Eva (sternwheeler)

''Eva'' was a sternwheel steamboat that was operated on the Umpqua River on the Oregon coast in the early part of the 1900s. ''Eva'' was notable for long service on a short route of about 20 miles. ''Eva'' was also notable for having been used by one of its owners to illegally transport dynamite on a passenger-carrying vessel, by the ruse of labeling the dynamite boxes as "bacon."

Construction

''Eva'' was built in 1894 at Portland, Oregon.U.S. Treasury Dept, Statistics Bureau, ''Annual List of Merchant Vessels'' (for year ending June 30, 1895).
page 243. Following construction, ''Eva'' was brought under tow, with a load of flour on board, from Portland to Gardiner, Oregon, where the engines were installed.

''Eva'' was long, with a beam of and depth of hold. ''Eva'' measured out at 130.57 gross tons and 66.67 net tons. The boat's draft was .U.S. Army, ''Report of the Chief of Engineers'' (1904)
at page 3508. The official U.S. merchant vessel registration number was 136459. The port of registry was Coos Bay, Oregon.

''Eva'' was powered by twin steam engines, horizontally mounted, driving a sternwheel. The engines generated 80 nominal horsepower.

Ownership and personnel

''Eva'' was owned by the Umpqua River Steam Navigation Company, of which Oscar B. Hinsdale (1867–1918) was a principal, as was W.F. Jewett. Hinsdale was a businessman and a prominent citizen of Gardiner, Oregon, who was also connected with the Gardiner Mill Company."Marine Notes", ''Sunday Oregonian'', May 29,1910, section two, page 29, col. 2.
/ref> Capt. N.J. Cornwall (b.1855) was also interested in the navigation company and as of 1895 was also in command of ''Eva''.Wright, E.W., ed., ''Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', Lewis and Dryden, Portland, OR (1895)
at page 253, n.19.

Capt. "Jimmy" Smith had been a well-known and popular master of ''Eva''. Of Smith, it was reported that he "always insisted on getting everything that was coming to the company."

Starting in about 1898, Frank Sagabird was the engineer of the ''Eva'' and held that position until the boat was retired from active service in April 1916. His brother Capt. Henry Sagabird was also a master of ''Eva'' for over ten years, starting in about 1906 and continuing, like his brother, until the boat was withdrawn from service.

Route

From 1876 to 1916, the Drain-Coos Bay stage line provided for travellers from Drain, Oregon to proceed by stage coach to Scottsburg, where they would meet a steamboat to proceed down the Umpqua river.Guyer, R.J., ''Douglas County Chronicles – History from the Land of One Hundred Valleys'', History Press (2013) , at pages 44–45. ''Eva'' and other steamboats on the river provided an important link in the line by providing riverine service between Scottsburg and Gardiner, Oregon."Eva is Dismantled – Noted Steamer of Coos Bay Country Turned into Scow", ''Morning Oregonian'', September 15, 1917, page 14, col. 1.
/ref>Timmen, Fritz, ''Blow for the Landing – A Hundred Years of Steam Navigation on the Waters of the West'', Caxton Printers, Caldwell ID (1973) , at pages 205–206.

For travellers going to or coming from Coos Bay, ''Eva'' made a run from Gardiner to a beach near Winchester Bay, close to the mouth of the Umpqua river on the south side, where another stage route ran south towards Coos Bay along the beach. It was reportedly either 17.5U.S. Army, Office of the Chief Engineer, '' Annual Report'' (for fiscal year ended June 30, 1898)
at page 2969. or 20 miles on the water from Scottsburg to Gardiner. It was a further nine miles from Gardiner to the south beach.

The stages were run by the Drain-Coos Bay Stage Company, which had been organized by the same people as the navigation company, that is, Capt. N.J. Cornwall, W.P. Jewett, and O.B. Hinsdale."Stage Travel Gives Way to Railroad", ''Coos Bay Times'', April 7, 1916, page 4, col., 3.
/ref>

Operations

Once at Winchester, passengers from ''Eva'' could take a stage coach from Gardiner on to Coos Bay, although by 1915, the beach stage coach had been replaced with an "auto stage."

During the year 1896, ''Eva'' carried 2,600 passengers and 1,000 tons of freight.U.S. Army, Chief of Engineers, "Report on Examination of Umpqua River, Bar, and Entrance", ''United States Congressional serial set, Issue 3662'' (1897), page 4.
/ref> Passenger traffic declined for ''Eva'' in the 1898 fiscal year, with the boat carrying 2,050 passengers. Freight traffic was up however to 1,500 tons carried.

