament, is President of the Bank of Montreal, and Chancellor of McGill University. He succeeded Sir Charles Tupper as High Commissioner for Canada in London in August, 1896. He received the honour of knighthood from Her Majesty the Queen in May, 1886, and was raised to the peerage on the occasion of Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The gifts of both these gentlemen for educational and philanthropic pur- poses have been upon a princely, scale, running up into millions of dollars. CHAPTER VI. STEAM IN THE BRITISH NAVY. The British Navy Marine Distances Sunday at Sea Icebergs and Tidal Waves. REAT as have been the changes brought about by steam navigation applied to commercial uses, the transformations of the navies of the world have been even more remarkable. It seems almost incredible that at the commencement of Her Majesty's reign there were less than twenty steamships in the British navy, and none of them over 1.000 tons burthen. Of the 560 " sail " comprising the navy of 1836, ninety-five were " ships of the line." The largest of these were styled " first-rate ships ; " all of them wooden three-deckers, carrying 100 guns each, or more. One of the most difficult problems the Admiralty of that time had to solve was how to ensure a sufficient supply of oak timber for ship- building purposes. Forty full-grown trees to an acre of ground was accounted a good average; at that rate it required the growth of fifty acres to produce enough timber to build one seventy-four-gun ship ; and as the oak required at least a hundred years to reach maturity, and the average life of a ship STEAM IN THE BRITISH NA FF. 167 was not much over twenty-five years, the acreage required to produce the entire quantity was enor- mous. But the prospect of an oak famine was speedily dispelled by the substitution of iron and steel for wood in naval architecture. Of the 689 vessels of all kinds constituting the "DUKE OF WELLINGTON" BATTLE-SHIP, 1850. British navy in 1897, there are only about twenty- two wooden ones, and these are nearly all used either as store ships or training ships, seldom, if ever, to leave their anchorage. And so entirely has the paddle-wheel been superseded by the screw-propeller, there are not left a dozen paddle-steamers in the entire fleet, including the Queen's yachts and a few 1 68 HISTORY OF STEA M NA VIGA TION. light-draught river boats. As already mentioned the compound engine was introduced into the navy in 1863. The twin screw was first applied to the Penelope in 1868, and has since become universal in vessels of war, the result of these improvements being a marvellous increase of power and speed, with a great saving of fuel. Roughly speaking, a pound of coal is to-day made to produce four or five times the amount of power that it did in 1837. Experiments had been made with steam power in the navy as early as 1841. In 1845 as many as nineteen sets of screw engines had been ordered for the Admiralty, but it was not until some years later that it came into general use. About 1851 the Duke of Wellington* the Duke of Marlborough, the Prince of Wales, etc., all full-rigged ships, each armed with 131 " great guns," were fitted with auxiliary steam- engines of from 450 to 2,500 horse-power. The intro- duction of iron armour-plating first practised by the French towards the close of the Crimean war presaged the beginning of the end of " the wooden walls of Old England," and the disappearance for- ever of the beautiful white wings that had spread themselves out over every sea. The Warrior, completed in 1861, was built entirely * The Duke of Wellington was 240.6 feet long, 60 feet beam, 3,826 tons burthen, and 2,500 horse-power. She was engined by Robert Napier & Sons, Glasgow, with geared engines and wooden cogs, and made 10.2 knots an hour on her trial trip in 1853. The Hauler, of 1851, was 179| feet long, 32| feet beam, had geared engines of 436 horse-power, and attained a speed of 10 knots. STEAM IN TH& BRITISH NA VY. 169 of iron, protected at vital points by armour-plating four and a half inches in thickness, which, at the time, was supposed to render her invulnerable. She was the precursor of a class of enormous fighting machines, which, however ungainly in appearance, have increased the sea-power of Britain to an incal- culable extent. But, alas, for the four and a half inches of armour-plating ! Developments in gunnery called for increased thickness of protective armour. TORPEDO DESTROYER "HORNET," 1896. The rivalry betwixt gun and armour-plate, keenly contested for years, has not yet been definitely settled ; but when ships' guns are actually in use weighing 110 tons and over, capable of throwing a shot of 1,800 Ibs. with crushing effect a distance of twelve miles, and, on the other hand, when ships are to be found carrying twenty-four inches of protective iron and steel plating, it seems as if the climax had been nearly reached. In the meantime the insig- 170 HISTORY OF-8TEAM NA VIGA TlON. nificant-looking " torpedo destroyer " is coming to the front as one of the most formidable instruments of marine warfare. Although only about 200 feet long, with a displacement of perhaps 250 tons, they have yet a motive power of 5,000 to 6,000 horse- power, and a speed of from 25 to 35 knots an hour. Some of these destroyers are supposed to be strong enough to deal a death-blow to a first-class battle- ship, and all of them are swift enough to overhaul the fastest cruiser on the ocean. The estimation in which they are held by the Admiralty is apparent from the fact that already upwards of one hundred of them are in commission, and many more are being built. Twenty-five destroyers, it is said, can be built for the cost price of one battle-ship, and in actual warfare there would be exposed the same number of lives in fifteen destroyers as in one battle- ship. Although no great naval battles have taken place to test the power of the steam navy of Britain, it has been occasionally demonstrated in the form of object lessons. The great Jubilee review of 1887 was a magnificent spectacle, when there were assembled at Spithead 135 ships of war, fully armed and manned, and ready to assert Britain's sovereignty on the high seas. Two years later the exhibition was repeated in the presence of admiring Royalty. In January, 1896, shortly after President Cleveland's threatening mes- sage to Congress, and while strained relations with Germany had arisen out of complications in South Africa, in an incredibly short space of time the famous "flying squadron " was mobilized and made ready for STEAM IN THE BRITISH NA VY. 171 sea and any emergency that might transpire, without at all encroaching on the strength of the ordinary Channel fleet. The recent naval review in connection with Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee, however, sur- passed any previous display of the kind, not alone as a spectacular event, but as a telling demonstration of sea-power, such as no other nation possesses. On this occasion 166 British steamships of war were ranged in line extending to thirty miles in length, and this without withdrawing a single ship from a foreign station ; the only regret expressed on this occasion being that not one of the old " wooden walls " was there with towering masts and billowy clouds of can- vas to bring to mind the days and deeds of yore, and to emphasize the remarkable changes introduced by steam. The following table published by the London Graphic exhibits in convenient form the numerical strength of the British navy at the beginning of 1897: CLASSIFICATION. Number. 1 if- P 2 !! |Sa 1 3 O Battle-ships, 1st class 9C 377,176 355,000 19,291 1,301 11 2nd class 12 114,030 75,000 5,672 346 11 77,820 57,600 5,487 365 it armoured 18 136,960 116,000 10,386 604 Coast Defence, Iron-clads 16 61,410 30,460 3,211 209 Total armored 86 767,390 634,060 44,047 2,825 Cruisers, 1st class 17 157,950 278,000 10,514 688 ii 2nd class ... 57 243,820 461,100 19 346 1,359 it 3rd class V 110,685 220,340 10,994 927 Gunboats, Catchers SS 25,940 113,300 2,935 203 it Coast Defence 49 11,828 5,860 1,527 106 Sloops 99 23,305 28,000 2,764 318 Gunboats, 1st class (police) '0 15,810 23,400 1,670 202 Miscellaneous Vessels ... 24 112,712 202,300 4,998 318 Torpedo Boats and Destroyers 9W) 25,000 300,000 5,860 690 Grand Total 68Q 1,494,440 2,266,360 104,855 7,638 172 HISTORY Of STEAM NA VIGA TlOtf. First-class battle-ships are vessels of from 10,000 to 15,000 tons displacement, with steam-engines of 10,000 to 12,000 horse-power and attaining a speed of from seventeen to eighteen knots. To this belong the Magnificent, the Majestic, the Renown, the Ben- bow, etc. The first three carry each four 12-inch guns, twelve 6-inch, sixteen 12-pounders, twelve 3-pounders, eight machine guns, and five torpedo tubes. The Benbow carries two 16. 23 -inch guns, each weighing 110 tons, in addition to her armament of smaller pieces. Second-class battle-ships, such as the Edinburgh and Colossus, are under 10,000 tons, and with 5,500 horse-power develop a speed of about fourteen knots. Third-class battle-ships are represented by the Hero and Bellerophon, vessels of 6,200 and 7,550 tons respectively. First-class cruisers include such well-known ships as the Blake and the Blenheim, each about 9,000 tons with 20,000 horse-power and twenty- two knots speed. The Powerful and Terrible, also belonging to this class, are among the finest ships in the navy, each 14,200 tons, 25,000 horse-power, twenty-two knots speed, and having crews of 894 men. Additions to the British navy are not made arbitrarily, but with due regard to the enlarged and improved naval arma- ments of other countries, and with the determination to keep well ahead of all foreign rivals. Accordingly we find that an order was given by the Admiralty in 1897 for the construction of four additional battle- ships and four large cruisers of great speed, the former to be of the Majestic type, but with heavier STEAM IN THE BRITISH NA VY. 173 guns, more efficient armour and higher speed, at the same time of slightly less draft, so that if necessary they can pass through the Suez Canal. The cost of a first-class battle-ship, including armament, is about 700,000 sterling or about $3,500,000. A first- class cruiser of the ordinary type costs 450,000, but the Powerful and Terrible, when ready for sea, are said to have cost 740,000 each. The latest type of torpedo destroyer costs 60,000. The largest pro- jectiles used in the service (as in the Benbow)a,re 16^ inches diameter, weigh 1,820 Ibs., and are fired with a charge of 960 Ibs. of powder. The average annual expenditure for construction and repairs is between four and five millions, but in 1896 it reached 7,500,000 sterling. An interesting feature of the Diamond Jubilee review at Spithead, as on former occasions, was the presence of representatives of the mercantile marine in the garb of armed cruisers. By arrangements between the Admiralty and the Cunard, the P. & 0., the White Star, and the Canadian Pacific Steamship companies, 48,620 were paid last year in the form of subventions, the vessels so held at the disposal of the Government being the Campania, Lucania, Teutonic, Majestic, Himalaya, Australia, Victoria, Arcadia, Empress of India, Empress of Japan, and Empress of China. Many other mercantile steamers besides these are also at the disposal of the Government, being subsi- dized, and the facilities for converting them into armed cruisers at short notice are most complete, a reserve 174 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGATION. stock of breech-loading and machine guns being kept in readiness at convenient stations where the transfor- mation can be effected in a few hours. The arma- ment of the Teutonic when she appeared at Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee review consisted of eight 4.7-inch quick-firing guns, and eight Nordenfeldt guns. As an example of how quickly a large auxiliary fleet might at any time be equipped, the case of the Teutonic is in point. Leaving New York "TEUTONIC," ARMED CRUISER, IN 1897. on Monday, June 14th, with her usual mails and passengers, she reached Liverpool on the 21st. Between that and the 24th she discharged her cargo, -was thoroughly cleaned, took on her armour and full complement of naval officers and men, and having on board a host of distinguished guests, was at her appointed place in the review on Saturday, the 26th. Returning to Liverpool, she laid aside her guns, and on the 30th sailed for New York, as if nothing had happened. The Campania, which left New York two days later than the Teutonic, also appeared at the MARINE DISTANCES. 175 review in holiday dress, her only armament, however, on this occasion consisting of a large detachment of members of the Houses of Lords and Commons, among whom doubtless were many " great guns." MARINE DISTANCES. A nautical mile, or " knot," is about 6,082.66 feet ; a statute, or land mile, 5,280 feet; the knot is, therefore, equal to 1.1515 mile. The circumference of the earth being divided geographically into 360 degrees, and each degree into 60 nautical miles, the circumference measures 21,600 knots, equal to about 25,000 statute miles. Knots can be readily reduced to statute miles by means of the following table : Knots 1 2 3 4 5 10 25 100 Miles 1 151 2 303 3.454 4.606 5.757 11.515 28.787 115.148 When the Lucania averaged 22 knots, she was running at the rate of 25 J statute miles an hour; her longest day's run (560 knots) was equal to 644f miles, about the distance covered by an ordinary fast express train on the Canadian Pacific Railway. The old-fashioned ship's " log " is a piece of wood in the form of a quadrant, loaded with lead at the circumference, to which is attached a line of 120 fathoms or more. Allowance being made for " stray line," the balance is divided into equal distances by 176 HISTOR Y Of STEA M NA VIOA TION. knots and small bits of coloured cloth. The distance between each knot is the. same part of a mile that 30 seconds is of an hour (the 120th) ; the length between knots should thus be a trifle over 50 feet. The number of knots run out in half a minute (as measured by the sand-glass) indicate the number of nautical miles the ship is running per hour. Even express steamships do not always sail between given points exactly as the crow flies. Various reasons lead to the selection of different routes, and even when following the same route, the actual distance run varies a little on each voyage. The Cunard Line, as a precautionary measure, has four sharply defined " tracks " across the Atlantic two for the westward and two for the eastward voyages one pair being used in summer and the other in winter, or the ice season.* The northern route, used from July 15th to January 14th, is considerably shorter than the southern route, which is followed from January 15th to July 14th. The distances by these routes are given by the company as follows : Queenstown to Sandy Hook, by northern track .... 2,782 knots. M it ii n southern ,, .... 2,861 n Sandy Hook to Queenstown, n northern M .... 2,809 u n n M n southern n - - - 2,896 u Daunt's Rock, Queenstown, being about 244 knots from Liverpool, and Sandy Hook lightship 26 knots from New York, the distance from Liverpool landing- stage to the dock in New York by the Cunard's * See also p. 90. MARINE DISTANCES. 177 northern track is about 3,052 knots, and by the southern track, 3,131 knots ; from New York to Liverpool, 3,079 and 3,166 knots, respectively. Captain W. H. Smith says that the shortest dis- tance that can be made between Liverpool and New York is 3,034 knots. TABLE OF DISTANCES.* Sandy Hook to Antwerp 3,336 knots. it Bremen 3,484 n it Copenhagen 3,800 ,i Genoa 4,050 n Gibraltar 3,200 ,, M Glasgow, via North of Ireland - 2,941 ,. u Hamburg 3,510 Havre 3,094 u i, London 3,222 ,, ,i Naples 4,140 ,, it Southampton 3,100 n n Queenstown 2,809 ,, n Liverpool, via northern route 3,088 n Quebec to Montreal, by the river 160 miles. M M by the Canadian Pacific Railroad - - - 172 u n Rimouski 180 n it Belle Isle 747 n St. John's, Newfoundland 896 u n Moville, via Belle Isle and North of Ireland - - - 2,460 knots, n Liverpool, ,, ,, *2,633 ii M n Cape Race n " 2,801 ,, M ii u and South 2,826 n Glasgow ,, Belle Isle and North 2,564 it M ii Cape Race ,, 2,732 ,, n Queenstown, via Belle Isle 2,473 n Moville to Liverpool - - * 190 n Halifax to New York 538 u n Quebec 680 M n St. John's, Newfoundland 520 n M Liverpool, via North of Ireland ..... 2,450 n it it n South 2,475 tt London 2,723 ,, ii Glasgow 2,381 n * Based on a compilation by Captain W. H. Smith. 178 HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION. Halifax to St. John, N.B. 277 knots. it Portland, Me. 336 ,. M Sable Island 169 it i! Boston, Mass 420 St. John's, Newfoundland, to Galway, Ireland, which is the shortest land-to-land voyage 1,655 Liverpool to St. John, N.B., via North of Ireland - 2,700 n Portland, Me., ,, u ,, 2,765 ,, i, Boston, Mass., it n u 2,807 it M Queenstown 244 M Montreal to Halifax, via Intercolonial Railroad .... 45 miles. M M u Canadian Pacific Railroad - - - 756 .. u Boston, u Central Vermont Railroad - - - 334 M ti Portland, Me., via Grand Trunk Railroad - 297 M ii New York, via Central Vermont Railroad - - - 403 .. i. Toronto, ,, Grand Trunk Railroad ... 333 ii n u Canadian Pacific Railroad - - - 338 n u n by water - - 376 M ,i Winnipeg, Man, via Canadian Pacific Railroad - - 1,424 ., n Vancouver, B.C., n n n n - 2,906 n Vancouver to Yokohama, Japan 4,283 knots. n Shanghai, China 5,330 ,, 'i Hong Kong '- 5,936 n n Honolulu, Hawaii 2,410 n Sydney, N.S.W. - - - - - - , - - 6,824 Loch Ryan to Quebec, via Belle Isle 2,513 n M North Sydney, C.B. ........ 2,161 n Halifax, N.S. ' - ." - - . - - 2,330 u St. John, N.B. ...... . 2,580 n Milford Haven to Quebec, via Belle Isle - - - - - 2,587 n ,i Halifax - 2,353 M North Sydney, C.B. - - - - - - 2,186 SUNDAY AT SEA. As far as circumstances permit, Sunday is observed with as much decorum on shipboard as it is on shore ; that is, on the British and American lines. As for the continental steamers, the traveller may expect to become acquainted with a continental Sabbath, which, in most cases, means the ignoring of the day of rest SUXDA Y AT SKA . 179 altogether. On our Canadian steamships, weather permitting, public worship is usually held in the saloon, at 1 0.30 a.m. Sometimes there is an evening service as well, but more frequently an impromptu service of song, much enjoyed by the musical portion of the company, and that is frequently a large proportion of the passengers ladies especially. The order of service is entirely at the discretion of the captain. In the absence of a clergyman, the captain reads the morning service and the Scripture lessons for the day from the Book of Common Prayer. If there is a Protestant minister on board it is customary to invite him to take the whole service ; if there be more than one minister available, each of them may be asked to take part in the service. On the New York liners, as a rule, there is no sermonizing, no matter how many ministers may be on board. The captain and purser read the morning service, or por- tions of it ; a couple of hymns are sung ; a collection is taken up for the benefit of the Seamen's Home, or kindred object, and that is all. There are, however, exceptions to this rule. When the captain is pre- vented by his duties on deck from conducting the service, a clergyman, if there be one among the passengers, is usually asked to assist. A deviation from the rule is often made when a minister of out- standing celebrity happens to be on board. Ministers like the late Dr. Norman Macleod, or Dr. William M. Taylor, would invariably be asked to preach, no matter what line they travelled by. The service- book of the Cunard Company consists of selections 12 1 80 nrsTOR Y OF STEA M NA vie A TIOX. from the /Book of Common Prayer, with the addition of a form of prayer prepared by the General Assem- bly of the Church of Scotland, for the use of sailors and persons at sea. A singularly beautiful prayer it is: " Almighty God, who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea ; under whose protection we are alike secure in every place, and without whose providence we can nowhere be in safety ; look down in mercy on us, thine unworthy servants, who are called to see thy wonders en the deep, and to perform the duties of our vocation in the great waters. Let thine ever- lasting arm be underneath and round about us. Preserve us in all dangers ; support us in all trials ; conduct us speedily and safely on our voyage, and bring us in peace and comfort to our desired haven. " Be pleased to watch over the members of our families, and all the beloved friends whom we have left behind. Relieve our minds from all anxiety on their account by the blessed persuasion that thou carest for them. Above all, grant that our souls may be defended from whatsoever evils or perils may encompass them ; and that, abiding steadfast in the faith, we may be enabled so to pass through the waves and storms of this uncertain world, that finally we may come to the land of everlasting rest, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." The service-book also contains the Psalms of David in prose, and a collection of 107 hymns, including four of the Scotch paraphrases. The hymn most frequently sung at sea is the one beginning with " Eternal Father, strong to save," and next to it, " O God, our help in ages past." Evangelistic services SUNDA Y A T SEA . 