Steamboats of the Stikine River

[[Image:Sternwheeler Gertrude at Telegraph Creek.gif|right|thumb|Moore's ''Gertrude'' at Telegraph Creek 1882]]
[[image:Beaver (sternwheeler).jpeg|right|thumb|''Beaver'' on the Willamette River, Oregon]]
'''Steamboats operated on the Stikine River''' in response to gold finds in northwestern [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]].
== Early activity==
The [[Stikine River]] in northern British Columbia and Alaska has had three distinct periods of riverboat activity. The first was during the [[Stikine Gold Rush]] of 1862, the second during the [[Cassiar Gold Rush]] of the 1870s, and the third was in relation to the [[Klondike Gold Rush|Klondike]] and [[Atlin Gold Rush]]es from 1898 onwards.

Captain [[William Moore]] and [[William Irving]] vyed for river traffic and fees during the first gold rush. Both were indomitable pioneers chasing goldrushes up the Continent from Oregon to Washington, Idaho and British Columbia. Moore brought his steamer the Flying Dutchman up the river in 1862 as an exploratory side trip to the [[Cariboo Gold Rush]]. The [[Collins Overland Telegraph]] Company steamer Mumford ventured up the river in 1866. Another Rush in 1874 to [[Dease Lake]] brought the Gem, Western Slope and the Gertrude.

==Gold rush of 1898==
With the discovery of gold at [[Dawson City]], Yukon on Rabbit Creek in 1897, pandemonium erupted on the Pacific Coast, as unemployed, young, adventurous headed north to seek their fortune. Travelling by boat from Seattle and the 49th Parallel, Sourdoughs embarked for the Lynn Canal and the [[Chilkoot Pass]]. Strangely, materials heading north had to be transhipped first into American territory, unloaded on a beach, hauled overland back into Canadian territory, and then by small boat down the Yukon River to Dawson. Canadian Merchants sought an "All Canadian" route whereby goods could travel by river steamer from Vancouver or Victoria, in BOND, pass US territory at Wrangell, and churn up the Stikine river 130 miles to the head of navigation at Glenora, near [[Telegraph Creek]]. Some two dozen boats were built or spent a summer or two on the river.

However, the feasibility of the route proved less than advantageous than the Lynn Canal route at Skagway.The packers would have to move supplies 150 miles north along the Collins Overland Telegraph line to [[Teslin Lake]], and thence down the Yukon to their destination. The completion of the [[White Pass and Yukon Railway]] finished dreams of the Teslin route and the steamers moved off the Stikine to other routes. The [[SS Moyie]] was built in Toronto in sections to run on the Stikine route. As the project never materialized, the Moyie never saw the Stikine but saw service elsewhere for nearly 60 years.

The Hudsons Bay company maintained a trading post and it needed access. The HBC ran the steamer Port Simpson on the Stikine until 1916.

==Boats==
The following steamboats and related vessels operated on the Stikine River. Codes for this table are: A = abandoned; B = burned; C = converted; D = dismantled; R = Renamed; S = Sank; T = Transferred; W = Wrecked; X = Explosion of boiler.
{| class="wikitable collapsible sortable"
|+Steamboats of the Stikine River

|-valign=bottom style="font-size:8pt"
! Name
! Owner
! Year Built
! Where Built
! Length
! Gross
tons
! End
service
! Fate

<!--ALASKAN-->
|- align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Alaskan (sternwheeler 1886)|''Alaskan'']]
| Moore/Meyers
| 1886
| [[Seattle]]
|{{convert|84.5|ft|m|1}}
| 155
|
| T<ref>Working out of [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]] as of 1904.</ref>

<!--BEAVER-->
|- align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Beaver (sternwheeler 1873)|''Beaver'']]
|
| 1873
| [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]]
|{{convert|125|ft|m|1}}
|292
| 1878
| W<ref>Wrecked lower Stikine, machinery salvaged.</ref>

