Princess Louise (sidewheeler) — BrandWiki

Princess Louise (sidewheeler)

Overview

Princess Louise

owner	Hudson's Bay Company; Canadian Pacific Railway, others.
route	San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound, coastal British Columbia and southeast Alaska
in service	1869
out of service	1919 (unpowered after 1906)
identification	Canadian #72682: US #19297
fate	Sank at Port Alice, British Columbia

Princess Louise was a sidewheel steamboat built in 1869. From 1869 to 1879 this ship was named Olympia. In 1879 the name was changed to Princess Louise, after Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, a daughter of Queen Victoria who was married to Marquess of Lorne (1845–1914), Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. Princess Louise was the last sidewheeler to be operated commercially on the coast of British Columbia.

Design and construction

Olympia was built in 1869 in New York City by John English and Sons to the order of George S. Wright, a pioneer steamboat man on Puget Sound. The ship was 180 ft long, with a beam of 30 ft and depth of hold of 12.5 ft. The hull was built of seasoned white oak. [1][2] Power was supplied by single-cylinder walking beam type steam engine, manufactured by John Roach & Sons. The cylinder was 46 in in diameter and had a stroke of 11 feet (132 inches). The engine generated 350 horsepower.[3] Overall size of the vessel was 971 gross tons, and, as of 1874, 493 registered tons.

1871 steamboat race

To meet the challenge of the Starrs, the Wright and Finch partnership brought out Eliza Anderson as their primary vessel and undercut the Starrs on passenger fares and freight rates. Isabel proved to be a speedier vessel than Anderson and so Wright and Finch substituted Olympia in the competition against the Starrs. The Starrs however responded by commissioning Joseph Gates, a well-regarded engineer on Columbia river steamboats, to design and build a steamer which would run faster and cheaper than Olympia. This vessel, which was named the North Pacific, was constructed at the Gates and Colyer shipyard in San Francisco, and launched on May 18, 1871. Capt. Dan Morrison brought North Pacific into the Strait of Juan de Fuca on June 23, 1871. For a few days after that, North Pacific was engage in trial trips. Meanwhile, Finch, in command of Olympia was preparing for a race to show the public which steamboat was superior. Finch went so far as to have the coal lumps on Olympia sorted into uniform sizes.[6]

On June 27, 1871, Olympia and North Pacific were both at Victoria, with Olympia scheduled to depart for Port Townsend in the morning, with North Pacific making the same run in the afternoon. Intending to challenge North Pacific that day, Finch delayed departure of Olympia but kept steam up in the boiler. Word spread around Victoria, which tended to favor Olympia, that a race was impending, and bets were made favoring Olympia at 10 to 1 over North Pacific. The Starrs meanwhile tried to lower expectations by telling people that their ship was not yet ready for racing.[6]

When North Pacific cast off lines, Olympia did likewise, and followed North Pacific out of Victoria harbor. As North Pacific made a south-easterly course for Point Wilson, 36 mi of open water away from Victoria, Olympia's firemen poured on the coals, causing clouds of black smoke to spew out of the ship's smokestack. Olympia, the heavier, oak-built vessel, was favored over the long open stretch, whereas North Pacific was thought to be able to better in the narrower waters near Point Wilson.[6]

The resulting race between the two vessels, each of which was almost new, and represented the highest point of technical achievement for the time, was long remembered by the people on board the ships and alongside the wharves of Victoria and Port Townsend. Over most of the run, the two steamers ran almost side by side at maximum speed. But as the neared Point Wilson, North Pacific drew ahead, reaching Port Townsend in 2 hours and 41 minutes, 13 minutes and four miles (6 km) ahead of Olympia.[6]

Finch and Wright soon composed their differences with the Starrs, who bought the Finch and Wright dock and warehouse in Olympia. In addition, in a typical anti-competitive agreement of the time, paid Finch and Wright a subsidy to keep Olympia off the Victoria route.[6] Finch and Wright then withdrew Olympia to California.[7]

Olympia was based in California for the next seven years and managed to collect another subsidy from a California rival in return for staying out of competition. During this time Olympia made a voyage to Hawaii.

Transfer of ownership

In 1883, the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company was incorporated. Although the stated capital was $500,000, divided into 5,000 shares valued at $100 each, the actual paid-up capital was only $336,000, divided in 3,360 shares at $100 per share. Most of the shares were controlled indirectly by John Irving, but the Hudson's Bay Company was also allocated a total 1,150 shares. This was in return for transferring ownership of three HBC steamships, including the Princess Louise to the new company, with 750 shares specifically allocated to the Princess Louise.[13]

Princess Louise began its first trip for the new company on March 13, 1883, steaming under Capt. William McCulloch, from Victoria, to Alert Bay, Prince Rupert, Metlakatla, Port Simpson, the Skeena River, Wrangell, Alaska and way ports along the route.[13] On May 4, 1883, the new company announced that Princess Louise would be put on a regular route from Victoria to Burrard Inlet and Port Moody, British Columbia.[14]

Also in 1883, Princess Louise was refitted with new boilers, manufactured by Albion Iron Works of Victoria. Other overhaul work was completed and the ship was returned to service before the beginning of 1884.[15] In October 1887, the mayor of Vancouver, which then was the second largest city in British Columbia next to Victoria, tried to discourage visitors to Vancouver Island by denouncing Princess Louise as unseaworth. John Irving felt this went too far, and he threatened to sue the mayor for libel. He also banned the mayor from travel on any of the company's ships.[16]

From 1886 to 1890, Princess Louise was operated on northern routes, serving among other communities the many cannery ports in coastal British Columbia.[15] In 1898, Princess Louise was used like many other ships on the west coast to carry gold seekers to the Klondike goldfields.[17]

On August 16, 1890, Princess Louise developed a serious leak which forced the ship to return to Victoria. Princess Louise was replaced on the route by Islander.[18]

In 1895 Princess Louise was estimated to be worth $35,000.[19]

In September 1898, Princess Louise returned to Victoria carrying 8,100 cases of canned salmon from Alert Bay, but on this trip there had been a fatal accident. Three of the crew had fallen overboard when they were leaning on a railing posing for a photograph. They were washed beneath the sidewheel and never seen again.[20]/