181 of a less stately kind than in the saloon are often held in the afternoon in the second cabin or steerage, and are usually much appreciated ; while in the evening the deck hands will join with groups of emigrants in singing Moody and Sankey hymns, such as " Revive us Again," " Rescue the Perishing," " Whiter than Snow," etc. It is often remarkable to notice how familiar people of diverse creeds and nationalities are with these hymns, and how heartily they unite in singing them. A favourite text with preachers on shipboard is Rev. xxi. 1 : " And there was no more sea." The theme, associated, as it is, with so many fathoms of profundity, has yielded to many forms of treatment. I remember that a young minister, my room-mate, by the way, on his first voyage out from Quebec, chose this for his text, and that he launched out, as well he might, on the charms of the sea in poetical flights of fancy. But the while we were sailing in smooth water. When outside the Straits he laid his head on the pillow and underwent a change of environment, recovering from which, after many days, he vowed that should he ever preach from that text again, he would have something more to say about it. I remember, too, that an elderly gentleman a Presby- terian of the Presbyterians was asked by the cap- tain to preach one Sunday morning. He readily complied, taking it for granted that he was to conduct the whole service. Imagine his chagrin when an Anglican brother unexpectedly appeared on the scene and went through the whole of the long service 182 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TIOX. of the Church of England. With the utmost com- posure, llpefffivrepos simply ignored the beautiful liturgical service, commenced cfe novo, and went through the whole service afresh, in orthodox Presby- terian fashion, to the surprise of the congregation and the discomfiture of the waiters, whose time for setting the lunch-table was long past. A distinctive and pleasing feature of these Sunday services at sea, especially in the larger steamships, which often carry more passengers than would fill an ordinary church, is the heartiness with which the representatives of various religious denominations unite in the services. The lines of demarcation that separate them when ashore seem to be lost sight of at sea. Casual acquaintanceship here frequently ripens into closer friendship ; people begin to see eye to eye, and soon the conviction grows stronger that the doctrinal points on which all professing Christians are agreed are much more important than the things about which they differ It would do some narrow- minded souls a world of good to spend a few Sundays at sea. The office for the burial of the dead at sea is very solemn and affecting. In the days of sailing ships, when voyages lasted so much longer, deaths from natural causes at sea were more frequent than now. But the order of service is the same. The body of the deceased person might be sewed up in a hammock indeed, it usually was or the carpenter may have made a rough coffin for it. In either case it was heavily loaded with iron at the foot. A stout plank ICEBERGS IN THE ATLANTIC. 183 with one end resting on the bulwark forms the bier on which is laid the corpse, covered with an ensign. The captain, the chief engineer, the ship's doctor and purser, with a detachment of the crew, and a few of the passengers, make up the funeral party. Portions of the Church of England's beautiful service for the burial of the dead are read : " I am the Resurrection and the life." . . . "I know that my Redeemer liveth." ..." We brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out." " Man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live," etc. The ship's engines are then stopped for a few seconds while the service proceeds " We therefore commit his body to the deep, looking for the resurrection of the body when the sea shall give up her dead." The ensign is removed. The inward end of the plank is raised, and the mortal remains are plunged into the greatest of all cemeteries ; sometimes with scant ceremony, perhaps, but always impressing on the mind of the spectator a deeply pathetic incident that will never be forgotten. " And the stately ships go on To their haven under the hill ; But for the touch of a vanished hand, And the sound of a voice that is still." ICEBERGS AND TIDAL WAVES. Icebergs and bewildering fogs, as has been already said, are a large element of danger in the St. Lawrence route. The passengers who sailed with me on the 1 84: HIS TOR Y OF STEA M NA VIGA TIOX. Lake Superior, from Montreal on July 1st, 1896, will not soon forget the magnificent display of icebergs which they witnessed on the Sunday following. From early morning until midnight, for a distance of more than 250 miles, the ship's course lay through an un- interrupted succession of icebergs a procession, it H. M. YACHT " VICTORIA AND ALBERT," 1855. 2,470 tons ; 2,980 h. p.: speed. 16.8 knots ; armament, 2 six-pounders ; crew, 151 men. might be called, on a grand scale of masses of ice in all manner of fantastic shapes and of dazzling white- ness travelling to their watery graves in the great Gulf Stream of the south. Mountains of ice, some of them might be called. On one of them a grisly bear was alleged to have been seen sulkily moving to and fro, as if meditating how, when and where his ICEBERGS IN THE ATLANTIC. 185 romantic voyage was to come to an end. The day was calm and cloudless a perfect day for such a marvellous exhibition. It might have been otherwise, and how different may be imagined from reading what appeared in the English papers a few weeks later the account of a ship's narrow escape from destruction in this identical locality : "STRUCK AN ICKBERG. The SS. Etolid on her voyage from Montreal to Bristol narrowly escaped destruction from collision with an iceberg twenty- four hours after leaving the eastern end of Belle Isle straits. A dense fog had set in, the lookout was doubled, and the engines slowed ; presently the fog lifted, but only to come down again thicker than ever. In a very short time the lookout called out, ' Ice ahead ! ' The engines were promptly stopped, then reversed at full speed. Meanwhile the towering monster bears down on the ship and in a few seconds is on top of it. It was a huge berg, rising high above the masts of the steamer, which it struck with such a crash that some three hundred tons of ice in huge pieces came down on the forecastle. Fortunately most of it rebounded into the sea, but some forty or fifty tons remained on the ship's deck. The ship trembled under the blow from stem to stern ; her bows were smashed in, but the leakage was confined to the fore -peak. In this battered condition the Etolia lay without a movement of the engines for thirty-six hours until the fog cleared, when Captain Evans had the satisfaction of proceeding on his course and bringing his passengers and crew safely into Bristol harbour." A still more serious disaster was reported on August 25th of the same year (1896) : 186 HISTOR OF STEA M NA V1GA TION. "The captain of the steamer Gircassia, of the Anchor Line, had a story to tell, on her arrival at quarantine early this morning, of picking up a captain and his twenty-two men on the high seas from three open boats. It was Captain Burnside and the entire crew of the British tramp steamer Moldavia, bound from Cardiff to Halifax with coal, who were rescued by the timely approach of the Circassia. During the dense fog over the sea on last Wednesday, the Moldavia ran into a huge iceberg and stove her bows so badly that she began to fill rapidly. It was 5.30 o'clock in the afternoon. As soon as a hasty examination showed that it would be impossible to save his ship, Captain Burnside ordered the lifeboats provisioned and cleared away, and as soon as it could be done the steamer was abandoned and shortly afterwards sank. The life- boats kept together and watched for a passing vessel, and thirty -five hours later the Circassia 's lights were seen approaching. Blue lights were at once shown by the occupants of the lifeboats, and the Circassia altered her course. When near enough. Captain Boothby, of the Circassia, hailed the lifeboats and told the men that he would pick up the boats and their occupants. Accordingly the davits' tackle were lowered, and as each lifeboat approached she was hooked on and raised bodily, occupants and all, to the deck of the Circassia." The icebergs of the North Atlantic are natives of Greenland or other Arctic regions where glaciers abound. They carry with them evidence of their terrestrial birth in the rocks and debris with which they are frequently ballasted. The glacier, slowly moving over the beds of rivers and ravines, ulti- mately reaches the seaboard, to be gradually under- mined by the action of the waves, and, finally, to fall 1C E BE EG S IN THE ATLANTIC. 187 over into deep water and be carried by winds and currents into the open ocean. In their earlier stages icebergs are constantly being augmented in size by storms of snow and rain, and by the freezing of the water washed over them by the waves. They are of all sizes, from a mere hummock to vast piles of ice half a mile in diameter, and showing an altitude above the sea of two or three hundred feet, sometimes rising to a height of five and even six hundred feet, and that is scarcely more than one-eighth of the whole mass, for a comparatively small portion only of the bulk projects above the surface, as may be plainly seen by dropping a piece of ice in a tumbler full of water. In proof of this, it is by no means uncommon to find icebergs of ordinary dimensions stranded in the straits of Belle Isle in seventy or eighty fathoms of water. Being frequently accompanied by fog of which they may be the chief cause they are often met with unawares, though their nearer approach is usually discovered by the effect which they produce on the air and the water surrounding them, suggest- ing to the careful navigator the frequent use of the thermometer to test the temperature of the water where ice is likely to be encountered. They are seldom met with below the 40th parallel. Field-ice, covering a surface of many square miles, with a thickness of from ten to twenty feet, is fre- quently fallen in with off the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland. Though less dangerous to navigation than the iceberg, it is often a serious obstruction. Vessels that incautiously run into a pack of ice of 1 88 HISTORY OF STEA M NA VIOA TION. this kind, or have drifted into it, have often found themselves in a maze, and have been detained for weeks at a time, and not without some risk to their safety in heavy weather. TIDAL WAVES. Notwithstanding elaborate treat- ment of the subject by hydrographers, stories about ocean tidal waves are most frequently relegated by landsmen into the same category with tales of the great sea serpent. Sailors, however, have no manner of doubt as to their existence and their force. During violent storms it has been noticed that ocean waves of more than average height succeed each other at intervals some allege that every seventh wave towers above the rest. Be that as it may, there is no doubt that a sudden change of wind when the sea is strongly agitated frequently produces a wave of sur- passing magnitude. Other causes, not so obvious, may bring about the same result, producing what in common parlance is called a " tidal wave." This is quite different from the tidal wave proper, which periodically rushes up the estuaries of rivers like the Severn, the Solvvay, the Garonne, the Hoogly and the Amazon. In the upper inlets of the Bay of Fundy, where the spring-tides rise as high as seventy feet, the incoming tide rushes up over naked sands in the form of a perpendicular white-crested wave with great velocity. The tidal wave of the Severn comes up from the Bristol Channel in a " bore " nine feet high and with the speed of a race-horse, while the great bore of the Tsien-Tang- Kiang in China is said to TIDAL WAVES. 189 advance up that river like a wall of water thirty feet in height, at the rate of twenty-five miles an hour, sweeping all before it.* The ocean tidal wave dwarfs these and all other waves by its huge size and tremendous energy. The effective pressure of such a wave being estimated at 6,000 pounds to the square foot, it is easy to understand how completely it becomes master of the situation when it topples over on the deck of a ship. Only once in the course of a good many voyages has the writer been an eye- witness of its tremendous force. The occasion was thus noticed in the New York papers of the 2nd and 3rd of August, 1896 : " The American liner Paris and the Cunarder Etruria, which arrived on Saturday, had a rough- and-tumble battle before daylight on Tuesday morn- ing with a summer gale that had an autumn chill and a winter force in it. The wind blew a whole gale and combed the seas as high as they are usually seen in the cyclonic season. The crest of a huge wave tumbled over the port bow of the Etruria with a crash that shook the ship from stem to stern, and momentarily checked her speed ; a rent was made in the forward hatch through which the water poured into the hold, flooding the lower tier of staterooms ankle-deep. The ship's bell was unshipped, and it carried away the iron railing in front of it, snapping iron stanchions two inches in diameter as if they had been pipe-stems. The Paris, about the same hour and in the same locality, shipped just such a sea as that which hit the Etruria, but received less damage. It fared much worse, however, with the sailing ship *" Encyclopedia Brit.," Vol. xvii., p. 581, 8th Ed. 1 90 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. Ernest, from Havre, which was fallen in with on the morning of the gale showing signals of distress. The French liner La Bourgogne, came to her rescue and gallantly took off the captain and his crew of eleven men, abandoning the shattered ship to her fate with ten feet of water in her hold." It is not often that a tidal wave visits the St. Lawrence, but in October, 1896, the SS. Durham City, of the Furness Line, when off Anticosti, was struck by a big wave which carried away her deck- load, including sixty- eight head of cattle and every- thing movable. It was only one sea that did the damage, but it made a clean sweep. By a figure of speech, ocean waves are frequently spoken of as running " mountains high," and the popular tendency is doubtless towards exaggeration. The estimate of experts is that storm waves fre- quently rise to forty feet, and sometimes even to sixty or seventy feet in height from the wave's base to crest. CHAPTER VII. THE ST. LAWRENCE ROUTE. The Allan, Dominion, Beaver, and other Canadian Lines of Ocean Steamships Sir Hugh Allan A Fast Line Service, etc., etc. WERE it not that the St. Lawrence is hermeti- cally sealed for five months of 'the year, it would undoubtedly be a more formidable rival to the Hudson than it now is. That great drawback, however, is not the only one. The navigation of the St. Lawrence has always been somewhat difficult and hazardous. The seven hundred and fifty miles of land-locked water from Quebec to Belle Isle is notorious for swift and uncertain tides and currents, for treacherous submerged reefs and rocks, and shoals in long stretches of the river, for blinding snow- storms and fields of floating ice in the lower reaches at certain seasons of the year, for icebergs which abound on the coasts of Labrador and Newfound- land, and for bewildering fogs. With such a combi- nation of difficulties it is not to be wondered at that shipwrecks have been frequent ; that they have not been more numerous must be mainly attributed to good seamanship and an intimate knowledge of the route. Nautical appliances and charts are very much better than they were thirty or forty years THE ST. LA WHENCE ROUTE. 193 ago. The efficiency of the lighthouse system has been greatly increased, and, what is vastly important, the masters of mail steamers are no longer restricted to time, but on the contrary are instructed that whenever the risk of life or of the ship is involved, speed must be sacrificed to safety. The St. Lawrence route has some advantages over the other. It is nearly five hundred miles shorter from Quebec to Liverpool than from New York. Other things being equal, passengers by this route have the advantage of 750 miles of smooth water at the beginning or end of their voyage, as the case may be. For these and other reasons many prefer the St. Lawrence route. It has become popular even with a good many Americans, especially from the Western States, arid will certainly become more so if the contemplated " fast service " is realized, by which the ocean voyage from land to land would be curtailed to three days and a half ! In the discussions that have arisen on the subject, the danger of running fast steamers on this route has, in many instances, been unduly magnified. Past experience tends to show that the actual risk is not necessarily increased by fast steaming. Shipwrecks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during later years have been confined to cargo and cattle steamers. Not one of the faster mail boats has been lost during the last sixteen years. The chief difficulty in the way of establishing a twenty-knot service for the St. Law- rence is that of the ways and means. Would it pay ? Certainly not by private enterprise alone, but the favour with which the project is regarded by the 194 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGAT10N. Imperial and Dominion Governments leaves little doubt that it will be accomplished in the near future. Captain W. H. Smith, formerly Commodore of the Allan Line, in command of the Parisian, and who, CAPTAIN W. H. SMITH, K.N.R. from long service on this route, is well qualified to express an opinion, states in his report to the Govern- ment that he sees no reason why there should not be a fast line of steamers to the St. Lawrence. " If," he says, " the St. Lawrence route is selected for the THE ST. LAWRENCE ROUTE. 195 proposed fast line, there should be no racing in com- petition with other large steamers, and the same amount of caution must be taken which has been exercised of late years by senior officers of the Allan and other lines trading to Canada ; and it will be absolutely necessary for the safety of navigation that the commanders and officers of any new company should be selected from the most experienced officers of existing lines." In 1853 a Liverpool firm, Messrs. McKean, McLarty and Lament, contracted with the Canadian Govern- ment to run a line of screw steamers, to carry Her Majesty's mails, twice a month to Quebec in summer, and once a month to Portland during the winter, for which the company was to receive 1,238 currency per trip, under certain conditions, one of which was that the ships should average not more than fourteen days on the outwaid, nor more than thirteen days on the voyage eastward. The ships of the first year were the Genova, 350 tons: Lady Eglinton, 335 tons; and Sarah Sands, 931 tons. Their average passages were wide of the mark. Next year the Cleopatra, Ottawa and Charity were added to the line. The Cleopatra made her first trip to Quebec in forty -three days; the Ottawa never reached Quebec at all, but after dodging about some time among the ice at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, made for Portland. The Charity reached Quebec in twenty-seven days. As a matter of course the contract was cancelled. 13 196 HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION. THE ALLAN LINE. The failure of the Liverpool firm to fulfil their con- tract opened the way for Canadian enterprise, and the man who was destined to see it carried out to a suc- cessful issue was already awaiting his opportunity. That man was Hugh Allan (the late Sir Hugh), a man of intense energy and force of character. The Allans came honestly by their liking for the sea and ships. Their father, Alexander, was a ship-owner, and himself the well-known captain of the Favourite, one of the most popular vessels then sailing from the Clyde to the St. Lawrence. The five sons were born at Salt- coats, in sight of the sea. Two of them, James and Bryce, followed the sea for a number of years and reached the top of their profession. Alexander took up the shipping business established by his father in Glasgow, where he was afterwards joined by his eldest brother, James, under the firm name of James and Alexander Allan. Bryce, on retiring from the sea, became head of the shipping house in Liverpool. Hugh, the second son, became a partner in the well- known firm of Miller, Edmonstone & Co., afterwards changed to Edmonstone, Allan & Co., Montreal. His brother Andrew joined the firm some years later, when its name was changed to that of Hugh and Andrew Allan. The three firms, in Glasgow, Liver- pool and Montreal, had become the owners and agents of a large fleet of sailing ships ; but the time came when it was evident that mails and passengers must be carried to Canada, as elsewhere, by steam power. THE ST. LA WRENCE ROUTE. 