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Shoshone (Snake River sternwheeler)
Encyclopedia
The Shoshone was the first steamboat
built on the Snake River
, Idaho
, above Hells Canyon
and the first of only two steamboats to be brought down through Hells Canyon to the lower Snake River. This was considered one of the most astounding feats of steamboat navigation ever accomplished.
. The Oregon Steam Navigation Company
had tried to run a steamboat, the Colonel Wright
, up the Snake River through Hells Canyon
, but this proved impossible. As an alternative, O.S.N. decided to build a steamboat on the upper Snake River; this vessel, the Shoshone, was launched in 1866 at Old Fort Boise
, Idaho.
All the iron and machinery had to be packed in by mule overland, and a forge was set up to hammer the iron into fittings. The timber for her hull and cabins was cut in the mountains and hauled or floated to the construction site, where it was sawn into planks and other components for the vessel. It cost the company as much to build Shoshone as it took to build three boats elsewhere. Although she was a large boat and expensive, Shoshone drew less than two feet of water and had no difficulty navigating the river to Old's Ferry, Idaho.
, president of O.S.N., gave orders to bring her down to the lower Snake River, but this proved difficult. On the first attempt, Shoshones captain, Cy Smith, took her down Kerr and Cattle Rapids, but abandoned the effort at Lime Point (near Huntington, Oregon
), saying with good reason that the whitewater ahead, Copper Ledge Falls, could not be run. Shoshone was laid up at Huntington, Oregon
for another year.
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In March 1870, Ainsworth assigned two of his best men, Capt. Sebastian "Bas" Miller and Chief Engineer Daniel E. "Buck" Buchanan, to bring her through the canyon or wreck in the attempt. Just reaching the Shoshone was a substantial journey in itself, as there were no railroads or highways of any kind. Miller and Buchanan took a steamboat up to Umatilla, Oregon
, where they arrived in March 1870. This was the easy part, for after that they journeyed by buckboard into the Blue Mountains
. When the roads ended, they traveled by sled over the snow; then, once the snow ended, by horseback, on foot, and finally by canoe.
.) While Miller scouted out the river as best he could, Buchanan then overhauled the engines, tried to remedy the leaky seams in the Shoshones planks, which made of mountain pine, had dried out, shrunk, and opened up narrow but long gaps between the planks in her hull. (This required water to be pumped over the hull until the planks swelled up.) In those days before electric lighting, Buchanan checked for leaks by leaving lighted candles in the hold of the boat, a risky proposition in a wooden boat that was, as one writer has said, nothing more than a "well-organized pile of kindling." If the boat were to be lost, it would likely be on account of the rapids rather than by fire, so to Buchanan the risk must have appeared reasonable.
The river rose in mid-April, and by April 19, 1870, judging that the river was high enough to make the run, Captain Miller ordered lines cast off. His plan was to drift down with the current, then run the engines in reverse to gain steering control in the rapids. Going over Copper Ledge Falls, just a few hundred yards downstream, the boat first spun around three times in a powerful eddy just above the drop. Then the bow went over and the whole boat tilted sharply downwards until the sternwheel was spinning around free in the air. Once the boat hit the bottom of the drop, the sternwheel started to break up, throwing the boat out of control and into some rocks which crushed part of her bow. The boat was twisting and wracking and then a boiler valve broke, filling the engine room with steam. Captain Miller put ashore after this, and the crew repaired the vessel. Fortunately the smashed portion of the bow turned out to be above the waterline, and by 9:00 a.m. the next day they were ready to proceed.
They continued down river, hitting more rapids and cutting wood from trees along the bank for fuel. Captain Miller sent two men ahead in a boat to scout out for rocks and rapids, and the Shoshone proceeded behind them. They ran a particularly hazardous stretch at the Mountain Sheep section in Seven Devils Canyon. The boat was sucked into a whirlpool, and a huge wall of water came aboard, breaking into and nearly flooding the engine room, washing big chunks of cordwood all about the engine room floor. As the men in the engine room dodged these hazards, the Shoshone ran through a passage so narrow that there were only a few inches clearance between the rock walls on both sides of the vessel.
