Telegraph (sternwheeler 1903)

''Telegraph'' was a sternwheel-driven steamboat built in 1903 in Everett, Washington. Except for the summer of 1905, from 1903 to 1912, ''Telegraph'' served in Puget Sound, running mainly on the route from Seattle to Everett, and also from Seattle to Tacoma and Olympia, Washington.

During the summer of 1905, ''Telegraph'' was transferred to Portland, Oregon to carry visitors arriving for the Lewis and Clark Exposition. ''Telegraph'' was nearly destroyed in 1912 when the large iron-hulled ocean-going steamer collided with Colman Dock, cutting completely through the dock from the south side, and then crushing ''Telegraph'' which had been tied up on the north side of the dock.

''Telegraph'' was raised, rebuilt, and renamed ''Olympian''. In 1916, ''Olympian'' was transferred to Portland, where it ran from Portland on several routes, including to The Dalles and Astoria, Oregon. ''Olympian'' was a popular excursion vessel for a number of years. ''Olympian'' served as a salvage support vessel in 1922. Olympian was dismantled in 1924, and the cabin structure and equipment was installed onto a newly-built hull, and the new boat, named ''Logger'', was used in towing work. ''Logger'' itself sank at its moorings in 1940 and was dismantled.

Construction

''Telegraph'' was built at Everett, Washington. ''Telegraph'' was designed by Captain Uriah Bonser "U.B." Scott. ''Telegraph'' was built for Captain Scott in Everett by the Portland Shipbuilding company, and placed in service on the Everett-Seattle route, running on an alternate schedule with the propeller-driven ''City of Everett'', to replace ''Greyhound'' on the route. Master engineer Charles Lake (1868-1950) assisted U.B. Scott in the construction of the steamer.

Dimensions

''Telegraph'' was long, measured over the hull exclusive of the extension over the stern, called the fantail, on which the stern-wheel was mounted. ''Telegraph'' had a beam of , and depth of hold of . Overall size of the steamer was 386 gross tons and 243 net tons, with tons being a measure of volume and not weight. ''Telegraph'' had an observation cabin that was 110 feet long. The steamer could carry 400 passengers and 150 tons of freight. ''Telegraphs crew numbered 11.

Engineering

''Telegraph'' was driven by a stern-wheel, which was turned by a steam engine which generated 750 indicated horsepower. The official registry number was 200012. ''Telegraph'' was reported to have been capable of reaching speeds of 20 miles per hour, and was said to have been the fastest steamer on Puget Sound in 1904. In 1914, ''Telegraph'', then renamed ''Olympian'' was advertised as having a speed of from 16 to 18 miles per hour.

Career as ''Telegraph''

On August 16, 1903, it was reported that ''Telegraph'' was to race Flyer that afternoon, with ''Telegraph'' waiting off Duwamish Head for Flyer to come up on its regular 2:45 p.m. trip. When the steamers moved out of sight around Alki Point, ''Telegraph'' was ahead by about a guarter-mile. In June 1904, ''Telegraph'' was commanded by popular captain Gil Parker

Shooting on board

On June 6, 1904, at Colman Dock Gertrude Robb shot George Joye four times, and he was reported to have been likely to die as a result. Joye was the porter on the ''Telegraph''. The shooting was reported to have been occasioned by Robb's daughter Camelia (or Camille) Coleman having stated to her mother that she "had been wronged" by Joye.

Robb was reported to have gone the dock, armed with a .32 caliber revolver, and waited for ''Telegraph'' to arrive. After the passengers had disembarked, Robb called out to Joye, then from a few feet away, fired five shots, one missed, but the other four struck Joye, with one severing his spinal cord. Robb expressed no regrets and willingly surrendered to a police officer and handed over her pistol.

Robb was taken to jail and Joye was taken to Wayside Mission hospital, where following an operation, doctors described him as having only a very slight chance of recovery. Robb, whose maiden name was Colman, ran a lodging house in Seattle on Washington Street, near Second Avenue south. Her husband was a fireman on the Telegraph. Joye died on July 20, 1904. Gertrude Robb was charged with his murder, but was acquitted by a jury on November 23, 1904.

Route changes

In February 1905, ''Telegraph'' was owned by the Seattle, Everett and Tacoma Transportation Company, and was running between Seattle and Everett, alternating with the steamer ''City of Everett''.
In April 1905, Captain Scott announced that he would put Telegraph on the day run between Seattle and Bellingham in the summer. In 1905, ''Telegraph'' was transferred temporarily from Seattle to Portland, Oregon to handle increased passenger traffic arising from the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition.

