British Whig (Kingston, ON), 16 Aug 1897

p.1

To Lose The Whaleback.

Chicago, Aug. 16th - It is announced that at the end of the excursion season Chicago's pride and joy, the steamer Christopher Columbus, commonly known as the whaleback, will be cut in two, carried down to the Atlantic coast, put together again, steam around Cape Horn, and go into the business of carrying eager goldseekers from Seattle to the Yukon. The whaleback is practically owned by Rockefeller. She is to be bought by a Rockefeller syndicate. Negotiations have been going on for some little time, and now the matter is practically settled.

p.2

MARINE INTELLIGENCE.

The schooner Acacia is unloading coal at Swift's wharf today.

The tug Walker cleared this afternoon with four grain barges.

The steamer Glengarry arrived today from Montreal with four barges, light.

The steam yacht Miltonian, from Milton Island, called at Swift's wharf this morning.

The M.T. Co.'s tug Walker arrived this morning from Montreal with two light barges.

The steamer James Swift left Swift's wharf for Ottawa this morning with a fine passenger list.

The steamer Rosemount arrived this morning at the M.T. company wharf, with 64,000 bushels of grain from Fort William.

Called at Swift's yesterday: R. & O. steamer Corsican, from Montreal to Toronto; Algerian, from Toronto for Montreal.

The steamer Rosemount will clear this afternoon with her consorts Winnipeg and Melrose, for Fort William, to load grain for this port.

The R. & O. steamer Bohemian took the place of the steamer Columbian on the Kingston-Montreal trip this morning, the last named vessel being on excursion duty.

Mate Marlow, Wolfe Island, has resigned his charge on the steamer Princess Louise. John Black, of the steamer Bannockburn, ran three trips on the Louise. C. Fanning will act as mate of the Louise for the balance of the season.

The Richelieu & Ontario navigation company offices, now that the word has gone forth of their intention to build two new palace steamers for river and lake traffic, is besieged with applications for specifications from United States firms anxious to get an opportunity of doing the work.

Welland Canal Report.

Port Colborne, Aug. 16th - Passed down: steamers D.D. Calvin and barges, Thessalon to Kingston, timber; Saturn, St. Louis, Ontonagon, to Collins Bay, timber; Erie and barges, Chicago to Prescott, corn; Kathadin, Chicago to Kingston, wheat; Langdon, Chicago to Ogdensburg, general cargo.

Passed up: steamers Britannic, Kingston to Duluth, light; Clinton and barges, Thorold to Port Arthur, light; Niagara, Kingston to Chatham, light; Frost, Ogdensburg to Chicago, general cargo; Omaha, Oswego to Chicago, coal.

Steamer Merritt On A Shoal.

The steamer C.H. Merritt, of Belleville, with an excursion party on board, ran on a shoal between the Pullman house and Thousand Island park on Saturday evening at half past six. The boat ran full on the shoal, and was a foot and a half out of the water. Her passengers were transferred to the park by the New Island Wanderer. An unsuccessful attempt was made by the Empire State to pull the Merritt off, but the steamer only pulled out the chalk and timber heads. Yesterday morning, however, the New Island Wanderer and the tug Wilson succeeded in pulling the Merritt off, after an hour's work. As far as could be ascertained there was no damage done to the hull, and no leakage was visible. The steamer arrived at Swift's wharf this morning at ten o'clock, and left for Belleville an hour later.

At the time of the accident, there was a pilot on board from Kingston, and just as they neared the place, captain Clarke remarked to the pilot that he thought they were keeping too far to the left as he noticed a buoy quite near. The pilot however said it was all right, and it was just at this juncture that the Merritt ran on the shoal.

p.4

An Investigation Asked.

The officers of one of the through lines to Montreal have asked for an investigation into the touching of the steamer of the steamer America and Algerian near Victoria bridge. The government must act and should see that purely neutral and independent officials conduct the enquiry. Two valuable steamers and three hundred lives were placed in as imminent peril as ever happens and escape follow. The blame must be placed wherever it lies, independent of favor or sympathy and the punishment should be exemplary. Too much of public safety is at stake for a case of this nature to be lightly passed over.

The Captain's Skirmish.

Capt. Dunlop, of the Algerian, has made this statement under oath:

"On the morning of the 11th inst. we were on our regular trip from Kingston to Montreal. At Clayton, N.Y., we waited for the arrival of the train. The America came in after us, and about 5 a.m. the train arrived. I went on to the wharf, and while standing looking at the passengers getting off, Capt. Hinckley came off the steamer St. Lawrence, and I was standing with my back to him, not intending to speak to him, when he came in front of me and put out his hand, and we shook hands. He made the remark that we need not be bad friends, when I replied that I didn't want to be bad friends with him, or any of the men, and if he did, it was his own fault, for it was he that caused the trouble by trying to push our boat around when passing him. He immediately called me a liar, and put his fist to my face and repeated the word liar three times, and struck me at the same, when I least expected such treatment from him. We clinched, and he and all the crews of their three boats were around me. There were none of my men on the deck at the time, so that I was crowded with the others catching my arms, so that I had no show whatever amongst them. We got parted, and that ended the scrap. He got off to his boat, and I went on board of mine."

Previous information conveyed had been to the effect that captain Dunlop had first applied the offensive epithet. Captain Hinckley used it from sudden annoyance at being blamed for the trouble near Victoria bridge. It is claimed, however, that captain Dunlop caught Hinckley by the breast before the latter slapped with his open hand. It is also claimed that Capt. Dunlop is altogether wrong in saying that all the crews of the three boats of the Folger line were on the wharf surrounding him. All other accounts say the captains were almost alone.

p.6 Touring It To Montreal - trip on str. America, Capt. Hinckley; description of boat and crew members. (2/3 column)