Skuzzy (sternwheeler)
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 Skuzzy on Fraser River near Yale 1883 |
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| Career (Canada) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Skuzzy |
| Laid down: | 1882 at Spuzzum |
| Launched: | May 4, 1882 at Spuzzum |
| Notes: | Captain Ausbury Insley and SR Smith |
| General characteristics | |
The Skuzzy sternwheeler was built by Canadian Pacific Railway contractor, Andrew Onderdonk, at Spuzzum, British Columbia and was launched on the Fraser River on May 4, 1882.
In his book, Paddlewheels on the Frontier, Art Downs writes that British Columbia sternwheelers "were expected to do the impossible, and do it profitably." [1] There is no finer example of this statement than the pioneer sternwheeler Skuzzy, the first sternwheeler to ever navigate the perilous rapids north of Yale in the Fraser Canyon.
Andrew Onderdonk held the contract to build the 29 1/2 mile section of railway from Boston Bar to Lytton. It was a contract worth $2,573,640. He built the Skuzzy with the intention of moving railway supplies by steamer to the camps north of Yale via the Fraser River instead of using pack trains on the Cariboo Road. He knew that the Skuzzy, if she could make the trip, would save him $10 a ton in road tolls alone.
Onderdonk's first challenge was to find an experienced swift-water pilot who was brave, or foolhardy, enough to take on the treacherous route - a route that was believed by many experienced rivermen to be unnavigable. First Onderdonk hired Nate Lane Jr, who had experience on the Fraser, Willamette and Stikine rivers. Lane took one look at the waterway in question and promptly walked away. Undetered, Onderdonk turned to veteran skipper Ausbury Insley, who had 30 years of experience. Insley consented to give it a try, and the Skuzzy was taken up the Fraser on May 17th.
Captain Insley was able to guide the Skuzzy upstream through the whirlpools and rapids and under the Alexandra Bridge which had been built by the Royal Engineers in 1863, but when Insley got the Skuzzy to the entrance of the Hell's Gate Canyon he could take her no further. The Fraser was at it highest point in forty years and passage was impossible. Onderdunk still wasn't ready to give up however, and he sent for Captain SR Smith and his brother, David, from Oregon and an engineer named JW Burse. Under their command, on September 7th, the Skuzzy once more swung into the head of the Hell's Gate rapids, and once again, she couldn't struggle through. Onderdonk then had ringbolts drilled into the canyon's walls and he stationed 125 Chinese railway employees above. All of these preparations was observed by cheering spectators who arrived daily from Yale on five railroad cars, many of whom were betting heavily on the outcome. Very few bets were laid on the Skuzzy making the trip and the odds against her were often 100 to 1.[2]
Despite those long odds, the men who had gambled on Onderdonk and his sternwheeler wouldn't be sorry. Finally, with the aid of her steam capstan winching in the cable, her paddlewheel spinning furiously and 125 men pulling at her tow rope, the Skuzzy inched up through Hell's Gate. It took her 16 days to make the 16 mile trip to Boston Bar, but they would be the most treacherous 16 miles of river ever plied by a sternwheeler. The Skuzzy would make history and be the first sternwheeler to arrive in Lytton.[3]
[edit] Further reading
- Downs, Art (1971). Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1. Foremost Publishing. ISBN 0888260334.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Downs, Art (1971). Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1. Foremost Publishing, 8. ISBN 0888260334.
- ^ Virtual Museum. Colorful Characters of Historic Yale.
- ^ Botanie Creek. Lytton Newsletter. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
[edit] External links
- Botanie Creek. Lytton Newsletter. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
- Virtual Museum. Colourful Characters of Historic Yale. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
- Trentu. Towards the Last Spike. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
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