In May 1906, ''Telegraph'' was advertised as making a daily run from Portland to Astoria, Oregon, at way landings up and down river if there were passengers to land, or if signaled.
''Telegraph'' was to depart from Portland at 7:00 a.m. and arriving at Astoria at 1:00 p.m. Returning, ''Telegraph'' was to depart Astoria at 2:30 p.m. and arriving at Portland at 9:00 p.m. The Portland landing was the Alder Street Dock, and the Astoria Landing was the Callendar dock. Meals were advertised to be "sarved ica la carte." E.B. Scott was the Portland agent, and Callendar Navigation Co. was the Astoria agent.

In January 1910, ''Telegraph'' made three round trips daily from Seattle to Everett, and one round trip on Sunday. ''Telegraph'' departed from the Colman Dock in Seattle, and from the City Dock in Everett.

Ownership changes

In 1910 ''Telegraph'' was owned by the Seattle-Everett Navigation Company, which was a subsidiary of the Columbia River and Puget Sound Navigation Company, of which the well-known Captain U.B. Scott was in charge. In that year the Puget Sound Navigation Company bought both ''Telegraph'' and ''City of Everett'' from Seattle-Everett Nav. Co., along with other assets of the company. The Seattle-Bremerton route had been the last one served by ''Telegraph'' for Captain Scott's companies.

Sunk at Colman Dock

On the night of April 25, 1912, ''Telegraph'' was berthed at Colman Dock in Seattle, when the heavy iron steamship ''Alameda'' collided with ''Telegraph'', nearly cutting the sternwheeler in two. ''Alameda'' then crashed into the dock, knocking its famous clocktower into the water. The famous captain John A. "Dynamite Johnny" O'Brien, as pilot, was in charge of ''Alameda'' at the time. O'Brien was maneuvering ''Alameda'' into a berth, and in so doing gave the signal "full astern" to the engine room, which for some reason was picked up as "full ahead."

Career as ''Olympian''

In 1913, ''Telegraph'' was renamed ''Olympian''. ''Olympian'' was an oil-burner. The single-cylinder steam engines that had been installed on Telegraph were replaced with compound tandem steam engines. Each engine generated 750 horsepower and had two cylinders, one for high pressure steam, and another using low pressure steam after it had passed through the high pressure cylinder. The high pressure cylinder had a bore of 15 inches. The bore was 28 inches for the low pressure cylinder. Each engine had piston stroke of 72 inches.

In June 1914 ''Olympian'', then lying at the King Street dock in Seattle, was listed as for sale by J.B. Mitchell. On June 26, 1914, it was reported that a new concern, Red Ball Steamship Company, had placed ''Olympian'' on route which included Edmonds, Everett, Seattle, Tacoma, Bremerton, and Olympia, Washington. The new company cut rates on the Seattle-Tacoma run from 35 to 25 cents, on the Seattle-Olympia run from $1.10 to 75 cents, and on the Tacoma-Olympia run from 75 to 50 cents.

On July 2, 1914, it was reported that the owners of ''Olympian'' would be arrested on chargs of violating the public service law of the State of Washington as soon as members of the public commission could gather evidence and swear out warrants in King County, Washington. The steamer had been running on the west side of Vashon Island on the Seattle-Tacoma route. The complaint was brought by other steamboat companies, and charged ''Olympians owners had not received permission from the commission to run a recent Sunday excursion to Olympia at a low rate, and had not filed the required tariffs with the commission.

On July 16, 1914, the Independent Navigation Company advertised a "grand excursion" from Seattle to Olympia, to take place the next Sunday, July 19. The steamer would depart Seattle from Pier 4, at the foot of Spring Street, at 9:30 a.m., and return from Olympia at 10:15 p.m. Round trip tickets cost one dollar.

Operations under the Red Ball company did not last long, as by November 1914, ''Olympian'' was back on this market, this time being advertised as "FOR SALE CHEAP" by an admiralty lawyer, Moncrieffe Cameron, possibly meaning the vessel had been seized for debts.

Transfer to the Columbia River

''Olympian'' proved not to be a success on the Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia route, and so was transferred to the Columbia river. On September 28, 1916, ''Olympian'' departed Port Townsend, Washington.

In September 1916, ''Olympian'' was sold to a group of Portland capitalists headed by J.M. Ayres for service on the Columbia River, departing Seattle on September 28. John M. Ayres was a timber broker with an office in the Henry Building in Portland. He was said to have been some connection to the steamer.

Coming over the Columbia Bar, a wave struck ''Olympian'' and broke all of its hogchains, but was still brought into Astoria safely.