By April 23, a strong wind had come up, and the high wheel house of Shoshone acted like a sail, blowing her from one side of the river to the other. At this time, Shoshone and her crew had reached the deepest part of the canyon, thousands of feet below the canyon rim. In preparation for running this section, they stopped to make further repairs to the sternwheel and gather more wood for fuel. While they were cutting trees, a log rolled over Captain Miller and he was knocked unconscious until the next day. Once he came to, the boat went on, although Captain Miller had been severely injured. They journeyed further downriver until they passed the mouth of the Salmon River
on April 26. From then on the running was fairly easy, first to the mouth of the Grande Ronde River
, where they halted alongshore. The next day, April 27, the easy running ended when at 7:00 a.m. the boat reached the Wild Goose Rapids, which had a reputation as a fierce stretch of whitewater. Captain Miller took Shoshone through them without incident, and arrived at Lewiston, Idaho
two hours later. As they neared the landing, Captain Miller hollered down the speaking tube to Engineer Buchanan:
Folks at Lewiston were astonished to see Miller, Buchanan, and Shoshone because the boat's jackstaff and flag had broken off in the first rapids, then floated downriver, where it was recovered and seemed firm evidence that Shoshone had been wrecked and her men were dead.
, itself always reckoned a hazardous stretch, on June 28, 1870. Once below Celilo, she ran as a cattle boat between the upper Cascades and The Dalles. Later she was taken over the Cascades and down to the Willamette River
, where she was sold to the Willamette River Transportation Company. The W.R.T. Co. then hauled Shoshone up around Willamette Falls
, and ran her on the upper Willamette and also on the Yamhill River
. There, perhaps surprisingly for a boat that had run Hells Canyon, she struck a rock near Salem, Oregon
in the fall of 1874 and sank. Efforts to raise her failed, although her machinery was salvaged, and later installed in Champion. In January 1875, rising water lifted her free, and washed her down river to Lincoln. There a farmer salvaged her cabins, hauled them ashore, and turned them into a chicken coops.
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
built on the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, above Hells Canyon
Hells Canyon
Hells Canyon is a wide canyon located along the border of eastern Oregon and western Idaho in the United States. It is North America's deepest river gorge at and part of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area....
and the first of only two steamboats to be brought down through Hells Canyon to the lower Snake River. This was considered one of the most astounding feats of steamboat navigation ever accomplished.
Design and construction
In the mid-1860s there was a mining boom in the area of Boise, IdahoBoise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
. The Oregon Steam Navigation Company
Oregon Steam Navigation Company
The Oregon Steam Navigation Company was an American company incorporated in 1860 in Washington with partners J. S. Ruckle, Henry Olmstead, and J. O. Van Bergen...
had tried to run a steamboat, the Colonel Wright
Colonel Wright (sternwheeler)
The Colonel Wright was the first steamboat to operate on the Columbia River above The Dalles in the parts of the Oregon Country that later became the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. She was the first steamboat to run on the Snake River. She was named after Colonel George Wright, an...
, up the Snake River through Hells Canyon
Hells Canyon
Hells Canyon is a wide canyon located along the border of eastern Oregon and western Idaho in the United States. It is North America's deepest river gorge at and part of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area....
, but this proved impossible. As an alternative, O.S.N. decided to build a steamboat on the upper Snake River; this vessel, the Shoshone, was launched in 1866 at Old Fort Boise
Fort Boise
Fort Boise refers to two different locations in southwestern Idaho. The first was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post near the Snake River on the Oregon border, dating from the era when Idaho was part of the fur company's Columbia District. After several rebuilds, it was ultimately abandoned in...
, Idaho.
