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13. Ship of the Month - cont'd. LA H has been t h o r o u g h l y overhauled, r e p a i r e d and painted; her engines and boilers have been overh a u l e d and r e f itted and she is, altogether, better than ever. She has superior cabin and s t a t e r o o m a c c o m m o d a t i o n (having been fitted wit h 15 addit i o n a l staterooms), and large carry i n g c a p a c i t y . " The Ju ly 16, 1862, issue of the same n e w s p a p e r carried the fol l o w i n g a d v e r tisement: "Grand Pleasure E x c u r s i o n to the G e o r g i a n Bay! N o r t h Channel, Bruce Mines, Sault Ste. Marie, and Mackinaw, and Lake Superior, if desired. The steamer KALOOLAH, D. Rowan, master, will give an E x c u r s i o n as above, calling at all places of interest along the Shore and Islands. The time o c c upied will be about twelve days, and as the fare has been put at a very low rate, the whole cost of the trip will be only about equal to the first- c l a s s hotel rates per day. Single Ticket $25; Double Ticket, Lady & Gent, $45. "Every f a c ility will be a f f o r d e d for land i n g passe n g e r s at all the d i f ferent points of interest on the route. As only a limited number of p a s s e n g e r s will be taken, in order to secure the comfort of those on board, e arly a p p l i c a tion is r e q u e s t e d - A r r a n g e m e n t s have been made with the Buffalo and Lake H u ron R a i l w a y C o m p a n y to carry the E x c u r s i o n i s t s from the different stations along the line at half fare, a r r iving in G o d e r i c h on Tuesday, the 29th i n stant, at 6 P. M. "The K A L O O L A H w i l l leave G o d e r i c h at 7 A . M. on Wednesday, July 30th. A p p l i cation for tickets to be made to Messrs. Van Every and Rumball, Goderich, C . W. J uly 14th, 1 8 6 2 . " The e x c ursion on the lake should have been very popular, as an e x t ensive drought was b a k i n g the area to a crisp. The threat of fire was severe and m a n y farms had a l r e a d y lost fence lines, b arns and, in some cases, e v e r y thing. The v i l lages of M alta and Port Bruce in Baie d u - D a r d had been i n c i n e rated earlier that same month. We wonder, however, w h e t h e r some area r e s i dents might have been afraid to leave their homes u n a t t e n d e d for fear of fire raging u n c h e c k e d in the area w h i l e they were away on a steamboat excursion. The loss of K A L O O L A H came soon after this e x c u r s i o n took place. On Sunday, August 17, 1862, the C a n a d i a n briga n t i n e SIR CHARLES N A P I E R went ashore a short distance n o r t h of the m o u t h of the Saug e e n River. A telegram sent to G o d e r i c h p r o m p t e d K A L O O L A H to be sent out the next day to the rescue and, u n f o r t u n a t e l y for her owners, to her doom. The "Kincardine C o m m o n w e a l t h " of August 21, 1862, carried the f o llowing report: "We regret to learn that the splendid stea mer KALOOLAH, w h i c h had become a favourite a long this coast, met w i t h a serious accident at S o u t h a m p t o n on M o n d a y last, w h i c h it is feared has rendered her as totally useless. "In as s i s t i n g to pull off a vessel in distress, the hawser broke while the engine was on full power. The consequence was, that she made a fearful plunge forward, striking a large boulder in her course, w h i c h stove a hole into her hull and w h e e l e d her arou nd on to a sand bar where she n o w lies. Her spirited and d e s e r v i n g owners on h e a r i n g of the accident, i m m e d i a t e l y put their ne w steamer BRUCE on the route. "We unde r s t a n d that the K A L O O L A H was s u f f i c i e n t l y insu r e d w h i c h we trust is not so seri ous as r e p r e s e n t e d . . . " to cover the loss, The stranded ship could not be got off w i t h o u t the help of a tug, and so the MA G N E T was called up from Detroit. The "Sarnia Observer" of August 29, 1862, re p orted the final d e s t r u c t i o n of KALOOLAH, exc e r p t e d as follows: "She lay in this p o s i t i o n until the end of last week, when the tug MAGNET... came to her assistance. But on Friday (August 22), a storm arose, and about m i d night she broke in two, and went to pieces, n o t h i n g being saved from the wreck. The K A L O O L A H was a ver y old boat (sic), a sort of f l o a t i n g coffin, and it is v e r y fortunate that no lives wer e lost whe n she did go under... She was i n sured for the full value $ 1 0 , 000, so that the owners will not lose a n y t h i n g by the disaster. It is r e p o r t e d that the old s t e a m e r l S L A N D E R , now ca lled the BRUCE, is to be placed p e r m a n e n t l y on the r o u t r e . " (Readers will rec all that IS L A N D E R / B R U C E was featured in "Scanner" as Ship of the M o n t h No. 160 in the