Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/433



In 1868, eight steamboats transacted all the freight and passenger business excepting that by ocean vessels, centering at Portland, and even then, in order to make expenses, had to do all the miscellaneous towage which the river then afforded. This remark, however, does not include the business of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, or the boats running up the Willamette river — but relates only to the business of the boats outside of these larger concerns. This was before the construction of either of the east or west side railroads. But by 1878 this business had so increased as to employ twelve steamboats; and sixty cars each day came in from the Willamette valley railroads loaded with grain and passengers. In 1868, the steamboat Cascades under monopoly control, registered carriage of four hundred and fifty tons carried all the freight daily to the Cascades, which was going up the Columbia. And by 1878 this traffic had so increased as to require the two much larger boats S. G. Reed and Wide West to make daily trips to the Cascades to keep the docks at Portland clear. In 1868, one steamer did all the business between Portland and Astoria under monopoly rule, making three round trips a week, and doing, including that time, all the job towing on the Columbia below Rainier. By 1878 this lower river business had increased so as to demand two large steamboats running on alternate days, and over a dozen tugs and smaller steamers.

Now today, 1910, there is on the Columbia river, running in competition with a railroad on each side of the river, four steamers, daily between Portland and the Cascades; and besides the railroad to Astoria, there are half a dozen river boats constantly and daily on the route between Portland and Astoria,. and about forty tugs and smaller steamers in the local log raft and sailing vessel business.

And besides these river steamers there are running out of the port of Portland, two regular lines of ocean steamships, each employing five steamships on the trade between Portland and San Francisco and San Pedro, in addition to ocean steamers running to Tillamook and Coos Bay, Oregon, and Eureka, California.