All the iron and machinery had to be packed in by mule overland, and a forge was set up to hammer the iron into fittings. The timber for her hull and cabins was cut in the mountains and hauled or floated to the construction site, where it was sawn into planks and other components for the vessel. It cost the company as much to build Shoshone as it took to build three boats elsewhere. Although she was a large boat and expensive, Shoshone drew less than two feet of water and had no difficulty navigating the river to Old's Ferry, Idaho.
Operations on upper Snake River
For a short time, under Captain Josiah Myrick, Shoshone carried miners and their equipment from Olds Ferry to the mining areas around Boise. The mining traffic then took a different route, and there was no business for the Shoshone. She was laid up for three years, with only two watchmen keeping an eye on her. This was frustrating for O.S.N. which had enjoyed spectacular success with almost all of its boats, often earning more on a single trip than it had cost (generally not long before) to build the steamboat in the first place.First attempt fails
John C. AinsworthJohn C. Ainsworth
John Commingers Ainsworth was an American pioneer businessman and steamboat owner in Oregon. A native of Ohio, he moved west to mine gold in California before immigrating to Oregon where he piloted steamships and became a founder of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company and several banks.-Early...
, president of O.S.N., gave orders to bring her down to the lower Snake River, but this proved difficult. On the first attempt, Shoshones captain, Cy Smith, took her down Kerr and Cattle Rapids, but abandoned the effort at Lime Point (near Huntington, Oregon
Huntington, Oregon
Huntington is a city in Baker County, on the eastern border of Oregon, United States. It is located on the Snake River and along Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 30. The population was 515 at the 2000 census.- History:...
), saying with good reason that the whitewater ahead, Copper Ledge Falls, could not be run. Shoshone was laid up at Huntington, Oregon
Huntington, Oregon
Huntington is a city in Baker County, on the eastern border of Oregon, United States. It is located on the Snake River and along Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 30. The population was 515 at the 2000 census.- History:...
for another year.
Top men sent out for second run
Umatilla, Oregon
Umatilla is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. It is named for the Umatilla River, which enters the Columbia River on the side of the city. The river is named after the Umatilla Tribe. The city is located on the south side of the Columbia River, and is located on U.S...
, where they arrived in March 1870. This was the easy part, for after that they journeyed by buckboard into the Blue Mountains
Blue Mountains (Oregon)
The Blue Mountains are a mountain range in the western United States, located largely in northeastern Oregon and stretching into southeastern Washington...
. When the roads ended, they traveled by sled over the snow; then, once the snow ended, by horseback, on foot, and finally by canoe.
Preparations for the run
Miller and Buchanan finally reached Shoshone in mid-April 1870, where they signed up one watchman, Livingston, as mate, and the other, Smith, as fireman. Another fellow who was around, W. F. Hedges, also signed on, and these five men became her crew. (Hedges later became a pilot on Puget SoundPuget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
.) While Miller scouted out the river as best he could, Buchanan then overhauled the engines, tried to remedy the leaky seams in the Shoshones planks, which made of mountain pine, had dried out, shrunk, and opened up narrow but long gaps between the planks in her hull. (This required water to be pumped over the hull until the planks swelled up.) In those days before electric lighting, Buchanan checked for leaks by leaving lighted candles in the hold of the boat, a risky proposition in a wooden boat that was, as one writer has said, nothing more than a "well-organized pile of kindling." If the boat were to be lost, it would likely be on account of the rapids rather than by fire, so to Buchanan the risk must have appeared reasonable.
Down the canyon
They continued down river, hitting more rapids and cutting wood from trees along the bank for fuel. Captain Miller sent two men ahead in a boat to scout out for rocks and rapids, and the Shoshone proceeded behind them. They ran a particularly hazardous stretch at the Mountain Sheep section in Seven Devils Canyon. The boat was sucked into a whirlpool, and a huge wall of water came aboard, breaking into and nearly flooding the engine room, washing big chunks of cordwood all about the engine room floor. As the men in the engine room dodged these hazards, the Shoshone ran through a passage so narrow that there were only a few inches clearance between the rock walls on both sides of the vessel.