197 The opening of the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway between Montreal and Portland in 1852 was one of the most important events in the com- mercial history of Canada, It gave Montreal a CAPTAIN McMASTER. winter port ; for as yet neither Halifax nor St. John had any railway communication with the western provinces. Given a good winter port, there seemed to be no reason why a line of steamships should not 198 HISTOR Y OF STEA M NA VIGA TION. be established to ply between Liverpool and Montreal in summer, with Portland for the winter terminus. The Allans, seeing that the time had come for a new departure, succeeded in forming a joint stock com- pany, under the name of the Montreal Ocean Steam- ship Company. As its name implied, it was virtually a Canadian enterprise. The principal shareholders, besides the Allans, were Messrs. William Dow, John G. Mackenzie and Robert Anderson, of Montreal ; George Burns Symes, of Quebec, and John Watkins, of Kingston. A few years later the Allans became sole owners of the concern, which then became known as the ALLAN LINE. The first two steamers of the Montreal Ocean Steam- ship Company were the Canadian and Indian, built by the famous Denny s, of Dumbarton. They were pretty little iron screw steamers, of about 270 feet in length, 34 feet wide, and of 1,700 tons burthen each. The Canadian made her first voyage to Quebec in September, 1854, but the Crimean war having com- menced, steamers of this class were in demand, and these two were taken into the service and profit- ably employed as government transports as long as the war lasted. In 1874 the Sarmatian and the Manitoban of this line were similarly employed to convey troops to the west coast of Africa, to take part in the Ashantee campaign. On both occasions they did excellent service. When the Canadian Government next advertised for tenders for 'carrying the mails, an agreement was THE ST. LAWRENCE ROUTE. 199 made with the Allans by which they were to receive 25,000 a year for a fortnightly service in summer and a monthly one in winter. Two other boats ; similar to the Canadian and Indian, were built by the Dennys the North American and Anglo-Saxon. The new service was commenced in April, 1856, by the SS. North American, which arrived in the port of Montreal on the 9th of May. Two years later it was decided to establish a weekly service, the Government promising an increased subsidy of $208,000 per annum. This implied double the num- ber of ships ; accordingly, four others were built, the North Briton, Nova Scotian, Bohemian and Hun- garian, all after the same model as the pioneer ships, but 300 feet long and 2,200 tons register. Their speed was from 11 to 13 knots in smooth water, and even in heavy weather they seldom fell short of 8 knots an hour. Their average passages westward from Liverpool to Quebec were 1 1 days, 5 hours ; eastward, 10 days, 10 hours. The quickest passage eastward was made by the Anglo-Saxon, in 9 days, 5 hours, and westward, by the Hungarian, in 9 days, 14 hours. In the same year (1859) the Cunard Line to Boston averaged 12 days, 19 hours going west, and 10 days, 15 hours eastward. The average speed of the Canadian steamers during the entire season of the St. Lawrence navigation in that year was 9^ knots. At this time there were already twelve different lines of steamships plying across the Atlantic, affording almost daily conmunication between England and America by steam. 200 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TIOX. In 1859 the company represented that, owing to the depression in trade, they were unable to continue the service, without further assistance. The Canadian Government stood by this Canadian enterprise, and doubled the subsidy in consideration of the increased service, which was admitted on all hands to be a com- plete success. The new ships were beautiful models and well adapted to the trade ; but the company had to learn from bitter experience how hazardous that trade was. To say nothing of minor accidents, up to the year 1885 no less than fourteen of their steamers had come to grief.. Since that time, singularly enough, none of this line has been lost, though many belonging to other lines have been wrecked. The Canadian, Captain Ballantine, on her first trip to Quebec, in June, 1857, through the negligence of her pilot, was stranded on South Rock, off the Pillar Lighthouse, forty -ti ve miles below Quebec. No lives were lost, but the ship defied every effort to float her. The Indian, Captain Smith, bound for Portland, in December, 1859, struck a rock off Marie Joseph Harbour, seventy-five miles east of Halifax, and went to pieces. Every effort was made to save the lives of the 447 persons that sailed in her, but twenty-three perished. The Hungarian, Captain Jones, on the night of February 20th, 1860, during a blinding snow-storm, struck on the South- West Ledge near Cape Sable Island, 130 miles east of Halifax. Every soul on board, to the number of 237, perished with the ship, The cause of this sad disaster is not correctly known. The captain was one of the best THE ST. LA WHENCE ROUTE. 201 seamen in the Allan Line, but it has been stated that the light upon Cape Sable was not exhibited that night, in consequence of the sickness of the light- keeper, who is said to have confessed this on his death-bed. The second Canadian, Captain Graham, came in contact with a piece of submerged ice, outside the Straits of Belle Isle, in July, 1861. The ship was proceeding cautiously, but so hard and sharp was the ice, a rent was made in the ship's side below the water-line, and it was soon seen that she was done for. This is how she went down, as told by Captain Graham : " The wind had increased to a gale. About 9.30 a.m. we came up to heavy field ice closely packed. We had been going half-speed till we saw the ice, when we stopped altogether, then turned her head to the west, steaming slowly through a narrow passage between heavy ice on the starboard side and what appeared to be a light patch of ice on the port side, which scratched along the bow for sixty feet. The concussion was very slight, and I had no apprehension of any damage ; went below to see what- was wrong, and found the water rushing along the main deck and up the hatch-way. The boats were ordered out, and the ship headed for land full speed. She soon began to settle down forward, taking a list to starboard, when the engines were stopped and the boats lowered. Immediately after leaving her, the ship with a plunge dropped five or six feet by the head, and then directly afterwards her stern flew up in the air, and she went down head 202 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VWATION. foremost." The mail-master, nine of the crew and twenty-six passengers went down with the ship. The North Briton, Captain Grange, was wrecked in November, 1861, on one of the Mingan Islands, north of Anticosti (the usual track for steamers at that time). There was no loss of life. The Ang 7 o- Saxon, Captain Burgess, in April, 1863, was stranded in Clam Cove, three miles from Cape Race, during a dense fog. A heavy sea rolling in drove her farther on the rocks, from which she eventually slid off and sank in deep water. The captain, some of the officers, and many of the passengers and crew were carried down into the vortex of the ship, and were drowned to the number of 238 souls. The Norwegian, Captain McMaster, in June, 1863, was totally wrecked on St. Paul's Island, at the entrance of the Gulf. A dense fog was prevailing. The passengers and crew, numbering about 420, were all saved. The Bohemian, Captain Borland, struck on the Alden Ledges, off Cape Elizabeth, near Port- land, in February, 1864, when twenty passengers were drowned. The Dacian was wrecked near Halifax, April 7th, 1872. In the same year the Germany went ashore at the mouth of the Garonne River, near Bordeaux, France, and was totally wrecked, with the loss of thirty lives. The St. George, Captain Jones, was lost on the Blonde Rock, south of Seal Island, N.S. The Jura stranded on Formby Bank, at the entrance to the Mersey, in 1864. The Moravian, Captain Archer, was wrecked on Mud Islands, near Yarmouth, M.S., in December, THE ST. LA WHENCE ROUTE. 203 1881. The Hanoverian, Captain Thompson, struck a rock at the entrance of Nepassey Bay, Newfound- land, and was totally lost, but all hands were saved. The Pomeranian, Captain Dalziel, a fine ship of 4,364 tons, in 1893 survived one of the stormiest Atlantic voyages on record. She sailed from Gree- nock for New York, March 27th. After eight days battling with a furious gale, when about twelve hundred miles west of Ireland, she was well-nigh overwhelmed by a tremendous wave, which made a clean sweep of the deck. The bridge, the chart- house, the saloon, the steam-winch, the ventilators, everything between the foremast and the funnel, were hurled overboard, a mass of wreckage. The captain and a saloon passenger were so severely injured that both died in a few hours. The second and fourth officers, who were on the bridge, were swept into the sea and drowned, as were the rest of the cabin passengers, one intermediate, and four of the crew twelve persons in all. Three of the lifeboats were carried away and two were smashed, leaving only one available for service. The whole of the nautical instruments, books and charts had gone overboard, the steering gear was badly wrecked, and the only compass left was that in the steering- ho use aft. The first officer, Mr. McCulloch, on whom the command now devolved, seeing the crippled condition of the ship, turned her head homewards, a thing not easily done in such a sea, and eventually returned to the Clyde in a gale of wind. It is doubtful if there is another shipping company 204 HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION. in existence that would have withstood the strain put on the Allan Line by such a succession of dis- asters ; but so far as outsiders are aware the Allans never lost courage. They were bound to succeed in the long-run, and they did. When ships could not be built quickly enough to take the places of those that "THE PARISIAN," 1881. had been lost at sea, they bought of others ships ready-made, meanwhile resolving to reinforce their fleet with larger and in every way better boats than heretofore. The Norwegian and Hibernian, of 2,400 tons each, were launched from Denny's yard in 1861. In 1803 Steel es of Greenock built for them the THE ST. LA WHENCE ROUTE. 205 Peruvian and the Moravian, both very fine ships. The Nestorian and the Austrian, of 2,700 tons each, built by Barclay & Curie, Glasgow, are both good ships now after thirty years' service. The Sarmatian and Polynesian (now Laurent ian), about 4,000 tons each, came out in 1871 and 1872, and proved excel- lent boats. The Circassian, 3,724 tons, was launched in 1873, and the Sardinian in 1875. The Parisian, the finest of the fleet, was built by Robert Napier & Sons, Glasgow, in 1881, and took her place on the line the following year. She is built of steel, the bottom being constructed of an inner and outer skin five feet apart, the space thus enclosed being available for water ballast and also a protection from the perils of collision. The Allans were the first to apply this kind of build to Atlantic steamers, and were also the first to build such steamers of steel. The general dimensions of the Parisian are : length over all, 440 feet ; breadth, 46 feet ; moulded depth, 36 feet ; with a gross tonnage of 5,365 tons. Her machinery is capable of developing 6,000 indicated horse-power. Although she has neither twin screws nor triple expansion engines, she has done her work remark- ably well, maintaining an average speed of about fourteen knots. Her fastest voyage from Moville to Rimouski was made in 1896, viz., 6 days, 13 hours, 10 minutes, corrected time. Her best day's run on that voyage was 359 knots. Her career has been a remarkable one : in these seventeen years she has not met with an accident, and is consequently a very popular ship. She is fitted for 160 saloon 206 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGATION. passengers in the most complete and comfortable manner, and there seems to be always room for one more. On a recent occasion the Parisian brought over 255 cabin passengers. She can easily accommodate 120 second-class and 1,000 steerage passengers. She carries a large cargo and is a very fine sea boat. The fleet of the Allan Line consists at present of thirty-four steamers, aggregating 134,937 tons. In addition to the weekly line between Liverpool and Montreal, regular weekly services are maintained from Montreal, and also from New York, to Glasgow ; the London, Quebec and Montreal service is fort- nightly in summer ; there is also a direct service between Glasgow and Boston fortnightly, and regular communication between Liverpool, Glasgow and Philadelphia, as well as with River Plate and other ports. Some of the freight and cattle-ships of the Allan Line are large and fine vessels, such as the Buenos Ayrean, 4,005 tons, built at Dumbarton in 1879 one of the first ships ever constructed of steel. The Carthaginian and Siberian are both 4,000-ton ships, specially adapted for the cattle trade. The Mongolian and Numidian, of 4,750 tons each, are model ships in the class to which they belong. A few years ago the Allans acquired the State Line, plying between Glasgow and New York. Two of these, the State of California (5,500 tons) and the State of Nebraska (4,000 tons), are excellent ships with good accommo- dation for large numbers of passengers. The two THE ST. LA WHENCE ROUTE. 207 oldest ships of the line in commission are the Walden- sian (formerly St. Andrew}, built in 1861, and the Phoenician (formerly the St. David), built in 1864, both of which are still doing service in the South American trade. The last of the sailing ships owned by the Allans was wrecked in a dense fog near Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River, Washington, U.S., on the 19th of March, 1896. The Glenmorag was a fine iron clipper ship of 1,756 tons register, built at Glasgow in 1876, and up to the time of her final disaster had been exceptionally fortunate and suc- cessful. Captain Currie, who commanded her, was widely known and has a first-rate reputation as a sailor, but in an evil hour of a dark, dirty night, when making for Portland, Oregon, he was startled by the sudden cry from the man on the look-out, " Breakers on the port bow," and while in the act of wearing the ship around she went broadside on the rocks. Two of the crew were killed and four injured severely while attempting to get ashore. It has been announced that the Allans have at present under construction on the Clyde four mag- nificent steel steamships for the Canadian freight and passenger trade. Three of these are vessels of 10,000 tons, and the fourth of 8,800 tons. All of them are to be fitted with triple expansion engines and twin screws. The three larger ones are. each over 500 feet in length, with 60 feet breadth of beam, and are designed to develop an average speed of sixteen knots, which means that they are expected to make the 208 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. voyage from Liverpool to Montreal in about 7{ days mean time actually a quicker service for Canada than obtains at present with 20-knot steamers via New York. With ample accommodation for a large number of passengers, these ships will have room for 8,000 to 9,000 tons of freight and the most approved appliances for the rapid handling of cargo. Sir Hugh Allan of Ravenscrag, to whom Canada is chiefly indebted for the magnificent Allan Line of steamships, was born at Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Scotland, September 29th, 1810. He came to Canada in 1826 and entered into business as already stated. His whole life was one of incessant activity. He was founder of the Merchants' Bank of Canada and its president, and the President of the Montreal Telegraph Co., and many other important commercial institu- tions. Sir Hugh was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen, in person, in July, 1871, in recognition of his valuable services to the commerce of Canada and the Empire. He died in Edinburgh, suddenly, December 9th, 1882, and was buried in Mount Royal cemetery, Montreal. Sir Hugh was a man, very emphatically, sui generis. Quick to arrive at his conclusions, he was slow to abandon them; where he planted his foot there he meant it to stay. A keen and enterprising man of business, he accumulated a princely fortune. To those who knew him only on the street or in the Board- room he might, perhaps, seem curt and brusque. His conscious power of influencing others made him almost necessarily dogmatic and dictatorial, but in private life he was one of the most amiable, kind- Sir fwflb Elian. THE ST. LA WHENCE ROUTE. 209 hearted and genial of men. He was a staunch Presbyterian, a liberal supporter of the Auld Kirk of Scotland in Canada, and in his younger days devoted much time in promoting its interests. The brothers Bryce and James died several years before Sir Hugh. Alexander died in Glasgow in 1892. Mr. Andrew Allan, now the senior partner of the Montreal firm, was the youngest of the five brothers, and is the only survivor of them. Mr. Allan was born at Saltcoats, December 1st, 1822, and came out to Canada in 1839. He married a daughter of the late John Smith, of Montreal (a sister of Lady Hugh Allan). Mrs. Allan died in 1881, leaving a large family. Two of the sons, Messrs. Hugh H. and Andrew H., are associated with their father and with Messrs. Hugh Montagu and Bryce J. Allan, sons of the late Sir Hugh, in managing the extensive business of the Canadian branch of the Allan Line- Mr. Allan has filled many of the posts of honour and responsibility formerly occupied by Sir Hugh, and earned for himself the golden opinions of his fellow- citizens. The first four captains of the Allan Line were Andrew Me Master, of the Anglo- Saxon, Thomas Jones, of the Indian, William Ballantine, of the Ca- nadian, and William Grange, of the North American. Captain Me Master was born at Stranraer, Wigton- shire, in 1808. After serving a five years' apprentice- ship on board the East Indiaman, Duke of Lancaster, at the modest rate of 2 for the first year, and 20 for the full term of his indentures, he got command 210 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. of the brig Sir Watkin, sailing from Islay with 240 of the clan Campbell as passengers. One-half of these were landed at Sydney, Cape Breton, and the other half at Quebec. The hardships of the emigrants in those days were excessive, as they had to provide their own food and bedding, and were allotted places on the stone ballast to do the best they could for themselves. In 1845 Captain McMaster was placed in command of the clipper barque, Rory O'More, for which Edmonstone & Allan were the agents. Leav- ing Montreal in the summer of 1846, owing to the lowness of water the yards and topmasts were sent down and floated alongside, while cables, chains and other rigging were put into lighters to enable the vessel to traverse Lake St. Peter, drawing nine feet of water ! His next command was the ship Montreal of 464 tons, at that time the largest of the Montreal traders. In 1856 he was placed in command of the first SS. Canadian, and successively of each new ship as she was launched. In 1864 he retired from the sea, and entered the shipwright business in Liverpool. He died in the Isle of Man in 1884. Of the subsequent captains of this line I can only mention the names of those with whom I remember having sailed and made their acquaintance. None of them left a more lasting impression on my memory than John Graham, the genial captain of the second Canadian, and of the Sarmatian when he retired from the service and the sea in 1885. It was he who so often and so strenuously discussed the desirability of throwing a dam across the Straits of Belle Isle that THE ST. LA WRENCE ROUTE. 211 he actually came to believe in it himself as a possibility in the near future, by which in his estimation the climate of Canada was to be assimilated to that of the south of France. That was his fad. But take him all in all, he was as fine a man as one could -.. CAPTAIN JOHN GRAHAM. desire to meet. He was a grand sailor. When his examination before the Nautical Board was concluded in re the loss of the Canadian, his certificate was handed back to him with the remark, "Sir, you did your duty like a noble British seaman." The 14 212 HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION. dangers incident to a seafaring life never disturbed his equanimity, for he had long been ready to " go aloft " at a moment's notice. James and Hugh Wylie were both quiet, unassum- ing men who understood their business thoroughly. CAPTAIN JAMES WYLIE. The former rose to be the commodore of the fleet. On retiring from the command of the Parisian, the citizens of Montreal honoured him with a banquet and an address, congratulating him on his remarkably successful career. Hugh retired from the command THE ST. LAWRENCE ROUTE. 