The Monster Canoe That Defeated a Donkey Engine

This famous canoe — the largest ever seen on the Northwest coast — was successfully shipped out on the Dakota on Tuesday week, by H. L. Tibbals, Esq., of the firm of Tibbals & Co., the new agents for the Pacific Coast Mail Steamship Company. The canoe had been on storage at the wharf for the past nine months, without any opportunity offering for Commander Swan to forward her to Philadelphia; she was of such immense size that the officers and men of the steamers were afraid to undertake the job of handling her. Mr. Tibbals went to San Francisco on the Panama, and while there informed the chief agent of the company about the difficulty Judge Swan had had in shipping his collection, and received from him instructions to ship it on the Dakota and to superintend the shipment himself. In the meantime Judge Swan had three slings made — one twelve inches wide of three thicknesses of heavy No. 1 duck, roped all around with three-and-a-half-inch manilla rope, and two similar slings seventeen inches wide; the broad sling to go around the middle section of the canoe, and the two smaller ones sixteen feet from the centre, toward bow and stern, thus making a spread of thirty-two feet. The Judge also had chocks made to set the canoe in on deck, and plenty of new manilla rope for lashing. On the day of her shipment she was towed from Victoria to Esquimalt by the steamer Gertrude and laid alongside the Dakota, where Mr. Tibbals took her in charge; and having properly secured the slings, the donkey engine was attached to the falls and hove taut, but the donkey could not lift her out of the water. The captain said he could not take her. Mr. Tibbals said she could and must go on, so they rove another heavy purchase and took the end of the rope through a snatch block that led aft. Mr. Tibbals then induced all the male passengers and such of the ship's company as were engaged in taking and delivering freight to the Gertrude, and soon he had a hundred willing hands, who, with twenty more, walked the monster canoe out of the water and landed her safe on the chocks which were in place to receive her. She was then secured and covered, and ere this is probably safe in San Francisco. Judge Swan desires us to state that he never would have been able to ship the canoe had not Mr. Tibbals taken the matter in hand. We hope the canoe will reach Philadelphia in safety, for she will be there admired as one of the wonders of the world. Judge Swan expects to ship the remainder of his collection by the City of Panama. He has eighteen large cases here and nearly as many more besides.