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9. Ship of the Month - cont'd. Greek "seirios", meaning "scorching", is located in the constellation Canis Major (from the Latin "Canis Majoris", meaning "larger dog"). Canis Major is visible to the southeast of Orion. Sirius is sometimes called the Dog Star, and its rising and setting with the sun during the period from early July to mid-August each year gives rise to the term "Dog Days", which normally is used to refer to the hottest part of the northern hemisphere's summer. SIRIUS operated for thirteen years under Interlake Steamship colours, app a rently successfully, for we are unaware of any major accidents involving her. She normally carried iron ore downbound from Lake Superior to the r e ceiving ports of Lake Erie, and returned up the lakes loaded with coal. During this period of her life, the steamer lost her rather flimsy old upper pilothouse, and was given a much more substantial cabin. Built in the same shape as the old "turret" lower pilothouse only rather larger, the new house had eleven windows in its face and down its sides, access being via a door in the aft side of the house, gained by climbing steps that led up from the texas roof. A broad sunvisor gave visual protection from the sun. At the same time, the big windows in the old lower pilothouse were plated over, one porthole being cut into the plate over each of the old windows. Pickands M a ther also cut off the top of SIRIUS' tall foremast, so that it would not interfere with shore-mounted loading chutes and unloading hoists. Although SIRIUS and her old Gilchrist fleetmates, as well as the ships acquired from the Mitchell fleet, served Interlake well, the 1920s saw a number of much larger and more efficient steamers built for Interlake. Accordingly, the company, of which Harry Coulby now was president, began to consider some of its older vessels to be excess tonnage and candidates for disposal if buyers could be found. SIRIUS last operated for Interlake during the 1925 season. We now shift our attention to the other side of the Great Lakes, and particularly to the area of the Canadian Lakehead. Norman M. Paterson and associates, of Fort William, had operated three small wooden steamers, the D. R. VAN ALLEN, MARY H. BOYCE and JAMES P. DONALDSON, and by 1925, the fledgling fleet of N. M. Paterson & Company Ltd. owned four steel-hulled canallers, namely CANADIAN ENGINEER, CANADIAN PATHFINDER, THOMAS J. DRUMMOND and J. A. McKEE. The May, 1926, issue of "Canadian Railway and Marine World" carried an in teresting news report which read as follows: "Paterson Steamships Limited, which was incorporated recently under the Dominion Companies Act, with authorized capital of $2, 000, 000, and office at Fort William, Ont., has been organized with the following directors: N. M. Paterson, President; D. E. McKay, Vice-President; E. B. Sutherland, Secretary-Treasurer; B. E. O'Don nell and P. C. Poulton, all of Fort William. W. H. Hall, Grain Exchange, Winnipeg, has been appointed General Manager. The promoters of the company owned four steamships, a terminal elevator at Fort William, and 90 elevators at prairie points. "At the end of March, the company bought from the Interlake Steamship Co., Cleveland, Ohio, the following seven steamships: CEPHEUS, 4551 tons; JAMES H. HOYT, 4363 tons; INDUS, 3871 tons; LUPUS, 3871 tons; MARS, 4715 tons; SIRIUS, 4770 tons, and URANUS, 4748 tons. It also bought the s. s. KAMARIS, 3072 tons, from the Chartered Trust and Executor Co., trustees of the former owner, the Minto Trading Co. "This gives the company 12 steamships, 11 of which will be engaged in carry ing grain between Canadian upper lakes ports and Buffalo, N. Y. The remaining ship will be used for harbour work at Fort W i l l i a m . " The same issue of this monthly publication showed the appointments for the Paterson fleet for the 1926 season, and SIRIUS, still listed under her old name, was to be commanded by Capt. W. Jewitt, while her chief engineer was identified only as Duguid.