The Steamboat That Played Tow Truck at Blueslide
When a touring car couldn't climb one of the worst grades in the district, Captain Stewart rigged a tackle to the steamer Spokane and hauled it up.
The Spokane had a peculiar experience recently. She is probably the first and only steamboat that ever towed an automobile. Captain Stewart has towed all kinds of barges and brails, and during high water has even snagged onto a house or a stack of hay floating down the river and towed them to shore. According to a native of Blueslide, the captain turned the Spokane into an automobile tower about a week ago, when R. F. Blackwell, general manager of the I.&W.N. road, visited that place in company with his chief engineer. The Blackwell party had a large touring car and had inspected the right-of-way for the extension of the road from Newport to Metaline. Arriving at Blueslide, they were unable to climb the hill, which is one of the worst in that vicinity. After several unsuccessful attempts to make the grade, they called on Captain Stewart, who happened to be at the Slide with the Spokane, for assistance. The captain was there with the goods. Rigging up a tackle, he hooked one end of the rope to his capstan, and the auto mounted the hill.
“She is probably the first and only steamboat that ever towed an automobile.”
In 1908 the Spokane was a working steamboat on the Pend Oreille, and rural roads were so rough that a boat could double as a tow truck. Today the river is mostly recreational and the grade is forgotten, but the image of a captain rigging a capstan to rescue a car captures an era when transportation was improvised one link at a time.
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