''Olympian'' had been purchased by John C. Ayres, who had been for several years before in charge of the Hammond Lumber Company's seagoing raftings of piling at Stella, Washington. Veteran steamboat captain Sid Scammon (1875-1931), who had resigned from the Regulator Line a few days previously, was to be put into command of Olympian.

''Olympian'' left Astoria at 10:00 a.m. on September 30, 1916 for Portland, Oregon, where it was planned to put the steamer in drydock to repair the damage from having been hogged coming over the Columbia river bar.

Idled in Portland

The new owners, J.M. Ayres and S.H. Scammon, had not yet announced when ''Olympian'' would be put into service, nor on which route they would put it. . According to another report, the owners planned to put the steamer on the run from Portland to The Dalles, Oregon.

As of May 1917, ''Olympian'' had been laying for some months downriver from the Broadway Bridge in Portland. In May 1917 it was reported that ''Olympian'' was soon to be placed on Portland-Astoria run.

''Olympian'' was to make daily trips on the route, departing from Callender's dock in Astoria at 7:00 a.m. for Portland, and from Oak Street dock in Portland at 4:00 p.m. for the return to Astoria. ''Olympian'' would join the steamers ''Georgiana'', ''Undine'', and ''Harvest Queen'' on the route, and would charge the same $1 fare as Georgiana.

Placed on the Astoria run

''Olympian'' made the first trip on the new route on Wednesday, May 23, 1917, departing Astoria in the morning and reaching Portland at 4:00 p.m., with Capt. Sid Scammon in command and Captain Fritz Krause as pilot ''Olympian'' departed Portland before 5:00 p.m. that day to return to Astoria.

Laid up in Portland

In November 1917 the Portland Port Commission was considering acquiring a stern-wheel towboat. ''Olympian'', then lying idle in Portland on the east side of the Willamette river below the Broadway Bridge, was offered to the commission, but the commission thought ''Olympian'' was not the class of vessel that was wanted.

Kelso Transportation Company, headed by A.E. Hayes, purchased ''Olympian'' in the fall of 1919. Kelso Transportation Co. also owned the sternwheeler Metlako. ''Olympian'' was still out of service in early November 1919, when the steamer was towed to the foot of Taylor street, in Portland, to be overhaulled. There was talk that ''Olympian'' might be converted to a grain carrier. On January 15, 1920, ''Olympian'', still lying at Taylor Street, was scheduled for an inspection by the Steamboat Inspection Service.

Portland - The Dalles run

On February 10, 1920, it was reported that Northwestern Transportation Co. would, starting March 1, put the newly renovated ''Olympian'' on a regular run between Portland and The Dalles, Oregon. From March 2 until the tourist season, ''Olympian'' would make the trip in two days. In the summer tourist season, ''Olympian'' would carry passengers and fast freight on a daily run to The Dalles. The company hoped to revive the days when ''Telephone'', ''Bailey Gatzert'', and '' Charles R. Spencer'' used to carry thousands of visitors to the scenic Columbia Gorge. On Sundays the boat would run to the Cascades Locks only.

''Olympian'' would comfortably seat 300 people. Master of ''Olympian'' would be Capt. Fritz Kruse, with Herman Fries as pilot. Pullman-style arranged around the walls of the lounge would allow 120 to look out the windows at the scenery, and there were seats on the deck for 100 more people.

In a letter to the ''St. Helens Mist'', in March 1920, Frank Shepard, who had an ownership interest in ''Olympian'' and ''J.N. Teal'', stated that his company would run buses in conjunction with the Olympian's river run to The Dalles, so that passengers could ride up on the steamer and return to Portland by bus, and vice versa. Shepard was the principal of Shepard's Auto Bus Company, of Portland.

As of April 1920, ''Olympian'' was owned by the Northwestern Transportation Company. At that time the river was too low to allow the deep draft ''Olympian'' to reach The Dalles, and the vessel was not capable of handling heavy freight.

Captain John Zumwalt took command of ''Olympian'' in June 1920. In July 1920, ''Olympian'' was employed in the excursion business. On a scenic trip on July 4 to the Cascades Rapids, ''Olympian'' carried over 300 people. Every Sunday in July 1920, ''Olympian'' left the Taylor Street dock in Portland at 9:00 a.m. for the Cascades, returning to Portland at 6:00 p.m. The trip was advertised to have "over a hundred mile panorama of mountain crags and waterfalls." The fare was $2.

