A Century of Sail and Steam on the Niagara River Part 17

Electrical traction was then in its infancy. No better evidence of this can be given than the fact that although the Canadian Electric Railway Company had ample surplus power in their development at the Horseshoe Falls, yet the electrical engineers of the day, reported that the cost of wiring and the loss in transmission of power for the only seven miles to Queenston, would be prohibitive to commercial economy. An additional equipment for development of electricity by steam was therefore installed on the river side at Queenston to help the power current from the Falls in operating the cars up the zig-zag to the top of the Queenston Heights.

This power house is shown in the view taken from the Heights and continued to be used until 1898, when the improvements in electrical transmission enabled it to be abandoned and full power brought from the company's water power house at the Falls.

The zig-zag series of curves by which the double track railway winds its way up the face of the Niagara escarpment from the dock to the summit at Brock's Monument is considered one of the achievements of Mr. Jennings, who was the engineer for the construction of this Canadian Power and Electrical R.R. Company, and had previously done some notable work for the Canadian Pacific Railway on the Fraser River and Rocky Mountain sections.

As the cars wind up and approach the summit, a splendid and far distant landscape is opened to the view, one which the Duke of Argyle considered to be one of the "_worthy views of the world_." Below are the terraces and color-chequered fields of the vineyards, the peach and fruit orchards of this "Garden of Canada." Through these variegated levels the Niagara River curves in its silvered sheen to Lake Ontario where the blue waters close in the far horizon.

From Queenston Heights this electric railway skirts the edges of the cliffs above the great gulf in the depths of which the Niagara rapids toss and foam, and then circling around the sullen swirlings of the fatal Whirlpool, lands the tourist within the spray of the great Cataract itself.

Our ownership of the dock and the waterfront at Queenston, purchased so many years before, now proved its foresight and facilitated the making of arrangements with the new Electric Railway for an interchange of business.

As a result it was now determined that a fourth steamer should be added to the Niagara River Line, and thus provision was made for the new connection and the increased business which would arise from its introduction.

This new connection apparently to the river was, after all, but the revival of the old _Portage Route_ on the Canadian side, which had so long existed between Chippawa and the head of navigation at this point, but not exactly on the same location and had pa.s.sed away upon the diversion of business to other routes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The CHIPPEWA in Drydock at Kingston, Bow. (page 184)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The CHIPPEWA in Drydock at Kingston, Stern.]

As the steamer lies at the Queenston Dock, the eye naturally sweeps upward over the cedar clad slopes of the Niagara escarpment toward the striking monument which crowns its heights. The reminiscences are those of martial strife, when on the 13th of October, 1812, contestants met in mortal conflict. In fancy we can see the foemen moving upon the slopes, the American forces gain the Heights, the heroic General Brock leads his men in bold attack to regain possession, and falls at their head mortally wounded.

Reinforcements under General Sheaffe come from the west along the summit of the cliffs, the contest is renewed; Indians are seen gleaming among the trees, they drive the invaders over the brink to fall into the rapids below, and at length the American forces with two Generals and seven hundred men lay down their arms and are taken prisoners. But there are other phases much more ancient of this head of navigation and its portages.

Under the hill there can be discerned beneath the shadow of the Height the old road leading up from the lower level of the dock to the upper level upon which, what is left of the Town of Queenston stands. It is marked and scarred with the ruts of many decades and full of memories. Upon these slopes the Indian made his way to the waterside at the Chippewa creek. Here came the trappers with their bales of furs brought down from the far North-West. Here came the _voyageur traders_ of France with beads and gew-gaws for barter with the Indians, and later the English with blankets and firearms.

In the earliest days two portages were available, one on each side of the river, but during the French period and for long, long after the one on the past side from Lewiston was mainly used, its terminus at Lake Erie being called _Pet.i.te Niagara_ as distinctive from the great _Fort Niagara_ at its lower end.

With the end of the war of the Revolution, Capt. Alexander Campbell of the 12th Regiment, was sent by Lord Dorchester to report on the portages. In reporting in 1794 he mentions that the American portage was at a steep bank just below the rapids, to the foot of which the batteaux were poled with difficulty and the contents raised by winch and hawser to the upper level some 60 feet above. On the Canadian side at Queenston the eddy was more favorable and there were, he said, four vessels waiting to be unloaded and sixty waggons working on the portage. In consideration of the expected transfer of Fort Niagara he thought it would be better to improve the mouth of the Chippewa Creek and adopt the all-Canadian side instead of sending up supplies on the Fort Niagara side to _Schlosser_ to be boated across to _Fort Erie_.