<!--CALEDONIA 1891-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Caledonia (sternwheeler 1891)|''Caledonia'' (1891)]]
| [[Hudsons Bay Company|HBC]]
| 1891
| [[New Westminster, British Columbia|New Westminster]]
|{{convert|100|ft|m|1}}
| 237
| 1898
| D<ref>Rebuilt ca. 1895, lengthened to {{convert|132|ft|m|1}}. Engines to [[Caledonia (sternwheeler 1898)|''Caledonia'' (1898)]].</ref>

<!--CALEDONIA 1898-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Caledonia (sternwheeler 1891)|''Caledonia'']]
| [[Hudsons Bay Company|HBC]]
| 1898
| [[Vancouver, British Columbia|Vancouver]]
|{{convert|142.4|ft|m|1}}
| 569
| 1898
| T<ref>To [[Skeena River]] after six trips on [[Stikine River|Stikine]], wrecked on Skeena in 1908, machinery to ''[[Omineca]]''.</ref>

<!--CANADIAN-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Canadian (sternwheeler 1898)|''Canadian'']]
| [[Canadian Development Company|CDC]]
| 1898
| [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]]
| {{convert|125|ft|m|1}}
| 716
|
| T<ref>To Yukon River, later abandoned at [[Whitehorse, Yukon|Whitehorse]]</ref>

<!--CASCA-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|''Casca''
| [[Casca Trading and Transportation Company|CTTC]]
| 1898
| [[Esquimalt, British Columbia|Esquimalt]]
| {{convert|140|ft|m|1}}
| 590
| 1901
| T<ref>To Yukon River, wrecked there in 1936, engines and fittings salvaged.</ref>

<!--CASSIAR-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Cassiar (sternwheeler)|''Cassiar'']]
| W.J. Stephens
| 1879
| Seattle
| {{convert|129.3|ft|m|1}}
| 289
| 1881
| T<ref>Made one trip on Stikine, then transferred to [[Fraser River]], wrecked there 1882, salvaged, rebuilt, later to Yukon.</ref>

<!--COLUMBIAN-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Columbia (sternwheeler 1898)|''Columbian'']]
| CDC
| 1898
| [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]]
| {{convert|129.3|ft|m|1}}
| 716
| 1898
| T<ref>Made [[Wrangell, Alaska|Wrangell]], then to [[Yukon River|Yukon]], destroyed by fire 1906.</ref>

<!--COURSER-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Courser (sternwheeler)|''Courser'']]
| A. Peers
| 1892
| New Westminster
| {{convert|125|ft|m|1}}
| 161
| 1898
| T<ref>Worked 1898 season only on Stikine, then to Fraser river, wrecked there 1905.</ref>

<!--DISTRIBUTOR-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Distributor (sternwheeler)|''Distributor'']]
| [[Grand Trunk Pacific Railway|GTPR]]
| 1908
| Victoria
| {{convert|136.6|ft|m|1}}
| 607
| 1908
| T<ref>Made several trips up Stikine, then to Skeena River, scrapped 1911.</ref>

<!--DUCHESNAY-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Duchesnay (sternwheeler)|''Duchesnay'']]
| [[Canadian Pacific Railway|CPR]]
| 1898
| Vancouver, BC
| {{convert|120|ft|m|1}}
| 277
| 1898
| T<ref>Later destroyed by fire at [[Robson West, British Columbia|Robson West, BC]], June 1900</ref>

<!--GYPSY QUEEN -->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Gypsy Queen (sternwheeler 1897)|''Gypsy Queen'']]<ref>Built for service on the Stikine River.</ref>
|
| 1897
| [[Cottonwood Island, Alaska|Cottonwood Is., AK]]
| {{convert|61.8|ft|m|1}}
| 107
|
|

