Steamboating Uphill By Roger Knowles Thompson May, 2001 The sternwheel river boat came into its own on the old frontier beginning about 1815. The vast drainage basin of the Mississippi was well served by thousands of steamers which were the backbone of commerce and transportation until the railroads gradually spread from East to West. As settlement reached the Pacific coast by the late 1830s and early 1840s, it was apparent that the river steamboat would be most useful there as well, but that a new type of boat and skipper would be necessary . While The broad lower Columbia could be navigated much like the placid Ohio and Mississippi, most of the rivers in the west originated in the giant mountain ranges of the Rockies at the Continental divide and the coastal ranges of the Pacific coast from Alaska to California. These tumultuous rivers poured down from the mountains at alarming rates and even the upper Columbia and its tributaries were swift flowing and filled with rapids. The arrival of the sidewheeler Beaver from Britain via South America over the Columbia river bar in 1854, ushered in an era of unique men and machines who were vital to the development of the Pacific Northwest, coastal California, and especially Western Canada and the Yukon, whose river system were extensive but particularly wild, and which had almost no overland access. The especially built "hot rod" steamers that developed and the daring whitewater skippers who pioneered much of Western interior, have entered Northwestern folklore . One of the most colorful and daring was John Henry Bonser . Born on the banks of the Columbia at Sauvies Island Oregon in 1855, he was the second son of James Halstead Bonser a pioneer of 1847. His father and grandfather had been rivermen on the Scioto and Ohio rivers operating flatboats and other craft and he grew up hearing stories of the Ohio river days and watching the early Columbia sidewheelers such as the Lot Whitcomb and Beaver steaming past his door. When John was eight his family moved up the river to the Grande Ronde valley of Oregon during the Gold excitement of the times, where his father finding no gold, farmed and worked on an experimental scheme to float goods down the Columbia on especially built flatboats cum rafts, which were supposed to be able to pass the great falls at Celilo. Several years later Johns mother, Hannah Thomas Bonser, died while giving birth to his youngest sister. The river scheme had come to nothing and Johns grieving father moved back to Sauvies Island. The youngest children were cared for by family, but the oldest children including John, moved with their father to Clarke co. Washington on the banks of the Lewis river north of the Columbia. James Bonser was not much of a farmer and began to work the fast developing river trade as deckman, engineer etc., and was absent from home a great deal of the time . John and his brothers and sisters said later that they were raised as "children of nature". With hard times at home, when John turned 16, he and an older brother, Thomas Albert, struck out on their own, gravitating of course to the steamboats . They were able to wangle various jobs on the Cowlitz, Lewis, and Columbia rivers, serving as he said in later life "as everything from pilot to Chinese cook". In 1880 Albert was drowned while working as a deckhand on the steamer "Latona", and John was devastated. The brothers had been particularly close and he told his sister Hannah later that he wanted to quit the river trade but didn't know anything else. He said he would never let the river take him or beat him like it had Albert. Johns' friendliness and competence began to develop a reputation. He liked to "toot around" with the hard living river crowd , and his affability and a reputation for hard work and daring won him many friends. He came to be called "Johnny" Bonser the name listed in most of the records. Another captain, J.P. Busey, later said of him "a very likeable man, always genial and friendly". Later in the intense competition that would develop between the competing steamboats, his popularity would serve him well. It was said some of the old settlers would ship with no one else. A tall lanky man over six feet tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes he was considered handsome and dashing. He had an easy and friendly manner and laughed often. John served on the "Cowlitz", the "Carrie", and many others during this period, usually staying on board with his brother, and sleeping where convenient. He came to specialize in piloting the Lewis river and served on the "Dewdrop", "Grady", The "Isabel", and others during this time, but most often on the steamer "Latona", put into service in 1878, under Captain W.G. Weir. In 1882 he was appointed master, his first full time command. The Lewis river experience was to prove a good training ground for the future, narrow and swift and in the upper reaches exceptionally shallow, it took a steady hand, and an inborn sixth sense to run her, particularly in later times when competition was intense and it was not uncommon for competing boats to "race " for the next freight pick up. Sinkings and freeze-ins were frequent and it was said that one of the most important skills to be had of the captain and crew was how to salvage the boat. On the lower Lewis river, flooding was not infrequent, and the story is told of the shallow draft boats during flood navigating through the corn fields, where one could reach over the side of the boat and pluck ears of corn. He became the premiere master on the River and moved on to the finest boat to operate there, "The Mascot". The Mascot was fast, had