Mr. Robert Hamilton, afterwards Hon. Robert, sized up the situation and built a new dock and storehouse on what afterwards turned out to be Government property at the _Chippaway River_. He had early appreciated the value of the portage and had established a large transfer business across it. Becoming the chief personage of the neighborhood he had in 1789 changed the name of its northern terminus to _Queenston_ instead of the _West Landing_ by which it had previously been known.

With these increased facilities and to his own great profit he in time secured the bulk of the portage trade.

In 1800 John Maude mentions that three schooners and 14 teams were lying at the dock at Queenston on one day, and that from 50 to 60 teams a day pa.s.sed over the Portage, the rate for freight being 20 pence New York currency per hundred pounds between Queenston and Chippewa.

When the great _trek_ from Maine and Ma.s.sachusetts began to the Western States of Michigan and Illinois, this Queenston road was mostly taken by the wandering land seekers, it being adopted by them then as the short cut across the Peninsula to the Detroit River instead of the long detour along the south sh.o.r.es of Lake Erie, just as at present the Michigan Central, Wabash and Grand Trunk Railways cross from the Falls on this shortest route to the west.

The waggons with their horses, having come to Lewiston from Albany and Rochester by the Ridge Road, were placed upon the batteaux to cross the river, and although at first carried far down by the current on the eastern side were easily taken by the eddy up the west sh.o.r.e to the landing place at Queenston. Up this inclined road to the upper tier, in imagination one can see the lines of immigrants, with their teams and canvas topped wagons, in long extended line seeking the far West for their new homes and great adventures.

So great was the traffic in this direction that, in 1836 a "horse boat" was employed on the ferry and the first Suspension Bridge at Queenston was promoted in 1839 to accommodate the movement from the East towards the West. At present except when a Niagara Navigation Co. steamer is alongside, all is so quiet it seems scarcely possible that this landing place could at one time have been the centre of such busy movement.

The re-opening revived also the memories of an oft told narrative of a little family, which years before had arrived over the portage route, at this same dock at Queenston, and made their first acquaintance with the Niagara River and its navigation.

Mr. Fred W. c.u.mberland, our late Director, and his wife had come to the opinion that the position which the held on the Engineering Staff, in Her Majesty's dockyard at Portsmouth, did not represent such a future as they would desire, and therefore they determined to emigrate to Canada. In the spring of 1847 they took pa.s.sage on a sailing ship, bringing with them their ten-months-old baby. After a voyage of six weeks they reached New York, from where they came by Hudson River steamer to Albany, where they spent the night. From here they came by steam railroad at the unexpected speed of "twenty miles an hour." And again, as was usual, for there were no night trains, broke their journey and stayed over night at Syracuse, 171 miles, where there was a fine large hotel, and the following day leaving 8.00 a.m., arrived at Buffalo at 9.00 p.m. Leaving Buffalo next morning they came by steamer down the Niagara River to Chippawa, where they took the "horse railroad" for Queenston to join the steamer for Toronto.

The terminus at Queenston of the horse railroad was at the end of the "stone road," near the hotel above the road leading down to the steamer.

Just when arrived at this, the car went off the track, and while Mr.

c.u.mberland was endeavoring to extract their belongings, Mrs. c.u.mberland, the baby, and a young clergyman, the Rev. G. Salter, who had crossed the Atlantic on the same ship with them, were carried off on the steamer for Toronto, and the father was left behind. It was amusingly told, how, after they had landed at the foot of Church Street, and were walking up into the town, Mr. Salter, who had been consigned to an appointment under the Rev.

Dr. John Strachan, then Bishop of Toronto, wondered what his Bishop would say if he should chance to meet his new curate with another man's wife and carrying a baby as he entered his Diocese. The baby was Barlow c.u.mberland, who then made his first steamboating on the Niagara River, on which he was afterwards to be so actively engaged.

It was determined that the new steamer should be a further advance in size and equipment to prepare for the increased traffic now to be fed from both sides of the river. Additional capital was therefore required, of which part was provided by the Niagara Company, and part by the introduction of new stockholders, including Mr. E. B. Osler, and Mr. William Hendrie.

Here, in 1892, the purely family relationship of the first members of the Company closed, the stock holdings being more widely spread and the Board increased from five members to seven.

