Dispatch (sternwheeler)

''Dispatch'' was a sternwheel steamboat that was operated on the Coquille River on the southern Oregon coast from 1903 to 1920. The name of this vessel is sometimes seen spelled ''Despatch''. This sternwheeler should not be confused with an earlier and somewhat smaller sternwheeler, also named ''Dispatch'', that was built at Bandon, Oregon, in 1890, for which the 1903 ''Dispatch'' was a replacement.U.S. Treasury Dept., Statistics Bureau, ''Annual List of Merchant Vessels'' (for year ending June 30, 1898).
at page 225.Timmen, Fritz, ''Blow for the Landing -- A Hundred Years of Steam Navigation on the Waters of the West'', Caxton, Caldwell, ID (1973), at page 204.

Construction

''Dispatch'' was built in 1903 at Parkersburg, Oregon by Charles Trigg.Newell, Gordon R., ed. ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', Superior (1966), at page 89. ''Dispatch'' was long, with a beam of and depth of hold of . The overall size of the vessel was 250 gross and 167 net tons.U.S. Treasury Dept., Statistics Bureau, ''Annual List of Merchant Vessels'' (for year ending June 30, 1904).
page 232 The official registry number was 200081 and the required number of crew was five.

''Dispatch'' was reported to have cost $18,000 to construct and was said to have been "one of the finest river steamers ever built in this part of Oregon".

Owners

For twenty-four years (1903 to 1927), ''Dispatch'' operated on the route on the Coquille River from Bandon to Coquille City. During this time, ''Dispatch'' was owned by the Coquille River Steamboat Company, the Farmers Transportation Company, and the Coquille River Transportation Company.

On July 18, 1907, it was announced that the five steamers then operating on the Coquille River were to come under new management."River Boats Change Hands", ''Coos Bay Times'', July 19, 1907, page 6, col. 5.
/ref> A new corporation was to be formed with a capital stock of $50,000. C.J. McLean and H.G. Stratton, of Portland, and F.A. Smith, of St. Johns, were among those interested in the corporation. ''Liberty'' and ''Dispatch'' were to have new boilers, and ''Antelope'' would be overhauled.

On July 17, 1914, ''Dispatch'' was owned by the Coquille River Transportation Company."River boat schedule", ''Semi-weekly Bandon Recorder'', July 17, 1914, page 4, col. 4.
/ref> On that date, ''Dispatch'' was advertised as departing Bandon daily at 7:00 a.m.

Operations

In 1903, ''Dispatch'' became one of a number of steamboats competing for freight and, especially, passenger business on the Coquille River."Bandon Recorder", ''Weekly Coast Mail'', October 24, 1903, page 6, col. 3.
/ref> Three boats, ''Dispatch'', ''Liberty'', and ''Reta'' were then leaving Bandon each morning. ''Favorite'' left Coquille City in the morning for Bandon and returned to Coquille City in the evening. It was anticipated that ''Antelope'', once fishing season ended, would be put on the Bandon-Coquille City run, making a total of five steamers daily operating on the route. ''Reta'' carried the mail so as to allow ''Dispatch'' to make better time.

As of March 17, 1904, ''Dispatch'', under Captain Thomas White, departed Bandon every morning except Sunday at 7:30 a.m., bound for Coquille City.Advertisement, ''Bandon Recorder'', March 17, 1904, page 4, col. 7.
/ref> Passengers could make connections at Coquille City at 10:30 a.m., either with the train or with the steamer ''Myrl''. ''Dispatch'' then left Coquille City at 12:30 p.m., returning to Bandon at 4:30 p.m. This same schedule was still in effect on May 18, 1905.

With the fall harvest in 1904, the owners of the steamers decided to take advantage of the need for fodder in the towns along the river. On September 1, 1904, ''Dispatch'', and the steamers ''Liberty'' and ''Favorite'' offered to deliver baled hay (grass and clover) to Bandon or Coquille City at a price of $11 per ton.

In October 1908, ''Dispatch'', under F.D. White, master, departed Bandon daily at 7:00 a.m. arrived at Coquille City at 9:30 a.m., then departed Coquille City at 1:00 p.m. and returned to Bandon at 3:30 p.m.Advertisement, "Steamer Dispatch", ''Lincoln County Leader'', October 16, 1908, page 3, col.5.
/ref> ''Dispatch'' advertised "all kinds of steamboat work done at reasonable prices."