elegant quarters on the passenger deck, and was queen of the Lewis river steamboats. She was the first to establish daily scheduled service to Portland, and in 21 years of service had great influence on the Lewis river settlements. It was common for experienced masters and pilots to serve on two or more vessels concurrently, day captain on one, night captain on another. After 1882 John seems to have spread himself around. The Portland city directory shows him serving as a master on most of the boats operating out of Portland and Vancouver. He amassed a record for dependability and profitability, much in demand. About this time, he became involved with a great uncle, Isaac Thomas, building light draft steamers at St. Helens, and owned shares in many, particularly those owned by the Farmers Transportation Co. and operating on the Lewis. He was later to design, build and own some of his own boats at St. Helens and Portland, all of the newer specialized whitewater types. They were usually a little longer, a little narrower, more powerful, and capable of operating at very shallow depths, sometimes as little as 12 inches. They usually had light weight boilers and were not designed to carry much fuel although their wood consumption could be prodigious, particularly when bucking up a swift rapids. The boat was also designed using cable links and stiffened kelsons to be exceptionally rigid. The steamers of the day could devote their limited space to cargo and not fuel as almost universally from Upper California northward, all but the largest rivers ran through heavy forest which usually grew to the rivers edge. It was easy to tie up to a bank send an axe and bucksaw crew ashore and replenish. As populations grew many a settler made money by cutting wood and stacking it on the shore of the river for the steamers. The sternwheeler would load the wood and leave the money in a tin can on the honor system. Hilton Bonser, one of John Bonser's cousins and who owned a farm on the banks of the Columbia, said later that he had cut about 1600 cords of wood in twenty years. In 1881 John married a river girl, Ida English, born and raised within sight of the water at Deer Island on the lower Columbia, and whose father was also connected with the river trade. Ida and John formed a home at Woodland, Washington near Vancouver, Washington, though from the beginning she would live on board his various commands if it could be arranged. In Woodland, John and Ida's first child Viroqua, and several years later a son, Francisco were born. Ida was attractive, vivacious, and adventurous . She told John's sister, Hannah Bonser, that she soon realized that if she wanted to see her husband, she would have to go with him. As the children grew older, the family would establish several homes, one at Vancouver, British Columbia, one at Goble, Oregon, and usually rent a temporary home near John's Home port. John adored his family and when he reached the status of owning and building his own craft would arrange for family Quarters on board. An Oregon Journal interview of 1912, quoted Johnny and Ida: "People may say it is a strange place for a woman. Mrs John doesn't think with them. Usually she lives aboard the boat, taking the wheel when her captain-husband is called below, giving orders and acting as commander. She has accompanied her husband on some of his most dangerous trips. He says she has never shown an evidence of fear. She has been in a dozen wrecks, has many time been in the presence of death in it's worst horrors, and has acted as nurse for the maimed and sick." The children were often on board as well, their daughter Viroqua, in her memoirs recalled many hours tied to a safety line. As Captain Bonsers reputation grew, it was carried Northward, and in 1892 he was contacted by Captain George Odin of Vancouver, British Columbia, a veteran Fraser river captain, who had been hired by the Hudson's Bay co., to open a route up the treacherous Skeena river from Coastal Canada. Even as late as 1900, much of western Canada, mostly because of difficult access, had not been settled, though its rich resources were most attractive. Steamboats were being used on the upper Columbia, the Lower Fraser and elsewhere with great success but the numerous river penetrating the heart of British Columbia and the Yukon were thought to be too swift for navigation. Small boats could beat their way up but commercial freight appeared to be out of the question. Immigrants were arriving by the boatload however, and the discovery of gold in the Yukon put pressure on the Canadian Government to open new areas. The Hudsons Bay Co. letter read in part; "We understand that you have the reputation of not being afraid to take a steamboat over Niagra Falls, Across the Sahara Desert or from hell to breakfast. We've got the boat here and we want a man to take it into the mountains. If you think you can do it the Job is yours." Included was a generous salary offer. Captain Bonser set out for Port Essington, British Columbia at the mouth of the Skeena in the spring, and immediately began pushing the nose of a shallow draft steamer, probably the "Caledonia",through the whirls snags and eddies of what may be the most picturesque river in North America. On the Skeena John earned his name as "the man who steamboats uphill". During its open course of 170 miles the Skeena falls 850 feet, not gradually but in sections. In the half mile of Kitsilass Canyon there is a fall of six to seven feet. Through the gorge the river falls in steps dropping from one level to another with the abruptness of stairs. Rocks and snags and whirlpools dot its course, and always the