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River Navigation, May 20th 1881.
5/20/2009 at 9:12 AM
The Assiniboine River had been an easy way for the Fur Traders to transport their Furs, and by the 1870’s had become an important artery for traffic.
The Boats used in this era of transportation were named the Dakota, Prince Rupert, Manitoba, Minnesota, Alpha, Northwest, and Marquette, which travelled as far as Fort Pelly, in Saskatchewan. These boats plied their trade on both the Red and Assiniboine Rivers.
A description of the Paddlewheel Ship Northwest is as follows: it was finished with Wisconsin seasoned Oak. She was the largest Stern-wheeler in the new northwest.
The cabin contained 80 passenger berths. The boat had three decks and was built at a cost of $27,000. On her maiden trip on May 20th 1881 her owner brought 40 carloads of lumber down river to Winnipeg and sold them for $22,500 cash.
On arrival in Winnipeg carpenters were still busy on the boat fitting up cabins for the return trip. Two Bridal Chambers were made to be especially gorgeous. Furnishings of the Ladies Cabin were enhanced by a fine new piano.
A news print item of August 4th 1881 states:
“The Steamer Northwest arriving from Brandon via the Assiniboine with 70 storm tossed passengers reported that she had narrowly escaped shipwreck from gales and waterspouts at Baie St. Paul: she had on board two Bald Headed Eagles captured by the crew near Millford.”
The Assiniboine River had a swift current, and so the trip from Winnipeg to Fort Ellice took twelve days, but the return trip followed the current, and so it only took five days to return. The River was only navigable for about three months of the year, but traffic was so great that every season was a profitable one.
In 1881 the Canadian Pacific Railway reached Brandon, but Steamboat travel was still required us far up stream as possible to bring back cargos of lumber for the Hanbury Mills at Brandon.
After the building of Branch Lines and the lowering of the water level of the River this part of the transport industry was ended, although some of these boats continued to do business for many years on the Red River.
Source: The Beaver by Molly McFadden June 1953.
Steamboats on the Assiniboine by Roy Brown, (Still available in re-print at Daly House Museum)