The services of Mr. Frank Kirby, of Detroit, the most accomplished designer of pa.s.senger steamers, were engaged, the plans made, the tenders of the Hamilton Bridge & Shipbuilding Co. accepted for the hull, boilers and upper-works, and the engines contracted for with W. Fletcher Co., of New York, the builders of the fastest marine engines on the Hudson and the Upper Lakes. Mr. Geo. H. Hendrie left the next day for Scotland to arrange for the materials.

_Cibola_, Capt. McGiffin, and _Chicora_, Capt. Solmes, conducted the season 1892 with good success. Work on the new steamer was commenced at Hamilton.

Again the question of a new name arose, and this time it was considered that the name should still be Indian, but of Canadian origin. Thus the name _Chippewa_ was selected as that of a renowned Canadian tribe of Indians which had flourished in the Niagara River District, and also as a renewal of the name of H.M. sloop _Chippewa_, upon which General Brock had sailed on Lake Erie. It will be noted that the name is not that of the village and postoffice of Chippawa, but is spelled with an "e," being that of the Indian tribe. A fine carving of a Chippewa Chieftain's head, taken from Catlin's collection of Indian portraits, is placed on the centre of each paddle box, similarly as a rampant Buffalo had previously been placed on those of the _Cibola_. On 2nd May, 1893, the steamer was successfully launched in the presence of many of the citi-townsman, Mr. William Hendrie, and of a number of visitors from Buffalo, Toronto and Montreal. The name was given and the bottle gallantly broken by Miss Mary Osler, daughter of Mr. E. B. Osler, and Miss Mildred c.u.mberland, daughter of Mr. Barlow c.u.mberland. _Chippewa_, the _Indian Chief_, was the first of our vessels to be constructed of steel. Her tonnage is 1,574 tons. Length, 311 feet; beam, 36, and is authorized to carry 2,000 pa.s.sengers in lake service. The interior arrangements were more convenient and s.p.a.cious than any previously, and an innovation was the addition of a hurricane deck, upon which ample s.p.a.ce for pa.s.sengers is provided. The _Chippewa_ had satisfactorily pa.s.sed through her trial trips, and in May, 1894, the steamer, completed in every respect, sailed from Hamilton to take up her station on the Niagara Route. A goodly number of railway and steamboating officials and friends were on board under the leadership of Sir Frank Smith.

Our steamers were that year running from Geddes' (now the City) Dock, as we had again, for the fourth time, been turned out of Milloys. Mr. William Fletcher, the builder of the engines, had come up from New York and was in charge of the motive department. It was a Sat.u.r.day afternoon. _Chicora_ was occupying the face of the dock, so _Chippewa_ had to come in on the west side. By some mischance she was not stopped soon enough and made her entry into Toronto by driving her nose some five or six feet into the wooden timber of the side of the Esplanade. The steamer seemed scarcely in motion, yet cut into the heavy timbers as though they had been matches. When backed out no damage was done excepting the loss of a little paint on the bow. The party landed, the Buffalo and New York visitors with Mr. Fletcher going off on _Chicora_ amid hearty exchange of greetings.

The introduction of a third boat on the Main Line made an exceeding difference in the frequency of the services, and again was at first a good deal in excess of the demand, or of business offering.

A new trip was introduced by the _Chicora_ leaving Toronto at 9 a.m., staying over at Lewiston and returning in the afternoon, making one round trip. The whole departure being five trips; 7.00 a.m., 9.00 a.m., 11.00 a.m., 2.00 p.m., 4.45 p.m. This 9.00 a.m. trip was not a success during its early years, but gradually gained in importance.

_Chippewa_ (Capt. McGiffin), _Cibola_ (Capt. W. H. Solmes), _Chicora_ (Capt. Jas. Harbottle), closed the season of 1894, in which much more activity was produced, and good evidences given of growth to be expected in the future.

In effecting its growth the route continued to be exceedingly a.s.sisted by the energies and a.s.sistance of the connecting Railway Company's officers.

_Mr. D. M. Kendrick_ had succeeded Mr. Meeker, and he in turn, in 1887, followed by _Mr. Henry Monett_. A most notable advance was begun during this regime, an entirely new idea being evolved. The reputation of the New York Central Railway for the regularity and character of its trains and service had been well created, but up to that time the Erie Railway, by persistent advertising, had been established in the minds of the public as "_the only scenic_" route between Buffalo and New York. Mr. Monett inst.i.tuted a series of descriptive and ill.u.s.trative announcements developing the _Mohawk Valley_, through which the New York Central runs, as being "_the really most beautiful_" route, pa.s.sing through the scenery of the romantic valley of the Mohawk and the mountain heights of the Hudson with all the advantages of _"a water-level line" following the coursings of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers_, and so giving a perfect night's rest.

