1850-1860 Newell and Will . . .

Gordon Newell and Joe Williamson Pacific Coastal Liners, Superior Publishing Co.: Seattle, WA, (Bonanza Books, Crown Publishing: NY), 1959, 192 pp., 1850s 

p. 15 The Pioneers

     "Scheduled coastwise steamship service came to the Pacific Coast of the United States with the California Gold Rush, but for the first couple of years-from 1849 to 1851-it was strictly limited to the shuttling of treasure seekers between the Isthmus of Panama and San Francisco. Most of the 49'ers preferred the overland route across the Isthmus to the long, hazardous voyage around Cape Horn. There were plenty of East Coast ships to transport them to the Atlantic side of the isthmus. but only a few plying the waters of the Pacific. Consequently anything that gave the slightest promise of remaining afloat for the voyage to San Francisco was besieged by eager passengers at Panama City.

     "This set an unfortunate pattern for the Pacific Coast steamship service for the next half century. Shipowners who made fortunes running decrepit, overloaded old tubs up and down the coast during gold rush days saw no reason to change their tactics when gold rush hysteria gave way to solid growth and development along the new frontier. The custom of making the Pacific Coast a dumping ground for tender old hulks which had already lived out their normal life-spans on the Atlantic was to cost a great many human lives.

     " . . .

     p. 16 "In 1853 the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, its coffers bulging with gold rush profits form the San Francisco-Panama trade brought out the interests of the pioneer northwest line, Holland & Aspinwall . . .

     p. 17 "The entry of the Pacific Mail line in the northern shipping business was a blow to the citizens of Portland, which was well on its way toward becoming the metropolis of the Pacific Nothwest. Like other trtansportation companies before and since, Pacific Mail was determined to build a new city of its own to serve as its terminal port, thus adding the profits of land speculation to those of shipping . . .

     "In true pioneer spirit, the aroused Portlanders brought in the opposition steamer, Peytonia, to run between their town and San Francisco . . .

     "More competition came to the northern sea route when, in 1857, John T. Wright placed the big side-wheeler Commodore in opposition to the Pacific Mail steamers under the houseflag of the Merchants' Accomodation Line. This resulted in another rate war . . .

     p. 18 "The California Steam Navigation Company, which had hitherto confined its operations largely to bay and river runs in the San Francisco area, entered the coastal service in 1858 as the result of another gold rush, this one in the north. Gold had been discovered on the Fraser River of British Columbia and there was a rush of freight and passsenger traffic to the ports nearest the gold fields . . .

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 Kelyn Roberts 2017