Fogbound on the Pend d'Oreille: Passengers Rowed Ashore as Steamers Lost the River
Heavy fogs and low water stalled the steamers Metaline and Defender, forcing a nighttime transfer by rowboat and signaling the end of the river season.
The steamer Defender will probably be docked for the winter season next week. The river is so low at the present time that it is nearly impossible to operate a boat that draws as much water as the Defender.
The Metaline is having serious trouble in making her regular trips these days, on account of the exceedingly heavy fogs that hang over the river. On Monday the boat was hung up and did not arrive until nearly Tuesday noon, so her Tuesday trip was abandoned. One night last week she arrived at Pend d'Oreille island at about 7 o'clock. The passengers were transferred by rowboats to the mainland, as the captain could not see to navigate the boat. It took three hours' time for the boat to make her dock, a distance of about a mile from the island. Capt. Le Clerc says that the fogs are the heaviest that he has ever seen on the river during his long experience.
“The passengers were transferred by rowboats to the mainland, as the captain could not see to navigate the boat.”
Before highways, the Pend d'Oreille River was Newport's winter road, and fog could strand passengers for hours. The scene of travelers being rowed ashore a mile from the dock is a reminder of how weather once dictated the pace of local life—and how fragile rural transportation still is.
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