water is fast, averaging 7 miles an hour and as high as 12 miles an hour through the canyons . While sailing with the current it was not uncommon for the boat to reach speeds of 25 miles an hour through the rapids. Nerves of steel were required. Some idea of the difficulty of navigation can be gathered by the freight rates demanded. Fifty dollars a ton for an 170 mile haul. A typical rate back on the Lewis river would have been a $5.00 a ton. Not only were the boats special, but the techniques used to run them. To aid the boats fight up the most turbulent rapids, ringbolts were anchored in the canyon walls. The boats were especially equipped with steam capstans fore and aft, and used them to haul themselves up in a hand over hand manner. Where ringbolts were not possible a "deadman" was used. The deadman was usually a log dug in to the gravel at shallow place in the river at the head of the rapids or a convenient tree trunk. The cableitself was buoyed up by blocks of wood. The cable was carried through the rapids by the floating blocks and was used by the steamer to pull itself through. After use the cable and block were put overboard and carried down stream for the next use. The process was called "lining." A Hudsons Bay Co official C.H.French, wrote an article for the "Beaver" recounting the flavor of one of the wild rides up the Skeena during the dangerous highwater season. "Entering the little Kittelsas canyon from the lower end, one gets the impression that he is entering a subterranean passage, because of the towering straight walls ---- so high that darkness appears to be gathering." "After proceeding a little further one notices that the "boils" (whirlpools) are getting larger, and if you look over the side of the ship you will notice an extra large "boil" has struck the steamer right on the stem, and has caused her to settle until the water is rushing over the bow. Suddenly the "boil " has careened the boat to one side and has shifted to her quarter. The crew with a large rope bumper, rush to the side opposite the boil so that in case the Captain has misjudged and is not able to straighten the boat up, they will be able to swing the bumper between the guard of the steamer and the jagged canyon walls.... "Now the boil has reached amidships just under where you are standing and when you look down into it, and feel the boat settling under you, you wonder if there really is any bottom to it, and whether the boat will be sucked under or eventually rise".... Finally when the guard of the boat is under water and the deck is actually flooded with water, the boil will shift a trifle to one side. Then the boat will immediately float up". During this trip the paddlewheel was damaged and the boat stopped for repairs. A large Indian canoe came down stream and, wrote Mr French: "we endeavored both by signs and shouting to warn them to not enter the dangerously highwater canyon, but the only reply they gave was to paddle harder, and in a flash this large war canoe with a crew of sixteen Indians shot into the canyon and out of our sight". The party was not seen at the canyon's end and the canoe and its crew was never found. It can only be surmised, that one of those large "boils" took the craft and held it, gradually sucking it lower until at a certain point the canoe would stand straight on end and disappear, the crew either being held in the eddy or carried down and deposited under one of the large drift piles." Needless to say, both boats and men were a tough lot, and the steam boats were often damaged and sunk and the men injured and killed. A snapping cable could act like a scythe cutting men in two and a slight misstep could send one into the swirling ice cold water to instantly be swept from sight and usually never seen again in what was then a wilderness. The boats were punctured, sunk, broken, twisted, burnt and blown up. But nearly always were repaired or raised and carried on as profits were high and the demand great. All was not Sturm and Drang and the river life had its humorous moments. John told the story of once tying up to the bank in the narrow and swift running Stikine river. While fuel was being loaded, a giant moose walked through the brush which grew to the edge of the river and unhesitatingly leapt onto the forward deck, evidently viewing the boat as a stepping stone to the other side. The deck was piled high with machinery, Crates and boxes, and the moose managed to wedge himself between the superstructure and cargo. Determined to go ahead and with his giant antlers wedged in, his angry bellowing and thrashings were rocking and shaking the whole steamboat. Worse yet, he was kicking the planking of the forward cabin bulkhead to splinters. The only possible solution was to get the moose to back out. As the crew stood around scratching their heads and unwilling to approach the 1500 pound monster, and the moose getting angrier by the minute, one man devised an answer. He formed a noose and managed to slip it over those parts which are the essence of male moosely pride. Several men leaped ashore with the rope and tugged and the moose though still bellowing, probably now through injured pride, backed out, and leaped ashore. They said he was still bellowing as they completed loading an hour later. About this time the great Klondike stampede shook the Northland awake. Demand for transportation by eager goldseekers, and ever more settlers, made river access more important, and entrepreneurs began to build boats to compete with the lofty, government favored Hudsons Bay co. In 1900 Robert Cunningham the chief businessman at Port Essington decided to enter the business and