213 of the Polynesian shortly after a serious accident that befell his ship on the river, through the careless- ness of his pilot. James was noted for his caution, of which a somewhat humorous illustration was given one dark night when the Parisian was speeding down the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Some of us were still pacing the deck, though it was near midnight, when suddenly the engine stopped. To the uninitiated there is nothing more alarming than that ; but at this hour most of the passengers were fast asleep. There followed a few minutes of profound silence. The sea, until now as black as ink, had all at once become white and glistering. Had we run into a field of ice ? To the captain, who was at his post on the bridge, and to the double look-out on the forecastle it must have had that appearance ; but it proved to be only schools of herring or mackerel disporting them- selves on the surface of the water, causing a brilliant phosphorescent illumination of the sea. It spread over a large surface and had all the appearance of field ice, precisely where such danger is to be appre- hended. The ship sailed on : but none of us dared to ask then, nor next morning, why she had stopped. Frederick Archer, Lieut. R.N.R., successively in command of the St. Andrew, the Manitoban, and the Moravian, was made of sterner stuff than the average sea-captain. It required more than one voyage to become acquainted with him, but once in his good graces the passenger was all right. He was the strictest disciplinarian of the whole staff. Regularly as on a man-of-war, his sailors marched into the 214 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGATION. saloon on Sunday mornings in their best rigs to attend divine service. In the absence of a clergyman none could use the Book of Prayer more effectively than Capt. Archer. He died at sea in the prime of life. William H. Smith, Lieut. R.N.R., son of late Commander John S. Smith, R.N. one of the last surviving officers of the battle of Trafalgar was born at Prospect House, Broadstairs, Kent, England, in 1838. He served as midshipman on board the Calcutta in the Australian trade : entered the Allan service during the progress of the Crimean war, and was present at several of the engagements between the Russians and the allied forces : went to Odessa with the allied fleets, and was serving on board the Indian when she received sealed orders to proceed to Kinburn and lay buoys for the iron-clads which bombarded and destroyed the forts. Captain Smith's first command in the Allan service was the steamer St. George ; subsequently he was master of the Hiber- nian, Circassian, Peruvian, Sardinian and the Parisian. He succeeded Captain James Wylie as Commodore of the fleet, and held that position for several years, until he resigned to accept the office of Chairman of the Board of Examiners of Masters and Mates, Commissioner for enquiring into wrecks, and one of the nautical advisers of the Government. This office he still holds with headquarters in Halifax, N.S. Capt. Smith was always very popular with the travelling community. On leaving the service he was presented with a valuable set of plate. Alexander Aird, previous to joining the Allan THE ST. LA WHENCE ROUTE. 215 Line, had been in command of the John Bell and United Kingdom of the Anchor Line. His first command in the Allan Line was the St. George in 1864. Subsequently, he was captain of the St. David, Nova Scotian, Nestorian, Scandinavian, and, finally, CAPTAIN ALEX. AIRD. of the Sarmatian. Of the last-named ship he was very proud, and it was a feather in his cap that he brought out the Marquis of Lome and Princess Louise in 1878, receiving from them a handsome recognition of his efforts to secure their comfort. 216 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIOA TION. Owing to impaired health he retired from the sea some years previous to his death, which took place in 1892. Robert Brown, of the Polynesian, " the rolling Polly," as she used to be called, was the beau ideal of CAPTAIN RITCHIE. a fine old English gentleman, than whom none could more gracefully discharge the honours of the table. He had many encounters with field ice off the coast of Newfoundland, but by dint of his caution, skill and patience, he invariably came out scatheless, THE ST. LAWRENCE ROUTE. 217 though not unfrequently locked up in the ice for weeks at a time. William Richardson, of the Nova Scotian and the Sardinian, who died not long ago, was an easy-going, kindly-disposed man, and a general favourite. Neil Maclean, of the third Canadian, was a man of fine presence and good address. Captain Joseph Ritchic who retired from the command of the Parisian in 1895, though not to be called an old man, had spent forty-four years at sea. He was captain of the Peruvian in 1882, when the twenty-five-foot channel through Lake St. Peter was inaugurated ; and again in 1888, in the Sardinian, he was the first to test the increased depth to twenty-seven and a half feet. Ritchie's whole career was a most successful one. On retiring from the service he was presented with a very handsomely engrossed address and a valuable service of silver plate by his Montreal friends. Joseph E. Button, best known as the captain of the Sardinian, was a remarkable man, and frequent voyages with him led me to know him better than some of the others. " Holy Joe," as he was familiarly called, was an excellent sailor, but had to contend with a good many difficulties. At one time his ship lost her rudder in mid -ocean; at another time she lost her screw. Once she caught fire in Loch Foyle from an explosion of coal gas, and had to be scuttled. Button was a clever, well-read man, and a born preacher. When he had on board some eighteen clergymen going to the meeting of the Presbyterian Council at Belfast, he came into the saloon on a 218 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA T10N. Saturday evening, and coolly announced that if they had no objections he would conduct the Sunday service himself. And preach he did. He had the whole Bible at his finger-ends. I recall at least one voyage when he personally conducted three religious CAPTAIN JOSEPH E. BUTTON. services daily one at 10 o'clock a.m., for the steer- age passengers ; one at 4 p.m., in the chart-room, and one at 7 p.m., in the forecastle, for his sailors. As to creed, he had drifted away from his early moorings, and admittedly had difficulty in finding secure THE ST. LAWRENCE ROUTE. 219 anchorage. He had, so to speak, boxed the ecclesias- tical compass. He had been a Methodist, a Baptist, a Plymouth Brother, but with none of them did he long remain in fellowship. Finally, he pinned his faith to the tenets of " conditional immortality," argu- ing with great ingenuity and earnestness that eternal life is the exclusive portion of the righteous, and annihilation that of the wicked. One of Captain Button's last public appearances in Montreal was on a Sabbath evening, in the Olivet Baptist church, when he baptized seven of his sailors by immersion in the presence of a crowded assemblage. He was a square- built, powerful Christian. The way he collared these men and submerged them was a caution. He gave each of them in turn such a drenching as they will remember for a long time, and all with the greatest reverence ; nor did he let them go until he received from each a solemn assurance that he would be a faithful follower of Christ to his life's end. Not long after this, Captain Button had an attack of Bright's disease, which brought him to an early grave. He was buried in Mount Royal ceme- tery, where the monument, " erected by a few of his friends," bears the inscription : i* " Commodore Allan Line. Lieut. R. N. Reserve. In memory of Captain Joseph E. Button, late of the R. M. SS. Sardinian. Born at Harrington, England, February 8th, 1828. Bied at Montreal, July 6th, 1884, aged 56 years. " 'Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him.' 1 John iii. 2." 220 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIOA TION. There was a time when profane swearing used to be indulged in freely by sea-captains and their subor- dinates. Happily the custom is going out of fashion, though now and then a representative from the old school may still be found. Captain Dutton was never addicted to swearing, though his temper was tried often enough. On arriving at Rimouski in 1879, after making the fastest voyage to the St. Lawrence then on record, the Sardinian had to lie at anchor for two mortal hours before he could get his mails landed. One hour it took the tender to get up steam, and another hour to get alongside the ship, owing to a strong easterly breeze, which brought up a lop of a sea. All this lost time Dutton rapidly paced the bridge to and fro with evident impatience. At length, when the tender was made fast, he came down and mingled with the crowd on deck, on the keen lookout for letters and newspapers, when one said to him, jokingly, " Why did you not swear at the cap- tain of that tender ? " " Oh," said he, with a pleasant smile, " he is only a farmer." The provocation had been great, but the controlling principle was greater and highly creditable to Dutton. Apropos to the subject of swearing was the story told by a fellow-passenger a deacon in the late Prof. Swing's congregation in Chicago. Dr. Swing had withdrawn from the Presbyterian Church, but con- tinued to preach in a public hall or theatre, drawing immense crowds to hear him. Swing was a sensa- tional preacher, who could extort tears or smiles from his hearers at will, and not unfrequently his random THE ST. LAWRENCE ROUTE. 221 shots hit the mark. On one occasion, the deacon informed us, he overheard the remark made by one of Chicago's fastest young men to a comrade as they were leaving the place of worship after listening to a scathing discourse on the besetting sins of young men, swearing included : " Say, Jim, I'll be d d if that is not the kind of preaching that suits me." This is a hard story, scarcely credible, but it was told in sober earnest and in a tone that indicated that in the speaker's judgment an arrow had pierced the young man's heart, and that the shocking expression just quoted was, after all, neither more nor less than his peculiar way of emphasizing the fact that he was stricken. THE DOMINION LINE. This line began in 1870 when a number of mer- chants, engaged in the New Orleans and Liverpool trade, formed what they styled the " Mississippi and Dominion Steamship Company, Limited," under the management of Messrs. Flinn, Main and Montgomery, of Liverpool, the agents in Montreal being Messrs. D. Torrance & Co., of which Mr. John Torrance has been for a number of years the senior partner. Their boats were to run to New Orleans in the winter and to Montreal in summer. Their first ships were the St. Louis, Vicksburg and Memphis. In 1871 they added the Mississippi and Texas of 2,822 tons. The Orleans route was soon abandoned and the Dominion Line, then so called, confined its trade to Canada, having Portland for its terminal winter port. Gradu- 222 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIOA TION. ally increasing the size and speed of their steamers they entered into a lively competition for a share of the passenger traffic, and soon became formidable rivals of the Allan Line, and for a number of years shared with them in the Government allowance for carrying the Royal mails. In 1874 they had built for them at Dumbarton the Dominion and Ontario, each 3,000 tons ; in 1879 the Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa, of still larger dimen- sions, were added. They next bought the City of Dublin and City of Brooklyn from the Inman Line, and renamed them the Quebec and Brooklyn. In 1882 and 1883 they built the Sarnia and the Oregon, fine boats of about 3,700 tons each, with increased power and mid-ship saloons. In 1881 Messrs. Connal & Co., Glasgow, built for them the Vancouver, a very fine ship of 5,149 tons, having a speed of fourteen knots and excellent accommodation for passengers. Although she has had several minor accidents she has been, on the whole, a successful and popular ship. The most serious misfortune that befell her was in November, 1890, on her voyage to Quebec, when she encountered a furious hurricane in mid-ocean. Cap- tain Lindall, who had been constantly on the bridge for a long time, went to his chart-room to snatch a few minutes rest, leaving the first officer on the bridge. All of a sudden the ship was thrown on her beam ends by a tremendous wave which completely wrecked the bridge and swept the chart-room, with the captain in it, into the sea. The quarter-master at the wheel was also washed overboard, and both he and THE ST. LA WRENCE ROUTE. 223 Captain Lindall were drowned. The first officer, Mr. Walsh, who had a miraculous escape, took charge of the battered ship and brought her to Quebec, where deep regret was expressed for the sad death of CAPTAIN LINDALL. Lindall, who was a general favourite and as good a sailor as ever stood on the bridge. The Labrador, 4,737 tons, launched from the famous shipyard of Harland & Wolff, Belfast, in 1891, has also been a successful and popular ship. She com- 224 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA 770JV. bines in her construction a number of the latest improvements, and has attained a high rate of speed, with large cargo capacity and a moderate consumption of fuel. Until the arrival of the Canada, in October, 1896, the Labrador held the record for the fastest voyage from Moville to Rimouski 6 days, 8 hours. In August, 1895, she made the voyage from land to land in 4 days, 16 hours. In May, 1894, she averaged 365 knots a day, equal to fifteen knots an hour, her best day's run being 375 knots, which was regarded as great work considering the small amount of fuel consumed. In December of that year she made the run from Moville to Halifax in 6 days, 12 hours. Up to this point, however, the business ability and enterprise of the Dominion Company had not been rewarded with financial success. For years they had to contend with the general depression of trade, the keen competition of other lines, and ruinous rates of freight. In the autumn of 1894 the managers re- signed, and the entire fleet of vessels was sold to o * Messrs. Richards, Mills & Co., of Liverpool, at a great sacrifice. The Montreal agency remains as heretofore with Messrs. D. Torrance & Co., and under the new management the line seems to have entered upon a career of prosperity. The casualties on the St. Lawrence route to steamers of this line have been numerous, but with a compara- tively small loss of life. The foundering of the Vicksburg, from collision with ice, in 1875, was the most disastrous, involving the loss of forty-seven lives of passengers and crew including the captain and THE ST. LAWRENCE ROUTE. 225 a large number of cattle. The Ottawa went ashore about fifty miles below Quebec in 1889 and became a total wreck. The Idaho was wrecked on Anticosti in 1890 ; the Montreal, on the island of Belle Isle in 1889. The Texas went ashore on Cape Race in a fog and became a total wreck. In September, 1895, the Mariposa, a beautiful twin-screw chartered steamer of 5,000 tons, was stranded at Point Amour in the Straits of Belle Isle and became a total wreck, but the passengers and crew were all saved. It very soon became apparent that the new man- ao-ement of the Dominion Line was bent on a new O departure. They lost no time in discarding the smaller boats and replacing them with large and powerful freight steamers having also limited accom- modation for passengers. Of this type were the Angloman* and the Scotsman. The latter is a fine twin-screw ship of colossal strength, 6,040 tons register, with a carrying capacity of from 9,000 to 10,000 tons of cargo, and an average speed at sea of twelve to thirteen knots. In September, 1895, in addition to a large general cargo, the Scotsman left Montreal with the largest shipment of live stock that ever left this port, consisting of 1,050 head of cattle, 2,000 sheep, and 47 horses, all of which were landed safely in Liverpool. But the latest addition to the fleet is in advance of the Scotsman. The Canada, * The Angloman was wrecked on the Skerries, in the Irish Sea, in February, 1897- The crew were rescued, but the ship, with her valuable cargo and a large number of cattle, became a total loss, though fully covered by insurance. DOMINION LINE SS. "CANADA.' THE ST. LA WHENCE ROUTE. 227 which sailed on her first voyage from Liverpool on October 1st, 1896, is a type of ocean steamer new to the St. Lawrence, and is designed to meet present requirements by combining in one vessel the essential CAPTAIN MACAULAY, OF SS. "CANADA." features of a first-class passenger ship with so large a freight-carrying capacity as to make her practi- cally independent of subsidies. The Canada is a twin-screw steamer 515 feet long, 58 feet beam, and 15 228 HISTO RY OF STEA M NA VIGA TION. 35 feet 6 inches moulded depth. Her gross tonnage is about 9,000 tons. Her triple expansion engines are calculated to develop 7,000 horse-power with a steam boiler pressure of 175 pounds. Her staterooms are perhaps the finest feature of the ship equal to any on the ocean ferry. Her maiden voyage was a stormy one, but it easily surpassed all previous records from Liverpool to Quebec. On her second trip she left Liverpool at 5 p m. on October 29th, and reached Rimouski on November 4th, at 11.40 p.m., thus making the voyage in 6 days, 11 hours and 40 minutes, and to Quebec in 6 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes. Her average speed on this voyage was about 16 knots an hour, and her best day's run, 416 knots, equal to 17^ knots an hour. At a luncheon given on board the Canada to lead- ing members of the Dominion Government, Mr. Torrance said that the Dominion Line had been sold out to a company composed of men of tremendous energy and enterprise, with any amount of money at their backs, and, after looking at the matter in all its bearings, they decided that the time had come for a forward movement. They determined to build the largest steamer they could for the St. Lawrence trade. The Canada was contracted for by Messrs. Harland and Wolff, Belfast, as a sixteen -knot ship, and on her trial trip made seventeen and a half knots. He believed that she would average sixteen knots at sea, that she would reach Rimouski in six and a half days from Liverpool, and deliver her mails at the Montreal post-office within seven days. If THE ST. LA WREN.CE ROUTE. 229 that expectation comes to be realized, as it is most likely to be, the arguments in favour of a fast mail service between Canada and Britain will be materially strengthened. Mr. Torrance added that the Canada was built to carry 7,000 tons of cargo, that if she had a speed of seventeen knots she would only carry 4,000 tons of cargo ; if eighteen knots, she would carry but 3,000 tons, and that with a speed of twenty knots it would not be safe to calculate on her capacity for more than 1 ,000 tons of freight ; " in short, that the twenty -knot ship must be, virtually, a passenger ship, and well subsidized." The Canadian Government has not been slow to back up privata enterprise of this nature in the past, and will doubtless continue to do so in the future. For reasons not made public the Canada was withdrawn from the St. Lawrence service and placed on the route from Boston and Liverpool, where she has been so successful that another vessel of the same class is being built for that route. In the meantime other large vessels have been put on the St. Lawrence route, the latest addition to the fleet being the New England, having a tonnage of nearly 11,600 tons, fine accommodation for a large number of passengers, and room for an enormous cargo. THE BEAVER LINE. This is an out-and-out Canadian enterprise, dating from 1867, under the name of the " Canada Shipping Company, Limited," when several Montreal capital- ists, among whom were the late William Murray and ROYAL MAIL SS. "LAKE ONTARIO," BEAVER LINE. THE ST. LA WRENGE ROUTE. 231 Alexander Buntin, Messrs. Alexander Urquhart, John and Hugh Maclennan and others, combined to origi- nate a line of iron fast-sailing ships to trade between Montreal and Liverpool. Having adopted for its dis- tinguishing flag the emblem of the Canadian beaver, the company soon came to be popularly known as the Beaver Line, a line which, though not remunera- tive to its originators and stockholders, is worthy of honourable mention as having contributed in many ways to the interests of Canadian trade and com- merce. The company commenced with a very fine fleet of five Clyde-built iron ships of from 900 to 1,274 tons each. These .were the Lake Ontario, the Lake Erie, the Lake Michigan, the Lake Huron and the Lake Superior. The ships were in themselves all that could be desired. They were beautiful to look at, and made swift voyages, but there was a neces- sary element of success wanting. They did not pay. In fact, they began their short-lived career at the time when the days of sailing ships were rapidly drawing to a close. The important question of steam versus sails had been settled. The Canada Shipping Company must therefore retire from the business altogether or avail themselves of the advantages of steam power. They decided upon making the experi- ment, and gave orders for the building of steam vessels to supersede the sailing ships. In the mean- time the Lake Michigan was lost . at sea with all. on board, adding another to those mysterious disappear- ances, of which there have been so many instances gallant ships and noble sailors setting out on their 232 HISTOR Y OF STEA M NA VIOA TION. voyage buoyant with hope, reporting themselves at the last signal station as "all well," but never to be heard of any more. The Lake Huron was wrecked on Anticosti. The year 1875 saw the first steamers of the Beaver Line afloat. They were the Lake Champlain, Lake Me- gantic and Lake Nepigon, snug little ships of about 2,200 tons each, such as would pass nowadays for cruising steam yachts, but much too small for cargo ships on the Atlantic, to say nothing of the passenger business. The Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg, of larger size and higher speed, were added in 1879, followed by the Lake Huron and the Lake Superior. The last-named is a fine ship of 4,562 tons, and credited with thirteen knots an hour. It was not long before three of the steamers came to grief. The Lake Megantic was wrecked on Anticosti in July, 1878; the Lake Manitoba, on St. Pierre Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in June, 1885 ; the Lake Champlain, stranded on the north coast of Ireland in June, 1886. To keep up the weekly line, the Lake Ontario, built at Sunderland in 1887, was purchased at a cost of nearly $300,000. She is a vessel of about 4,500 tons, with midship saloon, triple expansion engines, and a maximum speed of thirteen knots. She is an excellent sea boat, with good accommodation for one hundred cabin passen- gers. The ships of this line all carry live cattle, sheep and horses, for which they are well adapted. The Beaver Line led the way towards the reduction of transatlantic cabin passage rates on the St. THE ST. LA WRENCE ROUTE. 