6 - Commerce and the Steamboat

(Part 2)

Paddlewheelers in the Canadian Frontier

Paddlewheel steamboats played an important role in opening up the unexplored frontier of western Canada. At least three of these steamboats, operating in British Columbia during the second half of the 19th Century, carried the name Enterprise.

The first was a sternwheel steamer originally built for service on the Willamette River in Oregon. She was bought by Captain Thomas Wright, who took her north into Canada. Although she sank while crossing the mouth of the Columbia River, she was refloated and eventually began a very profitable route between Victoria and Fort Hope on the Lower Fraser River in British Columbia. On one trip in December 1858, the Enterprise became frozen in between Fort Hope and Fort Langley. Because the vessel had no food or accommodations, many of the 114 passengers decided to leave the ship at that point and try to continue on foot, although the weather was frigid and they were many miles from either port. Three days later, Captain Wright was able to free the Enterprise and then began sailing up and down the river blowing the ship's horn to alert the passengers who were ashore. Captain Wright and the Enterprise eventually recovered all 114 passengers and continued on to their original destination. The grateful passengers had the following "thank you" letter printed in the Victoria Gazette.

We ... beg to tender to Capt. Thomas Wright of the steamer Enterprise, plying on Fraser River, our deep heartfelt acknowledgements for his humanity and Christian benevolence, in rescuing from destruction 110 men, 1 woman and 3 children lost in the snow on the intricate route and almost impassable woods of Fraser River.... We feel that, but for our unexpected deliverance, the pall of death must have been stretched over us all.30

The second Canadian Enterprise was a sidewheel steamboat built in 1861 at San Francisco and initially used for the mail run to Puget Sound. After losing a fare war with another steamboat, the Enterprise was sold to the Hudson Bay Company and taken to Canada. Trips on the early steamboats were seldom without excitement, as the boats had a habit of catching fire, blowing up, tearing their hulls open on rocks, and occasionally running into each other. Just such an occurrence ended the career of the Enterprise on July 28, 1885, when she collided with the steamer R.P. Rithet in open water off Victoria, British Columbia. The Victoria Colonist reported that:

Terrible confusion and a perfect babble ensued. The Chinese and Indians on both steamers sent forth unearthly yells . . . ladies went into hysterics . . . many men jumped clear of the Enterprise and swam to the Rithet, several who could not swim or were afraid to try it jumped in and seized floating bales of hay. To add to the confusion several cattle were observed swimming around, one of whom jumped into the ladies' cabin of the Enterprise.31

Miraculously, only two persons lost their lives in the mishap, although 24 head of cattle on the Enterprise also perished. The captain of the R.P. Rithet was found to be responsible for the accident, because he left an inexperienced crewman at the wheel of the steamer while he went below for lunch. (A similar scenario would befall the captain of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez more than a hundred years later, with more far-reaching consequences.)

The 1861 Canadian paddlewheeler Enterprise sits partially submerged after being rammed by the R.P. Rithet near Victoria, British Columbia [Photo: Maritime Museum of British Columbia]

The third Canadian Enterprise was a sternwheel steamer built near Fort Alexandra on the Upper Fraser River in British Columbia. She was made entirely of hand-sawn lumber, and her boiler and other ironwork were packed by mule more than 300 miles from Port Douglas on the Lower Fraser. On May 9, 1863, Captain J.W. Doan took the Enterprise on her maiden trip, thus becoming the first steamer to sail the Upper Fraser. In October 1863, she carried two Englishmen, the first tourists to the area, who later wrote that:

[The] steamer came in about 2 o'clock bringing a host of miners, two of whom were drunk and continued to imbibe every 5 minutes; during the time we stayed in the house they must have had 20 drinks. The swearing was something fearful. After we had been on board a short time, the Captain finding out who we were, gave us the use of his cabin, a comfortable little room and supplied us with cigars and a decanter of cocktail, also books and papers. We were fetched out every few minutes to have a drink with someone, the Captain taking the lead by standing champagne all round. We had some dozen to do before supper; no one the least affected, Milton and I shirking in quantity.32

The third Canadian paddlewheel steamboat Enterprise was built in 1863 and sailed on the rapid-thorn Upper Fraser River for many years [Litho: Maritime Museum of British Columbia]

For 8 years the Enterprise provided regular service on the 56-mile stretch from Quesnel to Soda Creek, making three trips a week during the months of May through October. In 1871 gold was discovered in Ominenco country 230 miles to the northwest of Soda Creek. Miners rushed to the area and the Enterprise followed. Her voyages were legendary because she was the only steamer to continue up the Upper Fraser, onto the rapid-torn Tachie River, and finally to Takla Lake. Eventually, newer competitors arrived, and the "big canoe from Quesnel," as she was called by the local Indians, was abandoned on Trembleur Lake.

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Last Updated: January 1, 2003