It was a novelty and an inducement which caught the public idea, and added attraction to efficient service.

Owing to the early death of Mr. Monett in 1888, _Mr. E. J. Richards_ followed as Acting General Pa.s.senger Agent to 1889, with his intimate knowledge of the pa.s.senger requirements he gathered in and secured the business which Mr. Monett's methods had begun to attract. During his period _Cibola_ was added to our line.

With the career of his successor _Mr. George H. Daniels_, (1889 to 1905) there was a still further expansion of the advertising method of attracting business to the great railway, whose train service was of the highest development. The celebrated pamphlets known as the "_Four Track_" series under Mr. Daniels led the way in railway advertising publications, introducing methods which since then have been so extensively followed and applied by all the princ.i.p.al railways. As an instance of widespread advertis.e.m.e.nt, no less than four millions of the one issue of the "Four Track" series which contained "_The Message to Garcia_" were distributed to the public, the demand for copies exhausting edition after edition.

_Chippewa_ and _Corona_ were both added during Mr. Daniel's term.

During the later changes in the Head Offices the local pa.s.senger representation in the Buffalo and Western district had been held in succession by _Mr. E. J. Weekes_ and _Mr. H. Parry_. No railway was ever better served, nor its patrons more firmly secured in friendship.

Equally successful a.s.sistance was given by _Mr. A. W. Ruggles_ and _Mr.

Underwood_ of the Michigan Central Railway, which with its quickest route to Buffalo direct from Niagara-in-the-Lake was specially developed.

Thus in a series of years, steamer after steamer had been added, each of the highest capacity, so that by mutual energy the good reputation of the route had been advanced and traffic gradually created, for, as each steamer was put on it created at first a surplus of accommodation, and an increase of running expenses until later the pa.s.senger trade had again worked up to the capacity. It is beyond question that the character and satisfaction of the steamers provided on a combined rail and water route have more to do with the attracting of business than even the land facilities on the railways. It is to produce this result that the railway companies steadily support the established steamboat lines in private ownership which have been developed in connection with them, as being the best way to secure fullest facilities for the public, and efficient service for themselves.

CHAPTER XVI.

"CIBOLA" GOES; "CORONA" COMES--THE GORGE ELECTRIC RAILWAY OPENS TO LEWISTON--HOW THE FALLS CUT THEIR WAY BACK THROUGH THE ROCKS--ROYAL VISITORS--THE DECISIVENESS OF ISRAEL TARTE.

With three "Line" steamers and five trips a day, the route kept on steadily developing, the service being attractive, and the line kept well before the public, but the season's traffic produced nothing of particular notice.

During 1895 came a set-back, and unfortunate loss, by _Cibola_ taking fire one night when lying alongside the dock at Lewiston. The upper works were entirely burned off and the hull, having been set adrift, floated down the river as far as Youngstown, where it was secured and brought to the dock.

_Cibola_ during her career had proved herself an efficient steamer, fast, economical, and satisfactory in all weathers.

Business had not so greatly increased that the remaining two main line steamers could not continue to sufficiently meet the service, so far as it then required, but immediate steps were taken to replace her loss and make ready for the requirements of the new electric railway then contemplated on the American side from the Falls to Lewiston. Mr. Angstrom, who had already done some excellent work as a marine architect, made the new design, and a contract was let to the Bertram Engine and Shipbuilding Company, Toronto, for a steamer 272 feet in length, 32 ft. 6 inches beam, 2,000 horse-power, with a capacity for 2,000 pa.s.sengers, being larger than the _Cibola_. There was not this time so much difficulty in the selection of a name, as that of _Corona_ suggested by Lady Smith, was readily adopted. This name was all the more appropriate from the fact that the "halo of bright rays" which are shot out and appear on a total eclipse of the sun is called the "Corona of the Sun." In this instance the new steamer _Corona_ was succeeding the eclipse of the _Cibola_, and represented the hopes and new conditions of the "_bright sun ray_."

The steamer was successfully launched at the yards at the foot of Bathurst street, on the 25th May, 1896, the sponsors being Miss Mildred c.u.mberland, daughter of the Vice-President, and Miss Clara Foy, daughter of the General Manager.