Later years

Demand for steamer service to The Dalles fell off rapidly in the early 1920s. After the summer excursion season of 1920, ''Olympian'' was laid up for several months. On January 3, 1921, ''Olympian'' was prepared to take the place of ''J.N. Teal'' on the Portland—The Dalles route, under veteran captain Arthur H. Riggs (1870-1941), with the trip to be made twice weekly. Riggs had commanded ''Olympian'' in 1905, when under the name ''Telegraph'' the steamer had carried passengers during the Lewis and Clark Exposition. ''Olympian'' was considered to have an advantage over ''J.N. Teal'' because of having a smaller crew and being able to purchase oil fuel at a price of 70 cents less per barrel.

''Olympian'' was out-dated on the Portland-The Dalles route. Trucks on the newly-opened Columbia River Highway cut into the steamer's freight business. An experiment was tried by taking on fully-loaded motor trucks on to the steamer's freight deck, carrying them upriver, and then driving them off the boat and then to the destination.

The roll on - roll off experiments produced no profit, and for a time in 1921, ''Olympian'' was placed on the Portland-Astoria route, running briefly against the fast propeller steamer Georgiana. Late in 1921, ''Olympian'' was withdrawn from service and laid up at Fulton.

Sale to Smith Transportation

In January 1922, ''Olympian'', then lying at the foot of Virginia Street in Portland, was listed for sale by my T.H Adams, deputy liquidation supervisor of the Kelso State Bank. The sale was to be conducted by sealed bid, due by February 13, 1922. All bids were subject to the approval of the superior court of the State of Washington for Cowlitz County, Washington.

This sale was possibly related to Kelso State Bank's having been taken in charge the previous year by the banking commissioner for the State of Washington, Claude Hay. It had been reported that on March 17, 1921, at about 9:45 p.m., F.L. Stewart, either jumped or fell off the launch ''Queen'', while ''Queen'' was en route across the Columbia from Goble, Oregon. Stewart had held an ownership interest in the Northwest Transportation company, which operated Olympian on the Columbia River.

On March 30, 1922, Milton Smith( 1874-1951), of Rainier, Oregon purchased ''Olympian'' for use in his fleet of logging towboats. By then ''Olympian'' had been moored at a place called Fulton for some time. Other steamers in the fleet of the Smith Transportation Company at the time were the sternwheelers ''Nestor'', ''Cowlitz'', and ''Service''.

Salvage vessel

On May 28, 1922, the British Furnace-Prince freighter ''Welsh Prince'' had been wrecked in the Columbia River near Altoona, Washington as a result of a collision in dense fog with the American-Hawaiian freighter ''Iowa''. Seven sailors on ''Welsh Prince'' were killed. Salvage operations conducted by M. Barde and Sons, who leased ''Olympian'' from Milton Smith, for towing barges, housing men working at the scene, and providing power. Captain Robert F. Caples was in command of ''Olympian''.

Conversion to towing vessel ''Logger''

By 1923, there was no further demand for regular passenger or freight service by stern-wheelers, and the last regular service to The Dalles came to an end.

In 1924 or 1925, Milton Smith stripped the cabin structure and equipment off ''Olympian'', and installed them on a newly-built wooden hull that was long. The new vessel, named ''Logger'' was built exclusively to tow log rafts. The reconstruction was done at St. Helens, Oregon.

''Logger'' was long measured over the hull, with a beam of and depth of hold of . Overall size of ''Logger'' was 447 gross tons and 322 registered tons, with "ton" being a measure of volume and not weight. ''Logger'' was unusual for having two smokestacks, which were called "chimneys." ''Logger'' had a crew of 9 and was licensed as a tow boat. The official merchant vessel registry number was 224289.

''Logger'' was unique among Columbia River steamers in that it was the only one built that ran off "hog fuel." Hog fuel was chipped sawmill waste. It was dusty, splintery, and difficult to handle, but it was inexpensive.

Disposition

In 1930, Shaver Transportation Company merged with Smith Transportation Co., and so acquired ''Logger'' and several other boats. Shaver found ''Logger'' to be difficult to operate. Logger sank at the Shaver moorings in Portland and was not returned to service. In 1940, motivated by the high price of scrap metal, and the great success of the new diesel towboats, Shaver had ''Logger'' dismantled.''Loggers name board was recovered, and later displayed with those of many other steamers, at Champoeg State Park along the Willamette River.

Notes

References

Books

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On-line newspaper collections

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{{Steamboats Pacific Northwest

Steamboats of Oregon
Steamboats of Washington (state)
Steamboats of the Columbia River
Ships built in Everett, Washington
1903 ships