<!--GLENORA-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Glenora (sternwheeler)|''Glenora'']]
|
| 1898
| [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]]
| {{convert|126.2|ft|m|1}}
| 542
| 1898
| T<ref>Intended for Stikine service, but sent to Yukon instead; burned at [[Dawson City, Yukon|Dawson City]] in 1902.</ref>

<!--HAMLIN-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Hamlin (sternwheeler)|''Hamlin'']]
| CPR
| 1898
| Vancouver, BC
| {{convert|141.2|ft|m|1}}
| 515
| 1901
| T<ref>Worked 1898 season only on Stikine, to Fraser river in 1901.</ref>

<!--HAZELTON-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Hazelton (sternwheeler)|''Hazelton'']]
| [[Robert Cunningham (entrepreneur)|R. Cunningham]]
| 1898
| Victoria, BC
| {{convert|134.4|ft|m|1}}
| 378
| 1912
| D

<!--ISCOOT-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Iscoot (sternwheeler)|''Iscoot'']]
| [[Klondyke Mining, Trading, and Transport Company|KMTTC]]
| 1898
| Vancouver, BC
| {{convert|143|ft|m|1}}
| 590
| 1898
| W<ref>Lost en route to Stikine, never placed in service.</ref>

<!--McCONNELL -->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[McConnell (sternwheeler)|''McConnell'']]
| CPR
| 1898
| Vancouver, BC
| {{convert|142.2|ft|m|1}}
| 727
| 1898
| D<ref>Worked 1898 season only on Stikine, sustained heavy damage in collision with [[Hamlin (sternwheeler)|''Hamlin'', scrapped 1901 as a result.]]</ref>

<!--MONO-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Mono (sternwheeler)|''Mono'']]
| [[Teslin Transportation Company|TTC]]
| 1898
| Stikine River
| {{convert|120|ft|m|1}}
| 278
| 1898
| T<ref>To Yukon following 1898 season, destroyed by fire at Dawson City in 1902.</ref>

<!--MOYIE-->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Moyie (sternwheeler)|''Moyie'']]
| CPR
| 1898
| [[Nelson, British Columbia|Nelson, BC]]
| {{convert|161.7|ft|m|1}}
| 834
| 1898
| T<ref>Prefabricated hull was intended for service on Stikine, but diverted to [[Kootenay Lake]].</ref>

<!--MINTO -->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Minto (sternwheeler)|''Minto'']]
| CPR
| 1898
| [[Nakusp, British Columbia|Nakusp, BC]]
| {{convert|161.7|ft|m|1}}
| 829
| 1898
| T<ref>Prefabricated hull was intended for service on Stikine, but diverted to [[Arrow Lakes]].</ref>

<!--LOUISE -->
|-align=center valign=top style="font-size:8pt"
| align="left"|[[Louise (sternwheeler)|''Louise'']]
| KMTTC
| 1883
| [[Seabeck, Washington|Seabeck, WA]]
| {{convert|91.6|ft|m|1}}
| 168
| 1898
| T<ref>Worked 1898 season only on Stikine, destroyed 1899 by fire en route to Yukon.</ref>
|-

|}

==See also==
*[[List of historical ships in British Columbia]]
*[[Steamboats of the Skeena River]]
*[[John Irving]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}

== References ==
* Affleck, Edwin L, ed. ''A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska'', Alexander Nicholls Press, Vancouver, BC (2000) ISBN 0-920034-08-X
* Downs, Art, ''Paddlewheels on the Frontier: The Story of British Columbia and Yukon Sternwheel Steamers'', Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA (1972) ISBN 0-8882-6033-4
* Turner, Robert D., ''Sternwheelers and Steam Tugs &ndash; An Illustrated History of the Canadian Pacific Railway's British Columbia Lake and River Service'', Sono Nis Press, Victoria, BC 1984 ISBN 0-919203-15-9

{{BritishColumbia-stub}}

{{Steamboats British Columbia|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:Paddle steamers of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Steamboats of the Stikine River]]
[[Category:History of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Steamboats of Alaska]]