233 Lawrence route. It also introduced the custom of embarking and landing passengers at Montreal instead of Quebec as formerly. Unfortunately the line had not been a success financially. In the winter of 1895 the boats were all tied up, the com- CAPTAIN HOWARD CAMPBELL. pany went into liquidation, and the entire fleet was sold at a nominal price to the bondholders. During the following winter, however, the ships of this line maintained a weekly service from Liverpool to St. John, N.B., receiving from the Canadian Government 234 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. a subsidy of $25,000, and in 1897 the Beaver Line was awarded the contract for carrying the Canadian mails, to be landed at Halifax in the winter months. The annual subsidy for this service is understood to be $146,000. This arrangement, however, is necessarily of a temporary nature, pending the development of the long-expected " fast service." In the meantime the Beaver Line has added to its fleet the fine SS. Gallia, of the Cunard Line, and the Tongariro, of 4,163 tons, formerly belonging to the New Zea- land Shipping Company. The service has thus far been satisfactory. Captain Howard Campbell, of the SS. Lake Ontario, died very suddenly on Sunday morning, April 3rd, 1898. The second day out from Halifax towards Liverpool, he went on the bridge, sextant in hand, intending to take an observation. While in the act of doing so he fell into the arms of a quarter- master and died instantly. Captain Campbell had been long connected with the Beaver Line. He was widely known as a skilful mariner and a genial and accomplished man. He was born at St. Andrews, N.B., and was fifty-four years of age. There are a number of other lines of steamships plying regularly from Montreal in summer and from different Atlantic ports in winter. They are chiefly cargo and cattle ships, with limited accommodation for passengers. Among these are the Donaldson Line, with five ships of from 2,000 to 4,272 tons, giving a weekly service to Glasgow and Bristol ; the THE ST. LAWRENCE ROUTE. 235 Thomson Line, with seven ships to London, New- castle and Antwerp. The Johnston Line has regular sailings to Liverpool. The Ulster Steamship Com- pany, or " Head Line," has five ships running to Belfast and Dublin fortnightly. The Elder, Dempster Line has a fleet of sixteen large freight steamers, ranging from 4,500 to 12,000 tons each. Some of them are fitted with cold storage, and all of them have the modern improvements for carrying live stock and grain; they maintain a regular weekly service to London and to Bristol.* The Hansa St. Lawrence Line plies to Hamburg and Antwerp ; the Furness Line to Antwerp and Dunkirk, and also to Manchester. -f- The Quebec Steamship Company has regular communication with Pictou, N.S., by the fine upper saloon steamship Campana, of 1,700 tons. The Black Diamond Line has five ships of from 1,500 to 2,500 tons each, plying regularly in the coal trade from Montreal to Sydney, Cape Breton, Charlotte- town, P.E.I., and Newfoundland. *The SS. Memphis, of the African Steamship Company, but employed by the Elder, Dempster Line, went ashore on the west coast of Ireland in a fog in November, 1896, and became a total wreck. Ten of the crew were drowned and 350 head of cattle. t The Manchester ship canal is 35 miles long, 120 feet bottom width, and 26 feet in depth. The docks at Manchester cover 104 acres and have five miles of quays. It was estimated to cost 10,000,000 sterling, but cost over 15,000,000 before it was completed. Arrangements are in progress by a Manchester syndi- cate for the establishment of a weekly line of steamships of 8,500 tons capacity, to be provided with cold storage and the most approved equipments for carrying live stock. The best modern appliances for loading and discharging cargo, grain elevators being included, are among the attractions which enterprising Manchester presents to the shipping trade of Canada. 236 H1STOR Y OF STEA M NA VIOA TlON, The export trade in live stock, which commenced here in 1874 with only 455 head of cattle, has now assumed large proportions. In 1897 there were shipped from Montreal 119,188 head of cattle, 12,179 horses and 66,319 sheep, valued in all at about $8,700,750. The cattle were valued at $60 a head, the horses at $100, and the sheep at $5.00 each. The ocean freight on cattle was $10 per head, and on sheep $1.00 each.* CANADIAN FAST ATLANTIC SERVICE. Ever since the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885, the idea of instituting a fast service between Great Britain and the St. Lawrence has been regarded with yearly increasing favour. Now it is regarded as a necessary link in the chain that binds the colony to the Mother Land, and indispensable if this route is to become Britain's highway to the East. As early as 1887 the Canadian Government adver- tised for tenders for a line of Atlantic mail steamers to have an average speed of 20 knots an hour, coupled with the condition that they should touch at some French port. The Allans, who at that time deemed a 20-knot service unsuited to the St. Lawrence route, offered to supply a weekly service with a guaranteed average speed of 17 knots, for an annual subsidy of $500,000 on a ten years' contract. That offer was declined. About the same time the English firm of * " Montreal Board of Trade Report, 1897," pp. 52, 88. THE ST. LA WRENCE ROUTE. 237 Anderson, Anderson & Co. offered to provide a line of vessels " capable of running 20 knots " for the same subsidy. This dubious offer was accepted provision- ally by the Canadian Government, but it was eventu- ally fallen from. Two years later another abortive attempt was made, when the Government of the day voted $750,000 as an annual subsidy for a 20-knot service; but nothing resulted. In 1894 Mr. James Huddart, of Sydney, N.S.W. (the contractor for the Vancouver- Australian Line of steamers), entered into an agreement with the Dominion Government for a weekly 20-knot service for said amount of $750,000 per annum. For reasons that need not be explained, this proposal also fell through. In 1896 the Allans were said to have tendered for a 20-knot service on the basis of a subsidy of $1,125,000, but the offer was declined owing to some informalities. In view of so many failures it is scarcely safe to affirm that the fast service is now assured. In May, 1897, however, it was officially announced by the Canadian Government that a contract had been entered into, with the approval of the British Gov- ernment, whereby Messrs. Peterson, Tate & Co., of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, agreed to furnish a weekly service with a guaranteed speed of at least 500 knots a day. The contractors are to provide four steamers of not less than 520 feet in length, with a draft of water not exceeding 25 feet 6 inches. The ships are to be not less than 10,000 tons register, fitted to carry from 1,500 to 2,000 tons of cargo, with suitable cold storage accommodation for at least 500 tons. They 238 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGATION. are to be equal in all respects to the best Atlantic steamships afloat, such as the Campania and Lucania, with accommodation for not less than 300 first-class, 200 second-class and 800 steerage passengers. The annual subsidy is to be $750,000, whereof the Cana- dian Government is to pay $500,000 and the British Government $250,000. The steamers are not to call at any foreign port, and the company is forbidden to accept a subsidy from any foreign country. The mails are to be carried free. The termini of the line will be Liverpool and Quebec during summer, the ships proceeding to Montreal if and when the navigation permits. In winter the Canadian terminus will be Halifax or St. John, N.B., at the option of the con- tractors, who are to provide a 22 -knot tender of the torpedo type to meet each steamer on her approach to the Canadian coast when required, and pilot her to her destination. The contractors must deposit 10,000 in cash, and a guarantee of 10,000 addi- tional, with the Minister of Finance of Canada as security that the contract will be faithfully carried into effect. Twelve months having passed since the signing of the contract, without any substantial progress having been made towards its fulfilment, a new agreement was entered into in April last whereby the Govern- ment granted Messrs. Peterson and Tate an extension o of time, and introduced several important changes into the contract. Under the new arrangement the contractors were required to have a steamship com- pany incorporated by May 30th, 1898, with a sub- THE ST. LA WHENCE ROUTE. 239 stantial capital of $6,250,000, to have contracts signed with ship-builders at that date for four steamships, and to have two of them actually under construction. The 1st of May, 1900, was named as the time when the four steamers are to be ready to go on the route and commence a regular weekly service. The pre- liminary conditions attached to the contract appear to have been complied with, and a company has been incorporated under the name of the " Canadian Royal Mail Steamship Company, Limited ; " but grave fears are entertained that the necessary funds may not be forthcoming, and that the long-expected fast service may be indefinitely delayed. Sir Sand ford Fleming, who has made a study of this subject, and published his opinions respecting it in a series of pamphlets, is not sanguine as to the success of the undertaking. " The conditions imposed by nature," he says, "are unfavourable for rapid transit by the St. Lawrence route, and any attempts to establish on this route a line of fast transatlantic steamships to rival those running to and from New York would result in disappointment." In the event of such a service being instituted, Sir Sandford assumes that it would be almost exclusively for the use of passengers, and suggests that the route should be from Loch Ryan, on the Wigtonshire coast of Scot- land, to North Sydney, in Cape Breton. The distance between these points being only 2,160 knots, the voyage might be made in 4| days, while 80 hours more would land mails and passengers in Montreal by railway. In this way the average time from 240 HISTORY OF STEA M NA VIOA TION. London to Montreal would be reduced to 6 days and 6 hours 36 hours less than the time usually occupied between Montreal and London via New York and Queenstown. " In connection with the ocean service there might also be a line of fast light-draught steamers to run to and from Montreal to Sydney and the Gulf ports. In this way the people of the Maritime Provinces, includ- ing Newfoundland, would share in the benefits to be derived from the fast ocean service equally with those of Quebec and Ontario." Sir Sandford's idea is to have the fastest ocean ship on the shortest ocean passage, and by all means to avoid the Straits of Belle Isle, " the saving of a few hours being insufficient to counterpoise the tremendous risks to which fast passenger steamships, in navigating the Belle Isle route, would so seriously and frequently be exposed." It is claimed that^if this plan were adopted three ocean steamers would suffice instead of four. Refer- ence to the accompanying sketch-map, showing the relative positions of Sydney, Newfoundland, and the Straits of Belle Isle, with the existing lines of rail- way, will help to make Sir Sandford's proposal clear. Among other proposals, an English syndicate re- cently offered to furnish a 24-knot service between Milford-Haven, on the coast of Wales, and a port in Nova Scotia, representing to the British Government that they would be able to carry troops across the Atlantic in four days, and land them in Victoria in six days more. But the 24-knot steamship has not yet been launched. 242 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. Sir Sandford Fleming, K.C.M.G., LL.D., C.E., is one of Canada's most eminent civil engineers. He was born at Kirkcaldy, Fifeshire, Scotland, January 7th, 1827, came to Canada at the age of eighteen, and has ever since been identified with the progress and development of the country. He was on the engineer- ing staff of the Northern Railway from 1852 to 1863, and for the latter half of that time was chief engineer o of the work. He was chief engineer of the Inter- colonial Railway, and carried it through to a successful completion in 1876. In 1871 he was appointed engineer-in-chief of the Canadian Pacific Railway ; he retired from that position in 1 880 and was sub- sequently elected a director of the company. He received the freedom of the Royal Burgh of Kirkcaldy and the degree of LL.D. from the University of St. Andrews in 1884 : was appointed to represent Canada at the International Prime Meridian Conference in Washington in 1884 : at the Colonial Conference, London, in 1887, at the .Colonial Conference in Ottawa, in 1894, and at the Imperial Cable Confer- ence in London, in 1896. Sir Sandford has been Chancellor of Queen's University at Kingston since 1880. He is the author of numerous scientific and other publications, is an active member of the Royal Colonial Institute of London, and on the occasion of Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee was accorded the honour of knighthood. The conflicting rumours, which for many months have been in circulation as to> the inability of Messrs. THE ST. LA WHENCE ROUTE. 243 Peterson, Tate & Company to fulfil the terms of their agreement, have finally been set at rest by the cancel- ling of the contract, and the Canadian Government calling for tenders" for a weekly steamship service for carrying Her Majesty's mails for a period of two years from the 1st of May, 1899, from Montreal and Quebec to Liverpool, during the summer months, and from St. John, N.B., and Halifax in winter. The time occupied in making the voyage from Rimouski to Moville and vice versa, is not to exceed an average of seven days. This is clearly a temporary arrange- ment and not an implied abandonment of a faster service than already exists. The opinion, however, in business circles seems to be gaining ground that something much less costly than a twenty-knot service might for some years to come meet the requirements of the country. 16 CHAPTER VIII. STEAM ON THE GREAT LAKES. The History of Steam Navigation on the Great Lakes The Construction of the St. Lawrence, the Welland, and the Rideau Canals The Port of Montreal. T^HE waterways of Canada available for steam 1 navigation are on a magnificent scale. The main system extends from the mouth of the St. Lawrence at Belle Isle to Fort William and the head of Lake Superior a distance of nearly 2,384 miles, and rendered navigable without interruption by a series of ship canals. Proceeding four hundred miles farther west, another long stretch of inland navigation begins with Lake Winnipeg, 240 miles long, into which, at its northern extremity, flows the mighty Saskatchewan, navigable for steamers one thousand miles ! Not to mention smaller streams, the rivers St. John and Miramichi, in the Province of New Brunswick, afford 300 miles of navigable water and float a large amount of shipping. Ships of the largest size can ascend the Saguenay seventy- five miles. The Ottawa in its several reaches is navigable by steam for three or four hundred miles. Steamers ply on the Assiniboine, 250 or 300 miles westward from Winnipeg. The Mackenzie River is STEAM ON THE GREAT LAKES. 245 navigable for a thousand miles. The Fraser, the Thompson, and the Columbia rivers in British Col- umbia contribute largely to the steam tonnage of the Dominion. The Great Lakes,* commonly so called, are in reality great inland fresh water seas, often swept by gales of wind and combing billows, and sometimes, alas, strewed with wrecks. They have their breakwaters, lighthouses and steam fog-signals as fully equipped as similar oceanic structures and appliances. The Lake of the Woods and Lake Manitoba are each 100 miles long. As early as the year 1641 a few Jesuit missionaries and fur-traders had reached the rock-bound shores of Lake Superior in their canoes, but it is not until some years later that history makes us acquainted with the first sailing vessels that appeared on the lakes. One of the earliest of these was a schooner of ten tons, built near where Kingston now is by the enter- * DIMENSIONS OF THE GREAT LAKES. LAKES. J3 '"' ffij j| Greatest Width. (Miles.) sC? us ob Above Sea. (Feet.) -.2 2?i 1 180 65 500 247 7 300 Erie 240 80 210 573 10 000 280 190 802 581 24 000 t Michigan 335 88 868 581 25,600 Superior 420 160 1,008 601 32,000 t Lake Michigan lies wholly within the United States. -Mb HISTORY OF STEAM .VI VK1ATIOX. prising French adventurer, La Salle, who had been appointed Governor of Fort Frontenac, and had a roving commission to explore the western wilds of North America. Accompanied by the famous Recol- let Father, Hennepin, and some thirty others, La Salle set sail on the 10th of November, 1678, for the head of Lake Ontario. Finding his further passage barred by the Falls of Niagara, he wintered in that neighbor- hood and had another vessel built at Cayuga Creek, a few miles above the Falls. This vessel, which he named the Griffin, of about sixty tons burthen, was launched in May, 1679, and was probably the first to navigate the upper lakes. On the 7th of August the Griffin, equipped with seven guns and a diversity of small arms and freighted with a load of goods, sailed away for Detroit and parts unknown. The Detroit River was reached in a few days, and Green Bay at the head of Lake Huron some time in September, when she was loaded with furs and despatched on her return voj^age to Niagara, which, however, she never reached, the vessel and cargo having been totally lost on the way. For many years after the loss of the Griffin the navigation of the lakes seems to have been chiefly confined to bateaux, and up to 1756 the construction and use of sailing vessels was largely, if not entirely, confined to Lake Ontario. The first American vessel built on Lake Erie was the schooner Washington, built near Erie, Pa., in 1797. After plying on Lake Erie one season, she was sold to a Canadian and carried on wheels around the Falls to Lake Ontario, where she sailed STEAM ON THE GREAT LAKES. 247 from Queenston for Kingston in 1798 as a British vessel, under the name of Lady Washington. In 1816 the whole sailing tonnage on Lake Erie was only 2,067 tons. In 1818 the fleet on Lake Ontario numbered about sixty vessels. It is not necessary to enlarge on the growth and decadence of sailing vessels on the Great Lakes. Suffice it to say that the sailing vessel had reached its palmiest days between the years 1845 and 1862. In the latter year the gross tonnage of the lakes had risen to 383,309 tons, valued at $11,865,550, and was divided as follows : 320 steamers, aggregating 125,620 tons; and 1,152 sailing vessels, aggregating 257,689 tons. Side-wheel steamers numbered 117, and pro- pellers, 203. In 1896 the entire number of sailing vessels on the Northern Lakes (including Lake Champlain) was 1,044, and of steam vessels, 1,792. Many in both of these classes were small vessels, in- cluding yachts and barges : the number actually engaged in the transportation business would be about 774 sailing vessels and 1,031 steamers over fifty tons burthen a large proportion of the steamers being from 1,500 to 2,500 tons burthen.* Coming back now to the beginning of steam navi- gation on the Great Lakes, we find that the first Canadian steamer to navigate any of these waters was the Frontenac, built at Finkle's Point, eighteen miles above Kingston, by Teabout & Chapman, of * These figures refer exclusively to vessels belonging to the merchant marine of the United States on the Great Lakes and are taken from official reports. 2 48 HISTOR Y OF STEA M NA VIGA TION. Sackett's Harbour, for a company of shareholders belonging to Kingston, Niagara, Queenston, York and Prescott. The Frontenac was launched on September 7th, 1816. Her length over all was 170 feet, and her registered tonnage, 700 tons. She cost nearly 20,000 currency. The engines were made by Watt & Boulton, of Birmingham, England, and cost about 7,000. The Frontenac was said to be the best piece of naval architecture then in America, and her departure on her first voyage was considered a great event " she moved off from her berth with majestic grandeur, the admiration of a great number of spectators." Her maiden trip for the head of the lake was commenced on June 5th, 1817. Her regular route was from Prescott to York (Toronto) and back, once a week. She was commanded as long as she was afloat by Captain James Mackenzie, a gallant sailor who had previously served in the Royal navy. The Frontenac eventually became the property of the Messrs. Hamilton, of Queenston. She was maliciously set on fire by some miscreants while lying at her wharf at Niagara in 1827, and was totally destroyed. About the same time the Americans had built a steamboat at Sackett's Harbour, N.Y., named the Ontario, a vessel 110 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 8i feet in depth, measuring 240 tons. The Ontario made her first trip in April, 1817, thus establishing her claim of precedence in sailing on the lakes. She was built under a grant from the heirs of Robert Fulton. On her first trip she encountered considerable sea, which lifted the paddle-wheels, throwing the shaft STEAM ON THE GREAT LAKES. 