Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/372

264 tary and those attached to them, and the custom house officials, to the best of my recollection, to exceed twenty-five men in both towns.

At the time of our arrival in the country there was considerable commerce carried on, principally in sailing vessels, between the Columbia river and San Francisco. The exports were chiefly lumber; the imports generally merchandise.

The Pacific mail steamer Caroline had made a trip in the month of May or June, 1850, bringing up furniture for the Grand Hotel at Pacific City, and as passengers, Dr. Elijah White, Judge Alonzo Skinner, J. D. Holman and others, who were the founders and proprietors of the city. Some of the proprietors still live, but the city has been long since buried, and the' place where it stood has returned to the primeval forest from which it was taken. The mail companies steamers, Oregon and Panama had each made one trip to the river that summer, but regular mail service by steamer from San Francisco was not established until the arrival of the steamer Columbia in the winter or spring of 1850-51.

The usual length of time of receiving letters from the states was from six weeks to two months. It took, however, three months to send and get an answer from an interior state, and postage on a single letter was forty cents. After the arrival of the Columbia, they came with great regularity once a month, and a year or two afterwards, semi-monthly.

The first steamboat in Oregon was the Columbia, built by General Adair, Captain Dan Frost and others, at Upper Astoria in 1850. She was a side-wheel boat ninety feet in length, of about seventy-five tons burden, capable of accommodating not to exceed twenty passengers, though I have known of her carrying on one trip over one hundred. Though small, her cost exceeded $25,000. Mechanics engaged in her construction were paid at the rate of sixteen dollars per day, and other laborers five to eight dollars, gold. She made her first trip in June, 1850, under the command of Captain Frost; McDermott, engineer. It generally took about twenty-four hours to make the trip. She tied up nights and in foggy weather. Fare was twenty-five dollars each way. She was an independent little craft, and not remarkably accommodating, utterly ignoring Lower Astoria. All freight and passengers must come on board at the upper town. She ran for a year or two, when her machinery was taken out and put into the Fashion. Her hull afterwards floated out to sea.

The Lot Whitcomb, also a side-wheeler, was the next. She was built at Milwaukie, then one of the most lively and promising towns in Oregon, by Lot Whitcomb, Col. Jennings, S. S. White and others and launched on Christmas day, 1850. That was a great day in Oregon. Hundreds from all parts of the territory came to witness the launch. The festivities were kept up for three days and nights. There was music instrumental—at least I heard several fiddles — and vocal, dancing, and feasting. The whole city w^as full of good cheer; every house was open and all was free of charge—no one would receive pay. Sleeping accommodations were rather scarce, but there was plenty to keep one awake.

The Lot Whitcomb had a fine model, a powerful engine, and was staunch and fast. Her keel was 12×14 inches, 160 feet long, a solid stick of Oregon fir. Her burden was 600 tons, had a 17-inch cylinder, 7 feet stroke and cost about $80,000. She proved a safe and comfortable boat. Fare upon her was reduced to $15 between Portland and Astoria. She ran upon Oregon waters until the latter part of 1853, when she was taken to San Francisco and ran for some years on the Sacramento. Capt. John C. Ainsworth took command. This was his first steamboating in Oregon. Jacob Kamm was her engineer.

Jacob Kamm, the engineer, was the right man in the right place on such a boat, under such a captain. He proved himself skillful and prudent; no accident ever occurred through his want of skill and care during the long period in which he ran as engineer on Oregon steamboats. The fortune he has ac-