By April 23, a strong wind had come up, and the high wheel house of Shoshone acted like a sail, blowing her from one side of the river to the other. At this time, Shoshone and her crew had reached the deepest part of the canyon, thousands of feet below the canyon rim. In preparation for running this section, they stopped to make further repairs to the sternwheel and gather more wood for fuel. While they were cutting trees, a log rolled over Captain Miller and he was knocked unconscious until the next day. Once he came to, the boat went on, although Captain Miller had been severely injured. They journeyed further downriver until they passed the mouth of the Salmon River
Salmon River (Idaho)
The Salmon River is located in Idaho in the northwestern United States. The Salmon is also known as The River of No Return. It flows for through central Idaho, draining and dropping more than between its headwaters, near Galena Summit above the Sawtooth Valley in the Sawtooth National...
on April 26. From then on the running was fairly easy, first to the mouth of the Grande Ronde River
Grande Ronde River
The Grande Ronde River is a tributary of the Snake River, long, in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington in the United States. It drains an area southeast of the Blue Mountains and northwest of the Wallowa Mountains, on the Columbia Plateau...
, where they halted alongshore. The next day, April 27, the easy running ended when at 7:00 a.m. the boat reached the Wild Goose Rapids, which had a reputation as a fierce stretch of whitewater. Captain Miller took Shoshone through them without incident, and arrived at Lewiston, Idaho
Lewiston, Idaho
Lewiston is a city in and also the county seat of Nez Perce County in the Pacific Northwest state of Idaho. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is the principal city of the Lewiston, ID - Clarkston, WA...
two hours later. As they neared the landing, Captain Miller hollered down the speaking tube to Engineer Buchanan:
Folks at Lewiston were astonished to see Miller, Buchanan, and Shoshone because the boat's jackstaff and flag had broken off in the first rapids, then floated downriver, where it was recovered and seemed firm evidence that Shoshone had been wrecked and her men were dead.
Later years and final wreck
Shoshone was then taken further downriver, making the run over Celilo FallsCelilo Falls
Celilo Falls was a tribal fishing area on the Columbia River, just east of the Cascade Mountains, on what is today the border between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington...
, itself always reckoned a hazardous stretch, on June 28, 1870. Once below Celilo, she ran as a cattle boat between the upper Cascades and The Dalles. Later she was taken over the Cascades and down to the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
, where she was sold to the Willamette River Transportation Company. The W.R.T. Co. then hauled Shoshone up around Willamette Falls
Willamette Falls
The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, in the United States. It is the largest waterfall in the Pacific Northwest and the eighteenth largest in the world by water volume. Horseshoe in shape, it is wide and high with a flow...
, and ran her on the upper Willamette and also on the Yamhill River
Yamhill River
The Yamhill River is an tributary of the Willamette River, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the confluence of the South Yamhill River and the North Yamhill River about east of McMinnville, it drains part of the Northern Oregon Coast Range...
. There, perhaps surprisingly for a boat that had run Hells Canyon, she struck a rock near Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
in the fall of 1874 and sank. Efforts to raise her failed, although her machinery was salvaged, and later installed in Champion. In January 1875, rising water lifted her free, and washed her down river to Lincoln. There a farmer salvaged her cabins, hauled them ashore, and turned them into a chicken coops.
Legacy
Only one other steamboat ever ran the Hell's Canyon, Norma in 1895, under Captain William P. Gray. Gray of course knew of Miller and Buchanan's run, studied it, and decided to take Norma down during higher water. He also built an extra bulkhead into the bow and filled the hold with lumber.External links
- Ashworth, William, Hells Canyon, "Man, Land, and History in the Deepest Gorge on Earth", American Heritage Magazine, April 1977
- Buckendorf, Bauer, and Jacox, "Non-Native Exploration, Settlement, and Land Use of the Greater Hells Canyon Area, 1800s to 1950s", Technical Report Appendix E.4.11, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Re-licensing application, Idaho Power Company, 2003