Among other things

Steamboat era photos

While all the skippers and crews of the Flathead Lake steamboat era are no longer among us, there are local folks who may remember stories of those days told by their parents and grandparents. The Polson-Flathead Historical Museum and Miracle of America Museum have many photos of the steamboats, logging tugs and launches that plied the Flathead in those days.

A few weeks ago Gail Wright gave me pictures that the late Dorris Harbert had given to Gail’s late husband, Keith, showing some of those boats – several of them that I hadn’t seen before. On the backs of the prints were names of the ships and some of the people shown. Among the boat pictures are scenes taken along the Polson waterfront, Somers, and the Narrows. Duplicates will be given to the two museums.

If I ever get around to doing a reprint of my booklet Flathead Lake Steamboat Days, I’ll include some of them. The booklet has been out of print for several years.

Space available for this column doesn’t allow printing all of these, of course, but below is one I hadn’t seen before – a picture of the logging tug Defiance. On the bow are Dorris Harbert with hand raised and her father, James Harbert, hat in hand, delivering a speech in 1913.

There were two main parts of the steamboat era. As early as 1883 – the year that the Northern Pacific Railway was completed in Montana – the small steamer, the U.S. Grant, made its first commercial appearance on the lake. In 1889, passengers and crew members reported an encounter with the “Flathead Lake Monster!” What first appeared to be an approaching boat took on a whale-like appearance. So much so that a crew member grabbed a rifle and triggered off a quick shot. Whatever it was suddenly submerged and swam away.

Each boat had its own stories. There are tales of storms, shipwrecks, rescues, searches and more. Largest steamer was the State of Montana, built in 1891; the smallest commercial boat was the Doman, launched in 1911, only 22-feet long with room for 16 passengers; and there was the booze boat, Pastime, operating for a short time in 1915 as a liquor establishment to evade liquor prohibition laws on the Flathead Reservation.

The gasoline-powered, 61-ft. City of Polson had an incredible lifespan. During the historic fires of 1910, the craft became lost in smoke while bringing passengers from Somers to Polson. Captain Swanson ordered the boat stopped as he whistled for assistance. On shore, about a mile away, the operator of Polson’s electric plant heard the whistle, recognized the problem and sounded the power plant’s whistle in reply. That helped Swanson get a bearing on land, but he still couldn’t find the dock. After hitting a sand bar on the west side of the bay, he backed off and then inched slowly back toward the power plant signal and finally found the landing.

In January 1911 the captain and crew were arrested by federal officers in Polson for alleged law violations. After they were released about 8 p.m. they sailed north, trying to make up lost time. However, the ship was caught in a storm and wrecked on rocks near Rollins, putting three holes in the hull. A couple days later, she was floated free and towed to Somers for repairs. The skipper claimed the feds “were responsible for the wreck because they had no authority to tie him up.” The charges against captain and crew later were dropped.

In 1915 the City of Polson left Flathead Lake in an unusual manner. Captain Swanson stripped his ship to a bare minimum of weight and then sailed, towed, pushed and pulled it to Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park. It took two weeks to negotiate the rock-strewn middle fork of the Flathead River and narrow McDonald Creek to Apgar. In the Park the boat was lengthened 11 feet, refitted, re-christened the Lewtana and served as a launch for Frank Kelly and O.J. Denny. Later Denny’s interest was purchased by John Lewis, owner of the Lewis Hotel on Lake McDonald.

Thanks to Gail Wright for the photos.