Large numbers of people were sometimes transported on the small steamers on the Coquille River. For one baseball game at Bandon, ''Dispatch'' came downriver from Coquille with about 400 people aboard, and ''Telegraph'' arrived with 150 more.Panter, William, "Early River Traffic on the Coquille," ''Glancing Back (Pioneer Lore)'', at 16–19, Vol. I, No. 1, Coos-Curry Pioneer and Historical Association, 1971

Vessels like ''Dispatch'' typically did not run regular schedules on Sundays. They were however available for Sunday excursion trips, which were a popular means of recreation in those times. In one example, on Sunday, June 23, 1907, ''Dispatch'', along with two other steamers owned by the Coquille River Steamboat company, ''Liberty'' and ''Favorite'', were chartered for an excursion to Bandon."Observation Excursion", ''Daily Coos Bay Times'', June 15, 1907, page 4, col.1.
/ref> This excursion, which was billed as "the finest observation train excursion ever seen on the Pacific Coast", was organized by the Coos Bay, Roseburg and Eastern Railway, would be run on the rail line's tracks south from Marshfield to Coquille City, where transfer would be made to the steamers for the water portion of the excursion downriver to Bandon.

Groundings and accidents

On Friday, January 15, 1904, ''Dispatch'', then owned by the Coquille River Steamboat Company, ran into a snag which tore a hole in the bow."Steamer Dispatch is Wrecked -- The Vessel Breaks in Two After Being Beached", ''Weekly Coast Mail'', January 16, 1904, page 3, col. 4.
/ref> A hard wind was blowing on the steamer's high superstructure, which made the vessel unmanageable. The only course of action was to beach the vessel.

After ''Dispatch'' was beached, the tide went out, causing the steamer to settle, breaking the hog chains, an important structural component, which could cause severe damage to the boat. The initial report was that ''Dispatch'' hull had split in two, with the damage so great that the cost of repair would exceed the value of the vessel. However, a later report, indicated that ''Dispatch'' was quickly running again, with "the report of the accident having been much exaggerated."

On October 26, 1904, ''Dispatch'' was unloading a cargo of 2,000 cases of canned salmon at Cedar Point, Oregon. These goods were to be shipped by train to Marshfield and thereafter, likely by steamer, to Portland."Salmon Take to Water, ''Daily Coast Mail'', October 27, 1904, page 3, col. 4.
/ref> A tram car was being used to aid in the unloading. The cable for the tram car became unhooked and its load of salmon cases fell into the river. Some of the goods were recovered, but it was necessary to relabel the cans.

On Monday, November 29, 1909, ''Dispatch'' was operating near the town of Bandon with a large number of passengers on board, when, in turning around, the vessel was caught by the fast current of the river and carried downriver into the jetty."Dispatch Had Narrow Escape -- Coquille River Steamer Almost Carried Out over Bar at Bandon", ''Coos Bay Times'', December 1, 1909, page 2, col. 1.
/ref> One of the railings on the ''Dispatch'' was broken, and the Bandon life-saving crew had to take off the passengers. Sea conditions on the Coquille River bar were very rough. One witness thought that had the ''Dispatch'' not been caught on the jetty, it would likely have been washed out to sea and swamped.

On the morning of April 27, 1910, a small fire was discovered in the hold of ''Dispatch'' while the steamer was en route from Bandon to Coquille City."Fire on River Boat", ''Coos Bay Times'', April 28, 1910, page 3, col. 3.
/ref> The fire had not progressed far, and was extinguished with the only damage being to a few life preservers.

On the early morning of Saturday, November 29, 1913, ''Dispatch'' was blown ashore on the Timmons mud flats just upriver from Moore's mill."Briefs of Bandon", ''Coos Bay Times'', December 2, 1913, page 3, col. 4.
/ref> The Coquille River life-saving crew and the tug ''Klyhyam'' went to the assistance of ''Dispatch''. They took off the passengers and the vessel was refloated at the next high tide.

Thieves and pilferage

''Dispatch'' had a barber shop concession on board, which also sold tobacco. On July 21, 1904, it was reported that the previous Friday night, thieves had broken into the on-board barber shop, by breaking the latch between the shop room and the forward cabin, and taking $18 worth of cigars."Petty Thieving Nuisance", ''Bandon Recorder'', July 21, 1904, page 1, col. 4.
/ref> The next Sunday night a quantity of tobacco was reported to have been removed from a package.

Freight pilferage was also a problem. On the next to the last trip prior to July 21, 1904, so much freight was stolen off ''Dispatch'' that the loss to the company exceeded the amount received for delivering the freight. A local newspaper expressed dismay that these incidents were becoming more frequent, adding that "Salem he location of the state penitentiaryhas a proper retreat for such characters, and they should be forced to emigrate there and be properly attired."

