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7. Ship of the Month - cont'd. VAN ALLEN 5 tons". Everybody knew his neighbour's business! Of a slightly more serious nature, the "Echo" reported on October 31, 1879: "Tuesday morning the steam barge D. R. VAN ALLEN arrived up with part of her bulwarks stove in. The captain states that when 15 miles below the Dummy on Monday night, the seas were so heavy and the gale was so fearful that it was all he could do to keep her from going ashore, and had he not so good a boat, he would have gone to Davy Jones' locker sure. As it was, rosin (sic) was fed to the fires to get steam. " As reported by the "Echo" on December 5, 1879: "A telegram from Waubaushene says that the steam barge ENTERPRISE, Capt. Morden, arrived Sunday noon from Sarnia, she being thirteen days making a 35 hour run and having run through three inches of ice for six miles. She had to run back once 90 miles for shelter. She reports on her way up assisting the schooner QUEEN CITY, lying 25 miles northwest of Southampton, dismasted fore and main mast, and lost also one anchor and one boat. Capt. Morden telegraphed from Southampton for a tug and assistance for the QUEEN CITY. She took on 240,000 feet of lumber and 328, 000 shingles for S. Fraser of Amherstburg and left Monday night. Mr. Fraser had given up all hopes of the ENTERPRISE making the trip, the D. R. VAN ALLEN of Chatham having weakened after reaching Goderich, and returned with salt. Capt. Morden said he would make the trip if he could get a crew, if it took till Christmas, and he is doing it. " Captain George Hardy Morden and his sons hailed from Oakville, Ontario. In the second week of April 1880, the VAN ALLEN started on her first trip of the season, going to Georgian Bay for a cargo of lumber for S. Fraser, of Amherstburg. After delivering this cargo, the VAN ALLEN commenced a contract carrying several million feet of deals from Ashland, Wisconsin, to Quebec. It was noted that she would "tow a barge and will be engaged nearly all sea­ son in this job". Typically a bulk cargo carrier, the VAN ALLEN was reported in the "Wiarton Echo" of May 7, 1880, delivering supplies and household goods from Chatham to E. F. Pond on Sunday, the 2nd, departing again on Tuesday (4th) with a full cargo of cedar ties for Hitchcock & Foster, of Chicago. The marine co­ lumn of the "Port Huron Daily Times" for October 8, 1880, reported her arri­ val at Sarnia from Ashland with lumber, departing the same day to Kingston with lumber. During the first week of November, she stopped in Amherstburg on her up trip and landed several tons of newsprint for the "Echo". There ensued a hard early winter. As reported by "The Detroit Free Press" on November 28th: "At midnight last night there was a great deal of commotion along the docks on account of the number of steamers and propellors loading lumber supplies for the shore ports and the craft waiting to know that the ice would let them through St. Clair one way or Pigeon Bay the other. "The steamer SAGINAW was putting on a great quantity of freight at Montgome­ ry's and Capt. Habner starts in the morning early. The ST. PAUL was charter­ ed for $2,500 by Mr. Churchill, of Alpena, and he kindly allowed a number of the larger shippers to take an interest with him in loading her for Green Bush, Alpena and intermediate ports. The query is how the ST. PAUL can stow all the stuff in Ashley & Mitchell's and on the dock and in Bissell's ware­ house, with more awaiting at Port Huron. It was a busy place. The WISSAHICK- ON, AVON and LYCOMING were at Chesebrough's dock. They were 12 hours getting through ice from below Point Au Pelee to Amherstburg. They came through to­ gether. "The WISSAHICKON says the CHICAGO, ST. LOUIS, DELAWARE, AVON, TOLEDO and DEAN RICHMOND were plowing and pushing at noon to work their way through, going below, and could not get to clear water before midnight. The NORTHER­ NER was left fast in the ice. The propellor WO-CO-KEN (sic) was also fast in the ice below Point Au Pelee, and a vessel was sailing around the edge of the ice, in the vain hope of finding some way to get in for Chicago. The