purchased the "Caledonia," a boat originally built for the Stikine river, and with a more than generous offer hired the best skipper in the business "Johnny" Bonser. At first Hudsons Bay co tried to ignore the competition, but when Cunningham sent John to Victoria to build a new boat especially for the Skeena, The boat he returned with was a wake up call. The new sternwheeler christened the "Hazleton" was clearly superior to any thing operated by the "Company", making a routine trip to Hazleton in 40 hours and returning in 10. The Hudsons Bay Co. immediately commissioned a new and faster steamer, and when in June of 1902, The new "Mount Royal" under captain Johnson appeared the race was on. Each boat began to beat the others time. Until the standing order came for both, to beat the other boat at any cost. John Bonser and his rival did not need any encouragement, sometimes sailing with cargo on the dock to beat the other boat. It seems to have come to a head in the spring of 1904, when the Vancouver Province headlined "STEAMBOAT FIGHT ON THE SKEENA!" The article included that, "the green foliage on the trees on the banks of river was shriveled by the sulphurous language that was hurled from one boat to the other". But more than language was hurled, as one captain left the pilothouse to get a rifle to shoot the other. It all started with both masters wanting to be the first of the season to Hazleton. John and the Hazleton were loaded and ready first but unknown to him the Mount Royal was right behind. 105 miles into the passage at Hardscrabble rapids, John pulled ashore for fuel and while the four foot chunks were being carried aboard, a column of smoke appeared downstream. As WalterWarner chief steward on the Hazleton recalled, "We had no idea the Mount Royal had started....and as the telegraph operators had been warned not to say a word.....it was quite a surprise. we had about half the wood on board when Captain Bonser gave a toot to let go the lines". Art Downs in his excellent book "Paddlewheels On The Frontier" Summarized the fight; "Coming up in fairly slack water, the Mount Royal quickly gained and soon the vessels were bow to bow .....smoke, steam and cinders belching skyward; paddlewheels frothing rapids white; passengers urging their vessels forward. Gradually the Mt Royal thrust ahead, then suddenly was jolted as Hazleton's bow crunched into her starboard quarter, fortunately her overhanging main deck cushioned the blow or the Hazleton could have penetrated into the engine room with disastrous results. As it was, the current was carrying both vessel toward the rocks, the Hazleton again butting her rival like a frisky billy goat. Finally, the mount Royal was broadside to the current and then swung free. She lost steerage way and the current carried her downstream bow first. Meanwhile the Hazleton surged upstream, blowing her whistle and Wagging her stern defiantly as she threshed triumphantly over the rapids." The ramming incident was discussed along the river for weeks some blaming one skipper some the other. After the season was over Captain Johnson probably still nettled at the sight of the wagging Hazleton's stern charged that Captain Bonser "deliberately and with malice ran his vessel into The Mount Royal with the purpose of injuring the Latter craft". Captain Bonser in defense said it was an accident. The Federal Dept of Marine investigated with a Captain Gaudin in charge. It became apparent that neither Captain was exactly innocent. During the fracas Captain Johnson had left the helm to find a rifle to shoot his rival thus exposing passenger and crew to grave risk. The final ruling was both captains were to blame, with captain Johnson especially censured for leaving the helm. The case was closed. John wrote a letter to his sisters Hannah and Cora telling them that Johnson had actually fired the rifle at him during the fray, but he did not want to bring it up and asked his crew not to, as "Johnson was after all a good man on the river and if I had a rifle, I would have used it too". The whole incident was a watershed for John and Ida. Cunningham and the Hudson Bay co. had come to an agreement to end the competition, and Cunningham sold out to the Hudsons Bay Company lock, stock, and barrel, leaving John without a command. For sometime Ida had been traveling between British Columbia and their home in Oregon, where they had established thmselves before John had taken the job in British Columbia. It was on the the river near Goble at Columbia county, Oregon, and was near Ida's parents, who could watch the children while Ida and John were away, and had easy access to Vancouver and Portland. A more important disaster than loss of command was to strike however in 1904. Francisco, John and Ida's eleven year old son suddenly died in Vancouver, British Columbia. Ida sorrowfully decided to return to Oregon to stay. Teenage Viroqua was as strong willed as her mother, was not easy to live with, and it was felt she needed a strong hand. Ida returned to a more settled life at their home in Goble and later moved to Vancouver, Washington where Viroqua lived with John's sister Hannah and attended school. The Skeena river settlers had benefitted greatly as the competition had driven freight rates down, and a consortium approached John offering to finance a new boat. They already had a smaller boat the "Pheasant", but it was too under powered to make it up the river. John agreed to do what he could, and in 1905 returned to Oregon looking for a new boat. John purchased the steamer "Northwest"in 1906. This boat had been one of a string of famous pioneering steamers on the Columbia