Surprise (sternwheeler)
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 Advertisement for Surprise and other steamers of the Upper Willamette Transportation Line, published December 3, 1859. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Surprise |
| Route | Willamette River |
| Builder | Cochrane, Cassidy & Gibson |
| In service | 1857 |
| Fate | Dismantled |
| Notes | Engines went to the steamer Senator. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | inland steamship |
| Tonnage | 120 gross tons |
| Length | 130 ft (40 m), and after reconstruction, 191 ft (58 m) |
| Beam | 22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Depth | 4.6 ft (1.4 m) depth of hold |
| Decks | three (freight, passenger, boat) |
| Installed power | twin steam engines, horizontally mounted, each with bore of 14 in (36 cm) and stroke of 60 in (1.5 m). |
| Propulsion | stern-wheel |
Surprise was a steamboat which operated on the upper Willamette River from 1857 to 1864.
Surprise was built in 1857 at Canemah, Oregon by Cochrane, Cassidy & Gibson, who had built the James Clinton the year before.[1] Surprise, reportedly a well-built boat, was 130 ft (40 m), feet long, probably exclusive of the extension of the main deck over the stern, called the fantail, on which the stern-wheel was mounted.[1] The beam was 22 ft (6.7 m) feet and the depth of hold was 4.6 ft (1.4 m) feet.[2] The steamer's registered size was 120 tons, a measure of size, not weight.[1]
Engineering
Surprise was a sternwheeler, and the wheel was turned by twin steam engines, horizontally mounted, each with bore of 14 in (36 cm) and stroke of 60 in (1.5 m).[2]
Operations
Surprise was operated on the upper Willamette River by Capt. Theodore T. Wygant.[1] Other partners in the boat were Absalom F. Hedges, Oregon City merchant, William. C. Dement[1] & Co., Charles C. Felton, J. Harding, and Robert Patton.[1] In April 1858, Surprise transported the native American leader Tecumtum, also known as Old John, to Fort Vancouver where he was to be held in custody.[3]
As of November 1, 1859, Surprise was running under the control of the Upper Willamette Transportation Line.[4] Other boats controlled by the line were Onward, Elk, and Relief.[4] In December 1859, the line advertised that one of its four boats would leave Canemeh for Corvallis, Oregon twice a week, and for Eugene City once a week, with freight and passage “at the usual rates.”[4] Theodore Wygant (b.1831) was the Oregon City agent for the line.[4]