A few days prior to July 17, 1900, ''Eva'' was transporting a circus from Australia."The Circus Collapsed -- One of the 'Greatest Shows on Earth' on the Bottom of the Umpqua", ''Morning Oregonian'', July 17, 1900, page 8, col. 5.
/ref> The circus had come up the coast from California by wagon to Gardiner, Oregon. At Gardiner, the circus was loaded onto a scow, and then towed upriver by the steamer ''Eva''. On board the scow were three men, eight horses, four wagons, a tent, and much circus equipment. After a few miles, the scow suddenly sank in of water. The men and five horses survived, but all the rest went down with the scow. Part of the circus property and a span of mules were on board ''Eva'', and these were taken back to Gardiner to regroup.

In the week of June 16, 1903, ''Eva'' was hauled out on a mud flat for repairs."Gardiner Gazette News", ''Roseburg Plaindealer'', June 16, 1903, page 1, col. 4.
/ref> During this time, ''Eva'' place on the run up the Umpqua River to Scottsburg was taken by the steamer ''Juno''.

On August 27, 1903, it was reported that a delay in delivery of a cylinder for ''Eva'' had required ''Juno'' to work double service on the Scottsburg run for the previous two weeks.

During the year 1904, ''Eva'' carried 5,847 passengers and 2,500 tons of freight.

On April 9, 1908, near Scottsburg, ''Eva'' hit a snag and sank."Steamer Eva Sinks -- Stage Company's Boat Sinks Near Scottsburg", ''Coos Bay Times'', April 11, 1908, page 1, col. 1.
/ref> ''Eva'' was carrying mail and passengers at the time."River Boat Hits Snag", ''Morning Oregonian'', April 15, 1908, page 2, col. 4.
/ref> The boat was beached. Everyone on board was able to get off. Passengers and mail were transferred to another vessel. ''Eva'' was to be raised and then brought to Gardiner for repairs.

A new boiler was installed in ''Eva'' on May 29, 1910, and that day Hinsdale was in Gardiner to inspect the boat.

Dynamite transported as "bacon"

Oscar Hinsdale, one of the owners of ''Eva'', also owned a general store, which sold dynamite for stump-blasting purposes."Hinsdale is Fined", ''Coos Bay Times'', October 7, 1910, page 4, col. 2.
/ref> Although regulations forbade the carrying of dynamite on passenger steamers, Hinsdale had boxes of dynamite relabeled "bacon" and shipped them to his store's customers on ''Eva''. An informant alerted authorities to this, and Hinsdale was arrested in November 1909, at which time he "vehemently denied" having anything to do with shipping dynamite on the ''Eva''. Hinsdale however pleaded guilty on October 7, 1910, in United States District Court, and was fined $50. Half of the fine was to go to the informant. This was the first such prosecution on the west coast, and it attracted national attention.

Grounded at mouth of the Umpqua river

On November 15, 1915, it was reported that when ''Eva'' was transporting passengers across the Umpqua river, from one beach to another, the boat became caught in the tide near the mouth of the river."Steamer Eva Has Very Narrow Escape – Comes very near wrecking at mouth of Umpqua but is saved", ''Coos Bay Times'', November 15, 1915, page 2, col. 4.
/ref> The current was running very strongly on the south beach, it picked up ''Eva'', made the boat unmanageable, and carried the vessel across to the north spit, where the boat was grounded at about 4:30 in the afternoon. ''Eva'' blew the steam whistle to signal for help, and the crew of the Umpqua River Coast Guard Station responded, taking the passengers off the boat and back to the station.

''Eva'' was on the spit, it was reported, until 7:30 in the evening or until the tide came in sufficiently to float the boat. Once off the spit, it was still not clear whether the boat had been damaged, so a call was made to the ''Tidley Addeley'', a Southern Pacific tugboat, to come downriver from Gardiner to render assistance if needed. There turned out to be no damage to ''Eva''. It was said at the time that it was fortunate that ''Eva'' had grounded on the north spit, because otherwise the strong current would have carried the boat across the bar and into the ocean, where she would have wrecked, as she was not built for rough seas.

Disposition

In April 1916, the rail line from Reedsport to Coos Bay was completed.Moser, Stephen A., ''Umpqua River Navigability Study'', State of Oregon, Division of State Lands, Engineer Section (May 1976), at page 139.
/ref> There was no longer any economic demand for the steamboat service that ''Eva'' provided. ''Eva'' was last reported to have been used for passenger service, a special excursion, on October 10, 1916."Coos Bay Tour is Dignified Survey", ''Morning Oregonian'', October 11, 1916, page 3, col. 1.
/ref>

In the week of September 14, 1917, the Umpqua River Steam Navigation Company formally surrendered ''Eva'' license, and sold the boat to the Umpqua Improvement Company, which began the process of dismantling ''Eva'' and converting the vessel into a scow.

See also

*Steamboats of the Oregon Coast

Notes

{{1908 shipwrecks

1894 ships
Douglas County, Oregon
Ships built in Portland, Oregon
Steamboats of Oregon
Maritime incidents in 1908