249 from its bearings and destroying the paddle-boxes. This defect in her construction having been remedied, she was afterwards successful, it is said, but her career is not recorded.* The Americans built another steamer at Sackett's Harbour in 1818, the Sophia, of 70 tons, to run as a packet between that port and Kingston. In that year also the Canadians built their second lake steamer, the Queen Charlotte. She was built at the same place as the Frontenac, and largely from material which had not been used in the con- "QUEEN CHARLOTTE." Second steamer on Lake Ontario, 1818. struction of that vessel. She was launched on the 22nd of April, 1818, and was soon ready to take her place as the pioneer steamer on the Bay of Quinte.f *Mr. C. H. Keep, in his report on the " Internal Commerce of the United States for 1891," has given a graphic History of Navi- gation on the Great Lakes, and is our chief authority for these notes on the early American lake steamers. t Robertson's " Landmarks of Toronto," p. 847. 250 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGATION. The Queen Charlotte was a much smaller boat than the Frontenac. Her machinery was made by the brothers Ward, of Montreal, and she seems to have plied very successfully for twenty years from Prescott to the " Carrying Place " at the head of the Bay of Quinte, where passengers took stage to Cobourg and thence proceeded to York by steamer. She was com- __^-^=_-= ~=2_-~ _ZZ/r^rrrr--^.= ^=^^^./ C \)l " WALK-IN-THE-WATER." First steamer on Lake Erie, 1818. manded at first by old Captain Richardson, then for a short time by young Captain Hosier, and afterwards, to the end of her career, by Captain Gildersleeve, of Kingston. She was finally broken up in Cataraqui Bay ; but in the meantime upwards of thirty steamers were plying on Lake Ontario and the Upper St. Lawrence, to some of which particular reference will be made later on. STEAM ON THE GREAT LAKES. 251 The first steamer on Lake Erie was the Walk-in- the- Water, built at Black Rock, near Buffalo, by one Noah Brown, and launched May 28th, 1818. She was schooner-rigged, 135 feet in length, 32 feet beam and 13 feet 3 inches deep : her tonnage was 3S3|2 tons. Her machinery was brought from Albany, a distance THE "VANDALIA." From Scrilmer's Magazine for March, 1890. of three hundred miles, in wagons drawn by five to eight horses each. She left Black .Rock on her first voyage August 25th, and Teached Detroit, 290 miles, in 44 hours 10 minutes. " While she could navigate down stream, her power was not sufficient to make 252 HIS TORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. headway against the strong current of the Niagara River. Resort was therefore made to what was known in the early days as a " horned breeze." The Walk-in the -Water was regularly towed up the Niagara River by a number of yokes of oxen, but once above the swift current she went very well. She made regular trips between Black Rock and Detroit, occasionally going as far as Mackinac and Green Bay on Lake Huron, until November, 1821, when she was driven ashore near Buffalo in a gale of wind arid became a total wreck. Her engines, however, were recovered and put in a new boat named the Superior, in 1822. Soon after this the first high-pressure steamer on the lakes was built at Buffalo. She was named the Pioneer. In 1841 the first lake propeller was launched at Oswego. This was the Vandalia, of 160 tons, said to be the first freight boat in America to make use of Ericsson's screw propeller. She made her first trip in November, 1841, and proved entirely successful. In the spring of 1842 she passed through the Welland Canal, and was visited by large numbers of people in Buffalo, who were curious to see this new departure in steam navigation, and the result was that two new propellers were built in that year at Buffalo, the Sampson and the Hercules. Soon after the introduction of steamboats, and because of them, when as yet railroads were not in this part of the world, Lake Erie became the great high- way of travel to the western States, and it was not long until magnificent upper cabin steamers, carrying from 1 ,000 to 1 ,500 passengers, were plying between STEAM ON THE GREAT LAKES. 253 Buffalo and Chicago. The writer well remembers O making the voyage in one of these steamers late in the .autumn of 1844, and that, owing to the tempes- tuous state of the weather, we had to tie up most every night, so that the voyage lasted nearly a whole week. The crowd of passengers was great, but it was THE " PRINCETON." First propeller on the lakes that had an upper cabin one of a fleet of fourteen pjsssnger steamers plying between Buffalo and Chicago in 1845 had twin screws, and a speed of eleven miles an hour. a good-natured crowd, bent on having a "good time." Dancing was kept up in the main saloon every even- ing till midnight, after which many of us were glad to get a shake-down on the cabin floor. The year 1836 marks an important era in the navi- gation of the Great Lakes, for in that year the first cargo of grain from Lake Michigan arrived at Buffalo, 254 HIS TOR Y OF STEA M NA VIGA TION. brought by the brig John Kenzie from Grand River. It consisted of three thousand bushels of wheat. Previous to that date the commerce of the lakes had been all westward, and, curiously enough, the cargoes carried west consisted for the most part of flour, grain and other supplies for the new western settlements. In 1840 a regular movement of grain from west to east had been established. In the early years of the grain trade the loading and unloading of vessels was a very slow and irksome business. As much as two or three days might be required to unload a cargo of 5,000 bushels. In the winter of 1842-43 the first grain elevator was built at Buffalo, and a new system of handling grain intro- duced which was to prove of incalculable benefit to the trade. The schooner Philadelphia, of 123 tons, was the first to be unloaded by the elevator. The Canadian steam traffic on Lake Erie com- menced with the steamers Chippewa and Emerald, plying between Chippewa and Buffalo; the Kent, which foundered in 1845; the Ploughboy, owned by a company in Chatham, and the Clinton, owned by Robert Hamilton, of Queenston. A much larger Cana- dian steam traffic developed on Lake Huron. One of the earliest passenger steamers on the Georgian Bay was the Gore, of 200 tons, built at Niagara in 1838, and called after the Lieutenant-Governor of that name. That boat, which had plied for some years between Niagara and Toronto, was placed on the route between Sturgeon Bay and Sault Ste. Marie. On Lake Huron proper, the Bruce Mines was probably the earliest OX THE GRKAT LAKES. 255 Canadian steamer. She was employed in carrying- copper ore from the Bruce mines to Montreal, and was wrecked in 1854. Shortly after, on the completion of the Northern Railway, in 1854, the company, with* a view to developing their interests, entered into a con- tract with an American line of steamers to run from Collingwood to Lake Michigan ports tri-weekly and THE "EMPIRE." Built at Cleveland in 1844 ; a notable steamer in her day, being the largest, the fastest, and the most handsomely fitted-up vessel on the Upper Lakes at that time ; ran many years between Buffalo and Chicago. once a week to Green Bay. In 1862 six large pro- pellers were put on the route. Later, a line of first- class passenger steamers began to ply twice a week from Collingwood and Owen Sound to Duluth at the head of Lake Superior. Among the steamers of that line, which became very popular, were the Chicora, Francis Smith, Cumberland, and Algoma. These in turn were superseded by the 256 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. magnificent steamers of the Canadian Pacific and other lines elsewhere referred to. The commerce of Lake Superior developed long after that of the lower lakes had been estab- lished. In the earliest records of the navigation of this lake, a brigantine named the Recovery, of about 150 tons, owned by the North- West Fur Company, is mentioned as being one of the first to sail on Lake Superior, about the year 1800. It is said that during the war of 1812, fearing that she might be seized by the Americans, her spars were taken out and her hull was covered up by branches and brushwood in a sequestered bay till peace was proclaimed. She was then taken from her hiding-place and resumed her beat on the lake until about 1830, when she was run over the Sault Ste. Marie rapids and placed in the lumber trade on Lake Erie, under the command of Captain John Fallows, of Fort Erie, Canada West. Another vessel, the Mink, is mentioned as having been brought down the rapids at an earlier period. In 1835 the John Jacob Astor, accounted a large vessel in her time, was built on Lake Superior for the American Fur Company, and placed in command of Captain Charles C. Stanard, who sailed her until 1842, when Captain J. B. Angus became master and remained in charge of her until she was wrecked at Copper Harbour in September, 1844. Passing by a number of other sailing vessels we come now to the introduc- tion of steam on Lake Superior, and this, according to the statement of an old resident at Fort William, is how it began. STEAM ON THE ORE AT LAKES. 257 The twin-screw propeller Independence, Captain A. J. Averill, of Chicago, was the first steamer seen on Lake Superior. This vessel, rigged as a fore-and- aft schooner, was about 260 tons burthen, and was hauled over the Sault Ste. Marie rapids in 1844. Her route of sailing was on the south shore of the lake. Another propeller, the Julia Palmer, was in like manner dragged up the Ste. Marie rapids in 1846, and was the first steamer to sail on the north shore. At intervals, prior to the opening of the ship canal, several other steamers were taken up the rapids, among which were the propellers Manhattan, Monti- cello, and Peninsular, and the side- wheel steamers Baltimore and Sam Ward. Previous to the completion of the Welland Canal the transportation of freight over the portage from Queenston to Chippewa had come to be quite a large business, giving employment to many "teamsters," for the entire traffic between Lake Erie and Ontario at this point was by means of the old-fashioned lumber-wagon. At the Sault Ste. Marie portage, Mr. Keep informs us that " one old grey horse and cart " did the business for a time, but as the volume of trade increased two-horse wagons were employed until 1850, when a light tram-road was built by the Chippewa Portage Company, operated by horses, which with a capacity for moving three or four hundred tons of freight in twenty-four hours, answered the purpose up to the time of the opening of the canal in 1855. 258 HISTORY OF STKA M NA VWA TlOtf. THE CANADIAN CANALS. Before the construction of canals these great inland waters were of but little value to commerce, the only means of reaching them being by the bark canoe or bateau of the voyageur. The United Empire Loyalists who came to Canada at the close of the American war w T ere conveyed to their settlements on the St. Lawrence and Bay of Quinte in the long sharp- pointed, flat-bottomed boats of the period, called " bateaux," by a very slow, laborious and uncomfort- able process. General Simcoe, the first Lieutenant- Governor of Upper Canada (1791-96), is said to have sailed from Kingston to Detroit in his bark canoe, rowed by twelve chasseurs of his own regiment and followed by another canoe carrying his tents and provisions. Many still living recollect how Sir George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, made his annual canoe journeys from Montreal to the Red River country. Having " sung at St. Ann's their parting hymn," his flotilla of canoes ascended the Ottawa, breasted the rapids, and by river, lake and portage, after many weary days, reached Lake Huron and the Sault Ste. Marie, thence along the north shore of Lake Superior to Fort William and the Grand Portage and by Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods to Fort Garry. " With the self-possession of an emperor he was borne through the wilderness. He is said to have made the canoe journey to the Red River forty times. For his distinguished manage- ment of the Hudson's Bay Company's affairs and STEAM ON THE GREAT LAKES. 259 for his services to the trade of Canada, Governor Simpson was knighted. He died in 1860, a man who would have been of mark anywhere."* As early as A.D. 1700 a boat canal was constructed by the Sulpicians to connect Lachine with Montreal via the Little St. Pierre River. The depth of water was only two and a half feet About the year 1 780 certain short cuttings with locks available for canoes and bateaux were made at a few points on the St. Lawrence where the rapids were wholly impas- sable. About the beginning of the century the Government of Lower Canada, appreciating the advantages of improved navigation, made liberal appropriations to that end, resulting in the comple- tion, in 1804, of a channel three feet in depth along the shore line of the Lachine Rapids connected with short canals at the Cascades, Split Rock, and Coteau du Lac, which were provided with locks eighty-eight feet long and sixteen feet wide small dimensions, perhaps, but at the time regarded as a vast improve- ment, admitting of the passage of " Durham boats," which then took the place of bateaux, with ten times their capacity. Two small locks had also been built at the Long Sault rapids, above Cornwall. But at many points the aid of oxen and horses was required, and for many years, up to the opening of the St. Lawrence canals, indeed, the chief cash revenues of the farmers along the river front were derived from the towage of barges up the swift water, in many cases to the serious neglect of their farms. In the * Bryce's "Short History of the Canadian People," p. 333. 17 260 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. spirit of the religion of the early voyageurs and boat- men, crosses were erected at the head of the rapids, suggesting to those who had successfully surmounted them to rest and be thankful ; hence the name, still applied to the district immediately above the Long Sault rapids, " Santa Cruz." Here, no doubt, stood for many years one of the holy crosses before which, on bended knee, thanks would often be given for a safe ascent of the rapids. The mail service in these days between Montreal and Kingston was in keeping with the times. It was undertaken by a walking contractor, who with the mail on his back took up his line of march from Montreal, gauging his speed to accomplish the walk to Kingston and return in fourteen days.* A good many years later it was a four days' journey from Montreal to New York by the most expeditious route then existing. Thus it was advertised in the Montreal Gazette, November 25th, 1827: D' kAILY STAGES. ALBANY AND MONTREAL LINE. SEASON OF 1826 AND 1827. The only full and perfect line running between Montreal and Albany leaves B. Thatcher's office, No. 87 St. Paul Street, Montreal, every day, passing through Laprairie, Burlington, Middlebury, Poultney and Salem to Albany, through an old-settled, rich and populous country, and mostly on a smooth gravelly turnpike. Through in three days, and fare very reasonable. Extras and expresses at a moment's notice. Young, Swain, Esinhart and others, proprietors. The voyage of the Durham boat was a very tedious one, depending as it did largely on a favouring easterly breeze in traversing the lakes and quieter portions * Hugh McLennan's " Lecture on Canadian Waterways, 1885." STEAM ON THE ORE AT LAKES. 261 of the river, and on the dexterity of the boatmen who wielded the " setting-poles "* in swifter water, as well as their luck in surmounting the rapids, where they were liable to be detained for hours, sometimes for days, contending against the swift currents, subject to the mishaps of grounding or being damaged by big boulders, or, worse still, of being caught by an eddy or an out-current and swept down the rapids, sometimes with the loss of the oxen or horses which had them in tow, and in some instances with the loss of the boat and cargo. Woe to the teamster who was not provided with a knife to cut the rope in such an emergency ! The first Lachine Canal proper, for barges, was commenced July 17th, 1821, and was completed in 1825, at a cost of $438,404. Of this amount $50,000 was contributed by the Imperial Government on con- dition that all military stores should be free from toll. It had 7 locks, each 100 feet long, 20 feet wide, and with 4| feet depth of water on the sills. In 1843-49 it became a " ship canal " with 5 locks, each 200 feet * The setting-pole might be twenty-five feet long, heavily shod with iron at one end and at the other fitted with a rounded knob. This pole was dropped into the water at the bow of the boat, and the boatman having put his shoulder to the other end of it, facing the stern, and pushing with all his might, walked to the farther end, cleats being fastened to the deck to give him foothold. By the time he reached the stern the barge had advanced exactly its own length, when he withdrew the pole, dragged it to the bow and repeated the process. Two or three men on each side of the boat would be similarly employed, and so the barge dragged its slow length along, much after the fashion of the horse-boat, only that the horse tugged at a stationary post while the men pushed from it. 262 HISTORY OF STEA M NA VIGA TION. long, 45 feet wide, and 9 feet depth of water, costing $2,149,128. The recent enlargement, commenced in 1875, cost $6,500,000. By this the locks were increased to 270 feet in length and 14 feet depth of water throughout the canal. THE WELLAND CANAL. The necessity of devising means to overcome the stupendous obstacle to navigation caused by the Falls of Niagara had long been apparent, but it was not until 1824 that work was commenced on the Welland Canal which was to connect Lake Ontario with Lake Erie and the west. This important work was com- pleted in 1829, chiefly through the energy and perseverance of the Hon. William Hamilton Merritt, son of a U. E. Loyalist family, born in New York State in 1793. A man of great enterprise, he had this project on the brain for years, but like Cunard and his steamships, had difficulty in " raising the wind " the people and the Government of Upper Canada being at that time both alike poor. He crossed the Atlantic, and, on the ground of military expediency, was said to have secured a subscription of 1,000 from the Duke of Wellington, which greatly aided him in the formation of a joint stock company who carried the w^ork to its successful completion. The original locks were constructed of wood, 120 feet in length, 20 feet wide, with 7| feet of water on the sills. The entire length of the canal was twenty-six miles. This accommodated vessels carrying 5,000 bushels of STEAM ON THE GREAT LAKES. 263 wheat. Half a million of pounds were spent upon it up to the year 1841, when it was assumed by the United Canadas* and immediate steps taken for its enlargement. With locks 145 x 26 x 9, vessels loaded with 20,000 to 23,000 bushels could pass from lake to lake. A second enlargement (1873-83) increased the depth of water to twelve feet ; and a third, in 1887, gave the canal a uniform depth of fourteen feet, admitting the passage of vessels with a carrying capacity of 75,000 to 80,000 bushels. When this depth shall prevail throughout the entire system of the St. Lawrence canals, vessels of 1,600 to 1,800 tons register will be able to bring full cargoes from the Upper Lakes to Montreal, and to cross the ocean if their owners see fit.