all using that name, but was getting old and was under powered for Canadian work. John spliced in 30 feet to the boats mid-section, installed more powerful machinery and extra kelsons and braces, and prepared to return to the Skeena. Part of Johnny Bonsers reputation rested on his willingness to take flat bottom steamboats over the Columbia River Bar and up the coastal passage. This in itself was no mean feat: the Bar is known as the graveyard of the Pacific, and many ocean going ships have difficulty and founder to this day. John was not the only captain to take relatively tiny steamers out to the ocean, but those who would dare it were few and far between. The Northwest was brought safely to Port Essington and began to make scheduled runs in support of the new settlers consortium and in competition to the established boats. Two months after beginning however, major repairs were needed . The Northwest became hung up on a sandbarand the water rushing under her washed the sand away, leaving her hung up on a large rock ledge which broke her back. This type of breakage is serious, but repairs could have been made. The group financing the venture were seriously under funded however and decided to abandon her. John had a considerable amount of his own money tied up in the boat, but insufficient funds to repair her himself. There was no time to raise more as they were well into the season, and when the river froze over that would be the end. When the ice broke in the spring, any boat without power would be swept away and smashed to kindling. Disgusted, John decided to leave the Skeena. It later appeared just as well, as the railroad was fast advancing to Prince Rupert at the head of the Skeena, and the last of the whitewater steamboats on the river would be used to haul railroad supplies. The Fraser river was the major waterway other than the Upper Columbia in British Columbia. Its lower reaches had been successfully navigated since the 1860s and it had become the major arterial from Vancouver to the Eastern interior, but the upper reaches were still largely un-navigated. This was perfect for John. The upper Fraser and its tributaries, such as the Nechako and Nautely rivers, were much like the Skeena. Purchasing a new boat the "Nechako,"he set to out to pioneer another set of waterways . He first set out to conquer the Nechako and Nautely river and passed to the head of navigation into Fraser lake, ninety miles West of Ft. George. The next year he ventured 315 miles up the Fraser from Ft George to Tete Jaune Cache only 53 miles from the Alberta border in the Nechako, opening the last great area of British Columbia to settlement. Active as always, he also served on other vessels through 1912 to include the "Chilcotin", "Quesnel", and "Ft Fraser." He told his sister Hannah that the Nechako was the best boat he ever had, and regretted selling her. The Nechako, later named the "Chilco" met a dramatic end. A few miles above Cottonwood canyon on the Nechako and on the last run of the season, Captain George Ritchie was forced to beach her with a blown steam pipe. It was too late in the season to make major repairs, but the next April when the ice cleared, she sailed for Quesnel and a major Overhaul. As she nosed into Cottonwood canyon Captain Richie was dismayed to see the lower end of the canyon blocked with ice. He swung upstream but another pipe blew and the powerless vessel drifted straight toward the jagged ice dam. Realizing the situation was hopeless he gave the order to abandon ship. The crew were barely clear when she slammed into the ice, capsized, and disappeared without a trace. Johns many years of combat with nature and the rivers was catching up with him by 1911,and he suffered a minor stroke which left him weakened. He also missed Ida who was now living in Vancouver, Washington with John's sister. His daughter Viroqua had married, and was living in Vancouver, British Columbia in the families' Canadian home. In 1911 John left the river and joined Ida in Washington. His health took a turn for the worse, and he finally suffered a severe heart attack which left him confined to a wheel chair. He and Ida lived with his sister Hannah through most of the next year until finally he worsened further and was admitted to St Vincents Hospital in Portland and died 26 December 1913. He was buried next to his son Francisco at the Deer Island, later Kinder, Cemetery near Goble, and Ida joined her daughter in British Columbia. "Johnny Bonser" and the other "whitewater men" were a legend to a whole generation in the Pacific Northwest. These daring and glamorous rivermen who pioneered the tumultuous white water rivers of the Pacific Coast and who took their steamboats 'uphill', were an important chapter in the settlement and economic development of the western united states. Bibliography 1. Lewis and Drydens "Marine History of the Pacific Northwest" 2. Lewis County History B.F. Alley- Monroe Frazer 3. "Steamboat Era on the Lewis River"1854-1920- Curtis Gardner- Ms. Ft Vancouver Historical Society 4. Memoirs of Viroqua Bonser Godfrey- in possession of author 5. Feature article -Oregon Journal- Portland ore ,28 January 1912 6. "Paddlewheels on the Frontier, The Story of British Columbia and Yukon Sternwheel Steamers" - Art Downs , Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, 1972 7. Portland city directories ,Oregon Historical society 8. Memoirs and letters of Hannah Bonser Knowles- in possession of author 9. Various articles ,St Helens Mist newspaper, possession of author 10.Various articles and clippings - British Columbia news papers 11. Reminiscences of Agnes Ruth Knowles to the author