Mechanical problems

''Dispatch'' was out of service from the fall of 1907 to the spring of 1908 because of mechanical problems. On October 17, 1907, it was reported that ''Dispatch'' had been out of service "for some time" waiting for new boilers to arrive from San Francisco.''Coos Bay Times'', October 18, 1907, page 3, col. 1.
/ref> The old boilers had been condemned by the steamboat inspectors. ''Dispatch'' had been kept at a dock pending delivery of the boilers, but the week before the October 17 report, it had been necessary to tow the boat upriver to free up the wharf space for active vessels.

On March 28, 1908, it was reported that the new boiler had been placed into ''Dispatch'', and the connections were in the process of being made."Boating at Coquille", ''Coos Bay Times'', March 28, 1908, page 1, col. 3.
/ref> The boat was being repainted in white trimmed with red. The new boiler was larger than the old one, and was expected to drive the vessel at a greater speed. The boat was expected to be back in operation by April 1, 1908, or a few days later.

By May 10, 1908, ''Dispatch'' was back in service, being scheduled that day to pick up a train-load of excursionists from Marshfield at Cedar Point, transport them to Bandon, arriving at 10:45 a.m., and then depart Bandon at 5:00 to return to Cedar Point to catch the train back to Marshfield."Excursion to Bandon", ''Coos Bay Times'', May 9, 1908, page 1, col. 1.
/ref>

Late in the afternoon of Saturday November 7, 1908, near Prosper, Oregon, a shaft pin, which connected the sternwheel's driving arm to the wheel itself, broke while ''Dispatch'' was underway, causing severe damage, estimated at $1,000, before the machinery could be halted."Heavy Damage to Dispatch", ''Coos Bay Times'', November 9, 1908, page 1, col. 1.
/ref> No one was injured, which was reported to have been "almost miraculous." It was initially estimated that it would take at least six weeks to repair the damage."Delays Liberty Coming", ''Coos Bay Times'', November 10, 1908, page 1, col. 1.
/ref> The sternwheel steamer ''Liberty'' was called on to take over ''Dispatch''s run on the Coquille River, which resulted in a delay of ''Liberty'' then-scheduled transfer to Coos Bay service.

Fire at shingle mill

On the afternoon of the Wednesday before June 13, 1916, at about 4:00 pm, fire broke out in the boiler room of the Kruse shingle mill, on the river near Prosper."Prompt work saves Kruse shingle mill", ''Bandon Recorder'', June 13, 1916, page 4, col. 4.
/ref> ''Dispatch'' had just left the dock at Prosper when the fire was observed. The boat came alongside the mill and fought the fire with the on-board fire fighting equipment. Although there was some damage from the fire, the prompt intervention of ''Dispatch'' prevented the fire from spreading throughout the mill.

Collision with ''Telegraph''

On January 22, 1917, near Prosper, the sternwheeler ''Telegraph'', under the command of Capt. Allan R. Panter, collided with ''Dispatch''."Ticket Lost for 30 Days", ''The Sunday Oregonian'', February 11, 1917, section 2, page 16, col. 2.
/ref> Capt. Thomas O. White, of ''Dispatch'', attributed the collision to "'pure cussedness'", apparently on the part of Captain Panter. As a result of this collision the license of Captain Panter was suspended for thirty days. About a year previously, Captain Panter's license had been suspended for 18 months, but the suspension time had been reduced following Panter's appeal. There had been a number of similar incidents on the river, and rivalry between the competing steamboat lines was thought to be the principal reason for the Coquille River cases being investigated by the steamboat inspectors.

Loss of a crewman

On March 22, 1920, the drowning of a ''Dispatch'' crewman was reported."Accidents kill two", ''Morning Oregonian'', March 30, 1920, page 5, col. 2.
/ref> D.A. Davis, age 19, fell off the boat while milk was being loaded at the Walstrom wharf. No one saw him fall into the water, and he was not noticed missing until someone saw him disappear below the water's surface, 100 feet away from the boat, having been washed there by the tide.

Transfer to Coos Bay

After 1920, ''Dispatch'' was transferred to Coos Bay and operated out of Marshfield under the name ''John Wildi''.

Modern cultural depiction

Murals showing ''Dispatch'', ''Coquille'' and other Coquille River steamboats were painted on the exterior walls of the Coquille City Hall in 1997.Historic Riverboats - Coquille, OR - Murals on Waymarking.com.
/ref>

See also

* Steamboats of the Coquille River

Notes

References

Historic Oregon Newspapers
* Newell, Gordon R. ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', Superior Publishing, Seattle WA (1966)

{{Oregon Coast Steamboats

1903 ships
Coos County, Oregon
Steamboats of Oregon
Ships built in Oregon