^ In the meantime the Montreal * Kingsford's " Canadian Canals " (Toronto, 1865) contains an elaborate history of the Welland and the financial difficulties that attended its construction. The Imperial Government seem to have contributed some 55,555 towards it, while stock was taken in the enterprise by individuals in the United States for 69,625, and by English capitalists, 30,137. The first vessels to pass through the canal are said to have been the schooners Ann and Jane and B. H. Boughton, in November, 1829. On the 5th of July, 1841, during the first session of the United Parliament of Canada, Lord Sydenham announced that Her Majesty had con- firmed the bill for transferring the Welland to the Provincial Government. Mr. McLennan states that the first Canadian vessel to pass through the Welland was the propeller Ireland, Captain Patterson. f The schooner Niagara, built by Muirs, of Port Dalhousie, was sent to Liverpool with 20,000 bushels of wheat about the year 1860. Captain Gaskin, of Kingston, built several sea-going vessels, one of which he took over to Liverpool himself and sold her there. But experience has proved that vessels suited to the navigation of thb lakes will never be able to compete successfully with ocean steamships of 10,000 tons. 264 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. Board of Trade are memorializing the Government to have the Welland enlarged so that the largest vessels navigating the lakes may be able to tranship their cargoes at Kingston or Prescott as they now do at Buffalo ; in other words, to locate the ship canal projected by the Deep Waterways Commission on Canadian territory instead of on the American side of the Niagara River. The Rideau Canal, connecting Kingston with Ottawa, was undertaken as a military work by the v Imperial Government at the instigation and under the personal superintendence of Colonel John By, of the Royal Engineers, from whom the obsolete Bytown derived its name. A stupendous under- taking it was considered at the time 126f miles long, with forty-seven locks, 134 feet by 32 feet each. It was begun in September, 1826, and on the 29th of May, 1832, the works being completed, the steamer Pumper passed through from Bytown to Kingston. The limit of this canal is a draught of five feet. Its cost is said to have been about one million pounds sterling. It was transferred by the Imperial author- ities to the Provincial Executive in 1856. The St. Lawrence Canal System, with a uniform depth of nine feet of water, was completed in 1848. The canals are eight in number, viz.: the 'Lachine Canal, 8J miles; the Beauharnois, 11^ miles; the Cornwall, 11 miles; Farren's Point, f of a mile; Rapid du Plat, 4 miles; Galops, 7| miles; the Welland, 26f miles, and the Sault Ste. Marie, f of a STEAM ON THE GREAT LAKES. 265 mile in all 7l miles, with 53 locks, and 551| feet lockage. In 1871 the Government decided to enlarge the locks of the whole system to 270 feet by 45 feet, and to deepen the canals to fourteen feet. These dimensions were decided upon after consultation with the Boards of Trade of Oswego, Toledo, Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago; but so great has been the increase of commerce on the lakes since then, so much larger are the vessels now employed in the trade, and so keen has the competition become in the trans- portation business, it is already apparent that the limiting of the locks to 270 feet has been a mistake, and that before the work in hand is finished there will be a call for locks of at least double that capacity. Under the new arrangement the Lachine Canal has two distinct systems of locks, giving two entrances at each end. The Cornwall Canal has in the same manner two sets of locks at its lower entrance, and has in other respects been greatly improved. The Beauharnois Canal was not enlarged, but, instead, an entirely new canal on the north shore of the river is being constructed, fourteen miles in length, of the same dimensions as the other en- larged canals, at a cost of $5,000,000. The total cost of the St. Lawrence canals and river improvements west of Montreal has been $29,000,000; of the Welland Canal, $24,000,000; the Sault Ste. Marie, $3,258,025 ; of the Ottawa and Rideau canals, about $10,000,000; and of the whole canal system of the Dominion about $75,000,000. The total revenue 266 HISTOR Y OF STEA M NA VIGA TION. derived from tolls and hydraulic and other rents for the year 1895 was $339,890.49 ; 2,412 vessels passed through the Welland during the season of 1894, carrying 1,008,221 tons of freight. The quantity of freight moved on the St. Lawrence and Ottawa canals was 1,448,788 tons, and on all the canals over 3,000,000 tons, whereof the products of the forest, 1,077,683 tons ; agricultural products, 993,348 tons the remainder being general merchandise and manu- factures.* The deepening of Lake St. Peter and other shallow reaches of the St. Lawrence between Montreal and Quebec has created what may be called a submerged canal, fifty miles long, three hundred feet wide, with a minimum depth of 27 i feet, permitting ocean steamers of the largest class now in the trade to discharge their cargoes in the port of Montreal, which is undergoing enlargement at the present time at a cost of many millions of dollars. During the season of 1897 the number of sea-going vessels that arrived at Montreal was 796, with a total tonnage of 1,379,002; 752 of these were steamers, aggregating 1,368,395 tons. The inland vessels num- bered 6,384, with a tonnage of 1,134,346. The sea- going steamers were eighty-three in excess of the previous year, with a marked increase of tonnage.^ During that summer steamships of 10,000 and even 12,000 tons burthen were to be found loading and discharging cargo alongside the wharves of Montreal. * " Report of Dominion Railways and Canals, 1895," p. 256. t " Montreal Board of Trade Report, 1897," p. 70. STEAM ON THE OREA T LAKES. 267 The total value of merchandise exported from this port during the year 1897 was $55,156,956. The chief articles of export were as follows : Quantity. Value. Produce of the mines $188,127 00 ti ii fisheries - 120,242 00 it n forest . - - 5,731,583 00 Horses (Number) 12,179 1,205,941 00 Horned Cattle - ,, 119,188 7,151,280 00 Sheep .1 66,319 340,060 00 Butter (Pounds) 10,594,824 1,878,515 00 Cheese " 162,322,426 4 806 Oil 14,325,176 00 575 782 00 Eggs Meat of all kinds - - . - (Pounds) 16,377,806 1,345,894 00 Wheat (Bushels) 9,900,308 8,415,261 00 Indian Corn n 9,172 676 3,121,753 00 Other grains (barley, oats, peas, etc.) ,. 10,298,444 3,904,128 00 Flour (Barrels) 891,501 3,120,253 00 Apples n 175,194 350,000 00 Manufactured and miscellaneous articles i 3.954.919 00 CHAPTEE IX. STEAM COMMERCE OF THE GREAT LAKES. United States and Canadian Commerce of the Great Lakes The Sault Ste. Marie Ship Canals The Erie Canal Transportation Business The Elevator Deeper Waterways Commissions The Ottawa and Georgian Bay Canal. DURING the last quarter of a century the com- merce of the Great Lakes the United States commerce especially has grown with a rapidity almost exceeding belief. It has become enormous ! At the present time it is stated on competent authority that the steam tonnage of these inland seas largely exceeds the combined tonnage of this character in all other parts of the United States put together. Not to speak of the vast amount of shipping employed in the iron, the coal, and the lumber trade, the Lake Superior grain and flour shipments for ]896 were 121,750,000 bushels. The Lake Michigan grain and flour shipments for the same year were 273,820,000 bushels, together making 395,570,000 bushels of grain and flour shipped in one year from these two quarters ! It is difficult to realize the magnitude of such a state- ment. Mr. Keep, already quoted, in his report for STEAM COMMERCE OF THE GREAT LAKES. 269 1890 puts it strikingly when he says : " If the freight carried on the Great Lakes in the United States coastwise and foreign trade during the year 1890 were loaded into railway cars of average size and capacity, the cars so loaded would cover 13,466 miles of railroad track." The Commissioners appointed by the Canadian Government to meet with a similar Committee appointed by the United States Govern- ment to consider the subject of international and deeper waterways, preface their report by alluding to the commerce of the Great Lakes in these terms : " It is impossible to convey, within reasonable space, an adequate idea of the extraordinary* development of inland water transportation on the Upper Lakes which for rapidity, extent, economy and efficiency has no counterpart even on the ocean. More than half of the best steamships of the United States are imprisoned above Niagara Falls, and more than half of the tonnage built in the United States in 1896 was launched upon the lakes." This inland water com- merce has built up twelve cities on the southern shores above Niagara, five of which have over 200.000 population, and one of them over a million. Within these limits there are twenty-seven dry docks, the largest of which is on Lake Superior and is 560 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 18 feet depth of water. There are sixty-three life-saving stations upon these lakes } ten of which are Canadian. " Unusual prosperity has stimulated ship-building to such an extent that there are now in course of construction at the various * Vide page 26 of said Report. 270 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. lake shipyards, sixty-five vessels, thirty of which are steel freight steamers which will average 400 feet in length and 4,000 tons capacity costing in all $9,000- 000.* Up to a comparatively recent date the bulk of the lakes commerce was done by sailing vessels. Every town of any importance had its little fleet of schooners. As time went on, the vessels increased in size, and eventually a very fine class of three-masted schooners, with some brigs, barquentines, and even full-rigged barques, were employed in the carrying trade. One of the largest of these w r as the barque Utica, of 550 tons, which sailed on the Buffalo and Chicago route in the forties. A few of these clipper schooners may still be met with, but they are rapidly being sup- planted by iron and steel steamships of great size, such as the Maryland, the Owego, the E. G. Pope, and the Manitou, representatives of fleets of first- class steamships, ranging from 300 to 350 feet in length, over 1,900 tons register, with triple expansion engines, a speed of from fourteen to sixteen miles an hour, and a carrying capacity of 120,000 to 125,000 bushels of grain. These, and many others like them, were accounted " queens " a few years ago ; they are fine ships still, but there are much larger and finer than they now. The Manitou here represented is one of the finest ships of her class on the lakes, built in 1893 by the Chicago Ship-building Company. Her hull is of steel, length over all 295 feet, breadth of beam 42 feet, * "Buffalo Board of Trade Report, 1895," p. 98. STEAM COMMERCE OF THE GEE AT LAKES. 271 and depth of hold 22 feet. Her average draught of water is 15 feet. She has triple expansion engines, a single "four-bladed screw propeller 13 feet in diameter. Her gross tonnage is 2,944 tons. She is handsomely fitted up with sleeping accommodations for four hundred passengers, has a freight capacity of 1,500 tons, and develops a speed of eighteen miles an hour. Her route is between Chicago and Sault Ste. THE " MANITOU," 1898. Marie, where she connects with the Lake Superior lines. She cost $300,000. The James Watt, the first of the Rockefeller fleet and the largest steamship on the lakes, is 420 feet long, 48 feet beam, and 29 feet deep. She cost $260,000, and will carry from 4 r OOO to 6,000 tons of .ore, according as she is trimmed to draw 14 or 18 feet of water. The Empire City, owned by the 272 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIOA TION. Zenith Transportation Company, is of the same dimensions, less one foot in depth. She is now the largest grain carrier on the lakes, having capacity for 213,000 bushels. The Minnesota Iron Company have a fleet of fourteen steamships, each carrying from 100,000 to 180,000 bushels of grain. The Lehigh Valley Transportation Company own a fleet of large and powerful steel freight steamers which ply be- tween Buffalo and Chicago. These are but a few of the many transportation companies that do business on the Great Lakes. As to the vessels at present employed in the trade, it is safe to say that they are to be regarded only as the precursors of a still larger class of freight steamers that will navigate these waters when the contemplated twenty-one foot channel shall have been established from Lake Supe- rior to Buffalo. At present there is a navigable channel of 17| feet all the way. Many of the large steamers take a number of barges in tow, and in this way enormous quantities of grain are sometimes moved by a single shipment. The Appomattox, for example, with three consorts in tow, recently left Duluth with a combined cargo of 482,000 bushels, or 14,460 tons of wheat. Assuming the average yield of that cereal to be twenty bushels to the acre, this single shipment represented the produce of 24,100 acres ! The Northern Steamship Company of Buffalo has perhaps the finest fleet of steamers on the Great Lakes, consisting of eight steamships. Six of these are steel freight and emigrant ships of 2,500 tons each. They SS. " NORTH-WEST," 1894. 274 HISTO RY OF STEA M NA VIOA TION. are named the Northern Light, Northern Wave, Northern King, Northern Queen, the North Star, and the North Wind. The other two, the North-West and the North-Land, are exclusively passenger ships, up-to-date in every respect. They are identical in size, being each 386 feet long, 44 moulded breadth, and 26 feet in depth. Their gross tonnage is 5,000 tons apiece. They have quadruple expansion engines of 7,000 indicated horse-power. The boilers are worked at a pressure of 275 pounds to the square inch, and use up 70 tons of water per hour. The twin screws are 13 feet in diameter and 18 feet pitch, make 120 revolutions per minute, and drive the ships at a speed of from 22 to 25 statute miles an hour, as may be required. The bunkers hold 1,000 tons of coal. A double bottom, 42 inches deep, extends the whole length of the ship, and is utilized for adjust- able water ballast. Luxurious accommodation is provided for five hundred first-class and forty second- class passengers. Nearly twenty-six miles of electric wire are used in conducting the subtle fluid for 1,200 lights. The electric search-light has one hundred thousand candle-power. The refrigerating plant, besides creating ample cold storage, makes one thou- sand pounds of ice per day for the ship's use. The grand saloon is, in American parlance, " a magnificent achievement." The routes of these twin ships is from Buffalo to Duluth, at the head of Lake Superior, a distance of 1,065 miles, each of them making the round trip in a week. The fare for the round trip is $30 for transportation, meals and staterooms being charged extra. STEAM COMMERCE OF THE GREAT LAKES. 275 For many years two causes prevented the building of vessels of such large dimensions as those just described for lake navigation. One of these was the insufficient size of the lock at Sault Ste. Marie, and the other was the shallowness of the water on the St. Clair flats and at other points. The former difficulty disappeared in 1881 when the first of the large locks was opened at the Sault; the second difficulty was over- come by the Northern Steamship Company in the peculiar construction of their vessels with a water ballasting system that permits of sinking the ship to the depth required for navigating the deep waters of the lakes and of floating them over the shoals and o bars that obstruct the navigation. This ingenious device, however, can only be regarded as a temporary expedient, pending the action of the United States Government, which contemplates the making of a twenty-one foot channel at all points where the shal- lows occur. This is a measure felt to be due to the lakes' marine, which has already done so much to develop the resources of the North- West, especially the mineral resources, which would otherwise have lain comparatively dormant. "The United States have expended some $12,000,000 in widening and deepening channels, which has already been more than repaid by the rapid development of commerce. The largest item in the lakes' traffic is the transporta- tion of iron the richest ores are now being mined along a line of coast of one thousand miles, dotted with manufacturing towns."* *" United States Deep Waterways Commission Report, 1896." 18 276 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. It helps one to realize the immensity of the lakes' traffic to learn that the number of vessels that cleared from the district of Chicago in 1893 was 8,789, with a gross tonnage of 5,449,470 tons actually a larger tonnage than cleared from the port of Liverpool in 1892.* The tonnage passing down the Detroit River from lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron, during the seven or eight months of navigation, is, by official statements, greater than the entire foreign and coast- wise trade of London and Liverpool combined in twelve months. It is estimated by competent experts to be three times greater than the foreign trade of the port of New York, and to exceed the aggregate foreign trade of all the seaports of the United States by 10,000,000 tons ! SAULT STE. MARIE SHIP CANALS. To accommodate the vast volume of traffic emanat- ing from Lake Superior ports, magnificent canals have been constructed on either side of the St. Mary River, which connects Lake Superior with Lake Huron. These works, the most remarkable of their kind in existence, have reached their present dimen- sion by a succession of enlargements and a large out- lay of money. The first canal on the western or American side of the river was constructed by a joint stock company formed in 1 853, who undertook to con- struct it for the State of Michigan upon receiving therefor a grant of 750,000 acres of land. The work * "Chicago Board of Trade Report, 1895," STEAM COMMERCE OF THE ORE AT LAKES. 277 was completed in 1855, and from that date the com- merce of Lake Superior may be said to have had any appreciable existence. The opening of the canal was, as it were, the opening of a sluice-gate through which a flood of commerce was soon to roll. The first canal cost about $1,000,000. It was a little over a mile in length. Its width at the water line was 100 feet, and its depth 12 feet. There were two locks, each 350 feet long and 70 feet wide. The growth of traffic and the increase in the size of the lake vessels soon rendered it apparent that the canal must be enlarged. In 1870 the United States Government made its first appropriation for deepen- ing the canal to 16 feet and increasing its lockage. A new lock was built, 550 feet in length by 80 feet in width, and 18 feet lift, at a cost of $2,404,124.33. The work was completed in 1881. Its opening was followed by an enormous increase of commerce so much so that it soon became quite inadequate to the traffic. A still further enlargement was decided upon, and was completed in 1896, at a cost of about $5,000,000. The new lock occupies the site of the two old locks of 1855, and is 800 feet long, 100 feet wide, and has 21 feet depth of water on the sill. It is officially known as the St. Mary's Falls Canal. So long ago as the close of last century the North- West Fur Company had constructed a rude canal on the Canadian side, with locks, adapted for the passage of loaded canoes without breaking bulk. Though late of construction, a ship canal had long been in 278 HISTORY OF STEA M NA VIOA TION. contemplation by the Canadian Government, and the time came when, owing to the increase of traffic, it could no longer be delayed. This great work was completed and opened for traffic on September 9th, 1895, at a cost of some $3,500,000. The Canadian lock is 900 feet long, 60 feet wide, 20 feet 3 inches depth of water on the sill, and 18 feet lift, affording room for three large vessels at one time. The length of the canal proper, between the extreme ends of the entrance piers, is only 5,967 feet, but including the excavated channels of approach it is about 18,100 feet. The American canal is a little over a mile in length. The locks of both are unsurpassed for their size and solidity, as well as for the completeness of their mechanical apliances. An official report, compiled by the Chief Engineer of the St. Mary's Falls Canal (United States), contains a detailed statement of the commerce of that canal for each year, from 1855 to 1895, and goes far to substantiate what has already been said as to the magnitude of the lakes' commerce. The number of vessels that passed through in 1895 was 17,956, with a registered tonnage of 16,806,781 tons. The number of sailing vessels was 4,790 ; of steamers, 12,495 ; and of unregistered craft, 671. The number of passen- gers conveyed from lake to lake was 31,656. As to the cargoes of the vessels, these are a few of the chief items: 2,574,362 net tons of coal; 8,902,302 barrels of flour; 46,218,250 bushels of wheat; 8,328,694 bushels of other grain ; 107,452 tons of copper; 8,062,209 tons of iron ore; 740,700,000 feet STEAM COMMERCE OF THE GREAT LAKES. 279 of sawed lumber ; 100,337 tons of manufactured and pig iron ; 269,919 barrels of salt in all, 15,062,580 net tons of freight. The freight traffic of the St. Mary's Canal, in seven months of 1895, was more than twice that of the Suez Canal, which is open all the year. During the year 1897 it was much greater than in any previous year, the registered tonnage being 17,619,933, the tons of freight 18,- 218,411, and the number of passengers 40,213. The gradual development of steam navigation on Lake Superior is shown in a table of parallel columns, extending over thirty years. In 1864 the sailing vessels that used the canal were three times as numerous as the steamers; but in 1895 the steamers were three times as numerous as the sailing vessels, and they had increased enormously in ton- nage. The number of sailing vessels built on the Great Lakes in 1896 was nineteen ; in that year there were built seventy-Jive steamers, aggregating 75,743 tons register, and of these thirty-five were built of steel, with a combined tonnage of 63,589 tons. The principal ship-building yards on the Upper Lakes are at Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Bay City, Milwaukee, Chicago and Superior. At most of these points there are plants for the construction of iron and steel vessels. It is said that Cleveland is the largest ship-building port, and also the largest iron ore market in the United States. The transportation of iron ore, it will be noticed, forms a large element in the commerce of Lake 280 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. Superior. Not only is the ore found in great abundance in that region, but it is the best in quality and the most in demand of any in the United States. Over 100,000,000 tons of this ore have been mined in the lake region within the last forty years. Owing to its great bulk and weight it is nearly all carried by water; the estimated capital engaged in mining and transporting the ore to the 120 furnaces in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Buffalo and Chicago is about $234,000,000.