Old Home Week for Manitouliners: Schooner Days CMXXXIX (939)

by C. H. J. Snider

"YOUR publication a few weeks ago of the marine picture of Little Current Harbor has certainly brought to life a lot of Manitoulin memories and acquaintances. To follow the comments and names of those writing you is like "Old Home Week" to Manitouliners.

If I'm not too late to get into the guessing contest, I have the following to add to your already heavy list. The steamer in the foreground maybe—and I believe is, the Iroquois, ex-John J. Long. It is not the Bon Ami. I have a very good picture of the Bon Ami. The stack of the Bon Ami was white and black. Mr. Patton, "Bobs" I believe, is correct in the naming of the other boats.

The large one at Turner's dock could be either City of Midland or Germanic—note the partial white characteristic of these steamers, both owned by the Northern Navigation Co. Ltd.

The steamer facing the camera in mid-channel is decidedly either the Manitou or Caribou. These boats loaded fish at Michipicoten where docking facilities were limited and it was necessary to have the freight gangway placed well forward as shown in the picture.

I was glad to see Mr. Patton mention the old dredge Dalton McCarthy, plainly shown in the picture. This dredge was a fixture in Little Current Harbor, and certainly warrants honorable mention.

More power to Schooner Days. You keep the Great Lakes literally open and memories fresh. Being a native Manitouliner, these last few issues have been very interesting to me.

HUGH C. HAY,

118 Wembley rd.

Toronto 10,

ANOTHER CENSUS

Capt. C. K. Bradley, 505 Sherbourne street, makes a shipshape cleanup of the Little Current blockade pictures as follows:

"When, spring, 1905. Where, Little Current.

"Steamers: Closest camera, Str. Iroquois, formerly John J. Long, Capt. Ed. Mackie, Chief Wm. Terry.

"Left to right: Str. Minnie M., Capt. Joe Ganley, Chief Joe Grimes. Minnie M. sank at the dock during the winter, but was raised in time for navigation.

"Str. Caribou, Capt. A. A. Batten, Chief Robert Greer.

"Str. Manitou, Capt. Norm McCoy, Chief Bill Owens.

"Str. Mabel Bradshaw, later Soo City, Capt. Herb Cleland.

"Dredge Dalton McCarthy, Capt. Neil Ryan, Chief Dave Roach.

"Tug C. A. Boone, Capt. Joe Mason, Chief George Finn, Fireman Art Eade."

SIXTEEN NAMES

This introduces two new names, making fourteen so far for the seven vessels shown, though we are naturally sorry The Telegram (steamer) is omitted. That makes one spare for each but more are to come.

"A little information on the harbor picture sent you by Nebo-Nick, name of Grant Turner, one of the finest fellows that ever wore shoes. Bob Patton of Brampton is correct about the time and what caused the blockade. Mrs. Ferguson, better known as "Bert," speaks about another blockade,—the same year, but in July, and it held up a different class of boats—the side wheeler City of the Straits, another sidewheeler King Edward, Majestic, Collingwood, Germanic, City of Windsor, City of Midland, and Ossifrage."

(The two blockades might account for the fourteen names, but the list grows to 16 or more when we take in the City of Windsor, with three names and the tug Downie mentioned by other interested readers.)

THE CURRENT

"As you know, Little Current channel is narrow. There were two rafts of sawlogs, about 100,000 in each raft, belonging to two different companies, and in order to put the rafts through the channel it required a continuous favorable current. The currents in the channel may run east for a while, sometimes for days, and may run the other way for a few hours or days and change back without notice. There is no set time for the change nor for the duration.

"One raft expected to be clear of the channel in a few minutes. Raft tugs in those days did not have wireless or ship-to-shore phones, so they blew the whistle to the other tugs in charge of the second raft to proceed. In a few minutes the current changed from east to west, blocking the raft No. 1. Number 2 had started in the channel with all the passenger steamers at dock in between the rafts, and the current ran west for five days!

"To put Capt. English on the right track he will remember Billy Tiny was chief of the tub B. M. Fraser which was sold and left Little Current before this picture was taken, and was chief on the Iroquois along with Capt. Ed Mackie.

TWO FOR THIRTY-THREE

"The Manitou was built in 1902 at Goderich and came out in charge of Capt. Jack Baxter of Gore Bay, Ont., who had as mate Capt. Arthur Batten. The next year the Caribou came out, Capt. Baxter in charge, and Capt. Batten on the Manitou. After one season Capt. Batten went in the Caribou and sailed her for thirty-three seasons, and Capt. Norm McCoy of Manitowaning took the steamer Manitou for the same number of seasons. I believe this is a record for long service. Capt. McCoy was in the Caribou a couple of seasons after that, and retired owing to ill health. I sailed with both these men on the Turkey Trail, known to sailors as the Georgian Bay to the Soo, north of Manitoulin Island."

THE MINNIE M., which "sank the dock during the winter but was raised in time for navigation" could a tale unfold, and may do so next week.