A Century of Sail and Steam on the Niagara River

by Barlow Cumberland

Mr. Donald Milloy was then leaseholder from the Freeland Bros. of the Yonge street dock, Toronto, and refused to allow us to have a berth in it. The Milloy Estate owned the dock at Niagara, and at first would not let us in but satisfactory arrangements were made.

Here we were within six weeks of the opening of business without either dock or partner.

Arrangements for our connection at Lewiston were next sought. The only dock was owned by Mr. George Cornell. This was the connecting point with the New York Central Railway whose station was in the Upper Town about a mile distant from the landing; the passengers and baggage being transferred in the bus line run by Mr. Cornell. The City had the exclusive rights of this dock at its upper end, close to the staircase, up and down which connection was made between the busses on the upper level and the steamers.

Cornell was not disinclined to favour the increased business which the new steamer would no doubt bring to his hotel and busses. We were thus enabled to lease the lower end of the dock, which was at once repaired and replenished, it not having been in use for many years—in fact, not since 1864-65, when all the large lake steamers were withdrawn and run down the rapids to be employed in service during the American Civil War.

Then began a permanent and friendly relation with the Cornells, father and son, which has been continued without a hitch or interruption through all these intervening years.

At Toronto, Mr. Donald Milloy still refused to allow us to run from his Yonge Street dock in connection with the other steamers, although we would have been very glad to do so. This dock is in many ways a much superior boating point than any other, but as the next best place we secured entry at the west side of Yonge Street at "Mowat's Dock," afterwards called "Geddes' Dock," and now the "City Dock," our berth being along the face fronting the bay.

Another bolt was now to come. All the details of our contract with the Canada Southern had been settled early in the spring, the documents drawn and requiring only the signature of the President. Unfortunately at this juncture a change of control came and the Canada Southern passed into the hands of the Michigan Central, and under another President, who, on being interviewed at Cleveland, was quite pleasant, sent for the contract, read it over, but said decisively that it had not been signed and there would be no contract! In his opinion it was not desirable to make a term of years contract, tying his company to any one boat, but under the special circumstances, agreed to give us a connection. I pointed out that we had gone to all the risk and expense and had brought the Chicora down on the faith of that contract, but as he said he wouldn't adopt it, he was at once assured that we would work just as hard for expansion of the traffic and would earn and win his company's support, so we parted on friendly terms.

There was nothing else for it. We might just as well take it pleasantly for it was good to have even half a connection with one of the railways on the river. It certainly felt a disappointment not to have contract control of that section of the traffic, but one is disposed to think that it was for the best, and indeed has so proved. We have built our way up by providing, at the instance of the railways, all the requirements that that water traffic needs. It is better to deserve a route and hold it by efficient service for mutual advantage, trusting to just and amicable endeavor on both sides, rather than to the rigid terms of a formal contract.

The importance of the ownership of landing places had been so impressed by the recent events that I availed of an opportunity, which offered to purchase the dock and water lot at Queenston, although the traffic at that point was then so light that it could scarcely be considered a port of call.

This British port at the head of Lake Ontario navigation at this upper end of "Queen's-ton" was the loyally-named co-relative and partner of "King's Ton" at the lower end. Its glory had been great, but had long departed, leaving little but the noted "Queenston Spring," whose pure and running waters still pour perennially from the side of the bank alongside the dock.