* But for the number and the size of the steamers thus employed, and the facilities now in use for loading and unloading them, the trade could not exist. The largest vessels in the iron ore trade are regularly loaded in three or four hours ; 2,500 tons of ore have been loaded into a vessel of that capacity in an hour and three-quarters. -J- THE ERIE CANAL. This great artificial waterway, lying wholly in the State of New York, and under State management, connects Buffalo with the Hudson River at Albany. Although of comparatively limited capacity, it is to-day the most formidable rival the St. Lawrence route has to compete with in the transportation of freight from the west to the seaboard. The Erie was first opened for traffic in the same year as the first Lachine Canal (1825). It was originally 363 *" United States Deep Waterways Commission Report, 1896." t" United States International Commerce Report, 1892," p. 52. STEAM COMMERCE OF THE GREAT LAKES. 281 miles long, with eighty-three locks, each 90 feet by 15 feet, and 4 feet depth of water. The first enlargement of this canal was commenced in 1836 and completed in 1862, at a cost of $44,465,414, making the entire cost up to the last-named date over $50,000,000. It is now 35 If miles in length, 70 feet wide on the surface and 56 feet wide at the bottom having 72 locks, each 110 feet by 18 feet, and 7 feet deep. The limit of the canal for navigation, however, is only 6 feet of water, restricting its use to vessels of 240 tons capacity, say, 8,000 bushels of wheat. Navigation has hitherto been carried on by horse traction the boats running in pairs and by small steam tugs towing three or four boats, after them. The tug often pushes one boat ahead and tows the others behind. In this latter way a load of 900 tons will be moved at an average pace of about 2| miles per hour while in motion. Including lockages, the distance from Buffalo to New York may be covered in nine or ten days. The boats are about 98 feet long and 17 feet 5 inches wide. They make on the average about seven round trips in the season. The average price received for the transportation of wheat in this manner from Buffalo to New York is about 3 cents per bushel, which allows a fair margin of profit to the boatman. Experiments have been made for the application of electricity to the traction of the boats, with promise of further development. In the meantime consider- able importance is attached to the installation of 282 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. electric telephone communication from one end of the line to the other, whereby instant communication can be had with the section superintendents, the lock tenders and other officials. The system is devised solely for the use of the canal officials, and will be invaluable in sudden emergencies caused by accidents to the boats, leaks, breaks, or other disasters that may occur and interfere with the navigation of the canal. For some time past western shippers have been testing the feasibility of establishing a through line of transportation from the Great Lakes to New York by way of the Erie Canal without the delay and expense of transhipment at Buffalo. In 1895 this idea was worked out by the construction of a fleet of steel canal boats, consisting of one steamer and five consorts, by the Cleveland Steel Canal Boat Company of Ohio. Several fleets of this kind have since been put in operation, and the projectors believe that they have demonstrated the practicability of thus carrying freight to the seaboard from any of the western lakes at a fair margin of profit and in successful competition with the railways. These steel barges have encountered severe storms on the lakes without any serious damage to the boats or their cargoes. The cost of the tug boat is about Si 5,000, and of each consort about $6,000. The time occupied by the steel fleet from Cleveland to New York has been from ten to twelve days. The second enlargement of the Erie Canal, now in progress and nearing completion, will afford greatly STEAM COMMERCE OF THE GREAT LAKES. 283 increased facilities for transportation, by increasing the depth from 7 to 9 feet and doubling and length- ening all the locks. There will be no increase in the width of the locks nor in the length of the boats navigating the canal, but two boats (which form a horse-tow) will be locked through at once, and by the locks being doubled, side by side, no boats will have to wait for others coining in an opposite direction. The cargo will be increased by the greater depth of water in boats of the same size, more deeply loaded, and the traction will be so improved that boats will run easier and faster. The amount of freight carried on the Erie Canal east and west in the year 1896 was 2,742,438 tons.* The amount transported on the Welland Canal for that year was 1,279,987 tons. CANADIAN COMMERCE ON THE GREAT LAKES. Notwithstanding the large amount of money ex- pended by the Canadian Government upon its unriv- alled St. Lawrence canals and the deepening of its waterways, the volume of western traffic that comes this way is as yet disappointingly small. The great bulk of the trade in western produce, Canadian and American, finds its way to the seaboard in American vessels by way of Buffalo, Oswego and Ogdensburg to New York and Boston. What effect the deepening of * For these notes on the Erie Canal the author is chiefly indebted to Kingsford's "Canadian Canals," Mr. Thomas C. Keefer, C.E., Ottawa, and the Superintendent's ' ' Report on Canals in the State of New York, 1896." 284 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. the canals to fourteen feet will have on this deviation from the " natural outlet " remains to be seen. From a statement kindly furnished by Mr. T. F. Taylor, Marine Inspector at Kingston, it appears that the number of companies in Canada having steamers and other craft engaged in the commerce of the Great Lakes is twenty -four. Three of these go no farther than the head of Lake Ontario, three extend their operations to Lake Erie, five to Lake Huron, and thirteen to Lake Superior. Five steamers are em- ployed on Lake Erie, thirteen on Lake Huron, twenty- six navigate the waters of Lake Superior. About one- half of these steamers are first-class steel freight and passenger vessels of from 1,200 to 2,600 tons each. A few of them pass through the Welland Canal and have their cargoes transhipped into barges at King- ston or Prescott. Others connect with lines of railway at Sault Ste. Marie, Owen Sound, Collingwood, Windsor and Sarnia. Occasionally one or two of the smaller ones run through to Montreal. Besides the steamers, there are employed in the lakes' grain trade twenty-one lake barges, each of 50,000 bushels capac- ity, and fourteen tug steamers. There is also a fleet of about sixty-two sailing vessels trading between the Upper Lakes and Kingston, and some sixty or seventy barges employed in transporting grain from that port to Montreal. On the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway the company formed a line of freight and passenger steamers of their own, consisting of the Algoma, the Alberta &nd the Athabasca. The Algoma had sailed 286 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. the lakes previous to this under different names. The other two are fine steel ships, built by Aitken & Co. of Glasgow, in 1883. They are each 270 feet long and 2,300 tons burthen, fitted with all modern improve- ments in their machinery and with excellent accom- modation for a large number of passengers. They commenced their work in 1884 and have been very successful and popular. The Algoma was unfortu- nately wrecked off Isle Royale in Lake Superior in November, 1885, during a fearful snow-storm that swept over the lake, when many lives were lost. She was replaced by the Manitoba, a very fine vessel built of steel at Owen Sound by the Poison Ship-build- ing Company. The Manitoba is the largest Canadian steamer on the lakes, being 300 feet long and 2,600 tons burthen. By means of these steamers a regular and most satisfactory summer service is maintained once a week from Windsor and Sarnia, and twice a week from Owen Sound and Sault Ste. Marie to Fort William. Their capacity for the transportation of grain is about 400,000 bushels a month. The Montreal Transportation Company, founded in 1868, is the oldest of the existing forwarding com- panies, and does the largest amount of business. Their fleet consists at present of three steamers, six tug- boats, six lake barges and thirty-two river barges. Two of the steamers, the Bannockburn and the Rosemount, are first-class steel ships, built at New- castle-on-Tyne, about 250 feet in length, 40 feet beam, with a carrying capacity of 75,000 bushels of wheat. The lake barges play an important part as " consorts " STEAM COMMERCE OF THE GREAT LAKES. 287 to the steamers. They resemble in appearance so many large dismasted schooners, and serve their pur- pose economically and well so long as they keep in tow, but when they break loose, as they occasionally do when overtaken by a gale of wind, they become unmanageable and are apt to come to grief. This company with its present equipment handles about 250,000 bushels of grain per month. The North- West Transportation Company, dating from 1871, and otherwise known as the " Beatty Line," has two fine passenger and freight steamers, the Monarch and the United Empire, of 1,600 tons and 1,400 tons respectively, forming a weekly line from Windsor and Sarnia to Fort William and Duluth, in connection with the Grand Trunk Railway ; they forward about 200,000 bushels of grain per month. The Hagarty and Crangle Line, running between ports at the head of lakes Superior and Michigan to ports on the River St. Lawrence, has two large steel steamers, the Algonquin and the Rosedale, on the Upper Lakes, and the steamer Persia which plies between the head of Lake Ontario and Montreal. Hamilton has three " Merchants Lines " in the Upper Lakes' shipping business Mackay's, Fairgreaves', and Thomas Myles & Sons, owning in addition to other lake craft such fine steel and composite steamers as the Sir L. Tilley, Lake Michigan, Arabian and the Myles. The Calvin Company's Line, of Garden Island, Kingston, has four steamers, four lake barges, and four tug steamers running between Lake Superior 288 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. ports, Kingston and Montreal. The Collins Bay Rafting Company has on the same route three steamers, three lake barges, and two tug steamers. The Jacques & Co.'s Line has two steamers running from the head of Lake Erie and one from the head of Lake Ontario to Montreal. The Great Northern Transit Company, with head- quarters at Collingwood, has four freight and passen- ger steamers the Majestic, Pacific, Atlantic, and Northern Belle keeping up a well-appointed service twice a week from Collingwood to Sault Ste. Marie, and having connection with the Northern Railway to Toronto. The Majestic, built at Collingwood, is a steel screw steamer, 230 feet long, 36 feet wide, 1,600 tons register, and cost $125,000. She has compound condensing engines of 1,200 horse -power, and is fitted up internally with great elegance. The North Shore Navigation Company has five excellent steam- ers plying on the Georgian Bay and northern shores of Lake Huron from Collingwood and Owen Sound to Sault Ste. Marie and Mackinac Island, where con- nections are made with American lines of steamers to Chicago and other ports on Lake Michigan. The steamers are the City of Collingwood, 1,400 tons; City of Midland, 1,300 tons ; City of Toronto, 800 tons; City of Parry Sound and City of London, each 600 tons. Reference will be made hereafter to steamers ply- ing on Lake Ontario and the River St. Lawrence. STEAM COMMERCE OF THE GREAT LAKES. 289 THE TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS. In the matter of transportation it may be in- teresting to learn how a consignment of wheat is "handled" from the time it leaves the field in Manitoba, where it is grown, until it reaches its destination in Liverpool or London. When there 0. P. R. GRAIN ELEVATOR AT FORT WILLIAM, ONT. were only a few hundred thousand bushels to be sent to the seaboard, the means of transport were very simple and primitive. It was carried on men's backs from one conveyance to another, and floated down rivers or shallow canals in small boats or on rafts of timber. But when the thousands became millions the problem of cheap transportation became a serious 290 HISTORY OF STEAM NA VIGA TION. one. American ingenuity rose to the occasion and invented the most marvellous of labour-saving ap- pliances THE GRAIN ELEVATOR. The farmer sells his crop of wheat to the grain- dealer, and carts it, say, to Brandon, where the pur- chaser takes delivery of it at his elevator; Let us examine this thing somewhat minutely, taking by way of illustration one of the elevators belonging to the Canadian Pacific Railway Company at Montreal. It is a medium-sized one, having capacity for storing about 600,000 bushels of grain. The same company's elevators at Fort William and Port Arthur are much larger, having capacity for 1,500,000 bushels. In Chicago and Buffalo there are elevators of three millions of bushels capacity ; but, whether larger or smaller, in their main features they are all alike. The elevator is a wooden structure of great strength. Its massive stone foundations rest on piles imbedded in concrete. The framework is so thor- oughly braced and bolted together as to give it the rigidity of a solid cube, enabling it to resist the enor- mous pressure to which it is subjected when filled with 18,000 tons of wheat. The building is 210 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 142 feet in height from base- ment to the peak of the roof. Including the steam- engine (built at the C. P. R. works) of 240 horse- power, the entire cost of this elevator was $150,000. It consists of three distinct compartments for re- ceiving, storing, and delivering grain. On the ground floor are two lines of rails by which the cars have 291 ingress and egress. The general appearance of this flat is that of a bewildering array of ponderous posts and beams, shafting, cog-wheels, pulleys and belts, blocks and tackle, chutes, and the windlasses for hauling in and out the cars, for a locomotive with its dangerous sparks may not cross the threshold. Beneath this, in the basement, are the receiving tanks, thirty-five feet apart from centre to centre, corresponding to the length of the cars. Of these there are nine, enabling that number of cars to be simultaneously unloaded- This is quickly done by a shovel worked by machin- ery, with the aid of two men, the grain falling through an iron grating in the floor into the tank. The elevator has nine " legs." The leg is an upright box, 12 inches by 24 inches, extending from the bottom of the tank to the top of the building ; inside of it is a revolving belt with buckets attached 15 \ inches apart. The belt is 256 feet long, and as it makes 36 revolu- tions per minute, each bucket containing one-third of a bushel, each leg is able to raise 5,250 bushels per hour.* A car is unloaded and its contents hoisted * The latest improvement in this direction is what is called the "Grain Sucker," by which the process of loading and unloading cargoes of grain is accomplished with astonishing speed. The new appliance combines in its construction the main features of the ordinary elevator, and causes the grain to go through all the different movements above described, with this difference, that instead of the leg with the belt and bucket, the grain is elevated to the top of the structure on the principle of suction through a flexible pipe. The air being drawn off by pumps from the vacuum chamber, the grain is sucked up like water from a well. Machines of this kind, fitted with any number of these pipes that may be required, are used at the London docks, and are said to be capable of transferring wheat at the rate of a hundred and fifty tons an hour Vide Strand Magazine for May, 1898. 19 292 . HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION. into the upper regions in fifteen minutes. When all the legs are at work 30,000 bushels are handled in an hour. The four-story house on top of the granary contains a number of different mechanisms. In the uppermost flat the leg's revolving belt turns round a pulley and discharges the grain into a receiving hopper on the next floor. From this it is withdrawn to the weighing hopper, nicely balanced on a Fairbanks beam-scale, having a capacity for 30,000 pounds or 500 bushels of wheat, which is weighed with as much exactitude as is a pound of tea by the grocer. At either end of this room there is a separating machine in which the grain can be thoroughly cleansed by the removal of smut and dust. Underneath is the distributing room, with jointed pipes leading to the storage bins, of which there are one hundred, each 50 feet deep and 12 feet square, calculated to hold 6,000 bushels each. The process of withdrawing the grain from the bins, strange to say, is a repetition of that just described. It must go down into the cellar, and up again to the attic, and pass through the weighing machine and thence to the car, the barge, or the ship. A car of 600 bushels can be loaded in three minutes. The most singular part of the whole apparatus is the " carrier " by which the grain is conveyed from the ^elevator to the vessel lying at the wharf, 2 GO feet off. The carrier is an endless four-ply rubber belt, 515 feet long and 36 inches wide, upon which the grain is dropped and carried to its destination. The difficulty of comprehending why the grain is not shaken off STEAM COMMERCE OF THE GREAT LAKES. 293 that flat, rapidly revolving belt is not lessened by the explanation given, that it is held in place by the con- centrative attraction of the particles in motion. But from whatever cause, the grain clings to the belt, and may be carried in this way any distance, and in all manner of directions, turning sharp corners and even going over the roofs of houses if they stand in the way. The elevator in question delivers by "carrier" from 8,000 to 10,000 bushels an hour. There are over 50 such elevators in New York, only of much larger capacity ; Buffalo has 52, with a storage capacity of over 15,000,000 bushels; Chicago. 21; Duluth and Superior, 9 each. There are elevators in Buffalo that2. West Indies and Pacific Steam- ship Lines, 156. Whale captured, 312. White Star Steamship Line, 116. William Fawcett, SS., 146. William IV., S., 324. Williams, Captain, 122. Wilson Connoly Company, 313. Wilson Steamship Line, 128. Winter Ferry, P. E. I., 349. Woodcroft, Engineer, 67. Woodruff, Captain, 74. World's Steamers, 357. Wylie, Captain, 212. Young, Captain, 128. Services Conducted b Dr. Bruce Taylor And Others by A Rev. LATE MR. JAMES CROIL. Mar. of the most prominent Presby- terian; of .Montreal, besides well- j known members of other churches in (the city gathered at St. Paul's Presby- terian Church, Dorchester street, this ] afternoon, to pay their last tribute to 'the latf Mr. .lames ('roil who died yes- terday ;U his residence, 1BO Crescent street, in. his 96th year after a brief illness. The funeral cortege left the house shortly after two o'clock and was met at. the church by Rev. Dr. H- Bruce Taylor. M.A., pastor of St. Paul's church, of which the late Mr. Croil Taylor in Hie service wa,s tli Robert Campbell ami I ho Rev. 1' pal Kraser. During the course of ; short address l>r. Taylor gave a. brie 1 1 of the life and work, of Mr Croil, and spoke of the magnificat work and valuable services which TL< i had rendered to the church. His low j would be keenly felt by the ch.urcl 'and the community tlirousrhout whirl his influence had been most marked. His Long Career. The funeral oC the late Mr. Jame Croil, who died yesterday after a shor illness in his 96th year, at. his residence 150 Orescent street, Avill be held thi afternoon at. 2.3.0', at St. Paul's Presby terian Church. Born in Glas^-jw in 1821, Hn late Mr. Croil was 1 t,he thin son of a West Indian merchant, he wa educated at Gibson's School, G-ovai the N T ew Academy, Edinburgh; th Crrungie, Sunderland, and afterwards a Glasgow University. Far two years h was a/pprenticed to a farmer, and a 20 years of age .he sailed for New Tori- hut returned 'o Scotland two later. -Tn the following year he one more crossed tlie Atlantic, and afte 'three years' residence in Staccy Isl and he came to Canada iu 181. settled at William sbursr. Out. Thre years 'later he married Miss CV:, Elizabeth Studley, of Halifax, N. - in the same year was orda.inen of the Preshyterian Church at. bruck. In ISfifl he moved to Montreal ah allied himself with St. Paul's F terian Church, and two years later wa inducted a.s a.n elder of 1hc clnirc' whicli position he held for I" In 1871! he was appointed editor . Pres'byterian, and when that j> was changed to The Presbyferiai ccrd three years later and ma