C—ATLANTIC LINERS
THE ROYAL WILLIAM FIRST OCEAN STEAMER AND PIONEER OF THE OCEAN LINERS—ITS CONNECTION WITH MONTREAL—MAIL SERVICE TO MONTREAL—THE GENOVA—ARRIVAL IN MONTREAL IN 1853—DINNER TO CAPTAIN PATON—THE CRIMEAN WAR—THE MONTREAL OCEAN STEAMSHIP COMPANY—THE FIRST CANADIAN ATLANTIC SHIP COMPANY—THE ALLAN LINE—EARLY BOATS—MAIL CARRIERS—1861 DISASTERS—SUBSEQUENT SUCCESS—THE PRESENT MONTREAL ALLAN SERVICE—THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY STEAMSHIP LINES—OTHER LINES—THE SHIPPING AND THE WAR OF 1914—THE GREAT ARMADA.
The early navigation apart from the few small sailing vessels that would come up from Quebec was confined in great part to the birch bark canoe, than which nothing yet has been found more successful for primitive transportation. These were supplanted later by the bateau. In 1679 La Salle, whom Montreal may claim as one of its earliest citizens, launched the Griffin above Niagara Falls in which he sailed to Lake Michigan, but previous to 1790 little else but the bateau or open boat was constructed. The bateau which supplemented the birch bark canoe was a large, flat-bottomed skiff, sharp at both ends, about forty feet long and six to eight feet wide in the middle, and capable of carrying about five tons. It was provided with masts and lug sails, with about fifteen feet hoist, an anchor, four oars and six setting-poles shod with iron and a crew of four men and a pilot. With forty barrels of flour on board it drew only twenty inches of water. This was a very safe and adaptable vessel.
The Durham boat, an improvement on the bateau, was introduced by the Americans after the War of 1812. They were flat-bottomed barges with keel and center board and with rounded bows, eighty to ninety feet long and nine to ten feet beam, with a capacity of about ten times that of a bateau down stream, but in consequence of the rapids and want of back freight they brought up on an average only about eight tons.
A—SAILING VESSELS
The first ships built in Montreal were those constructed by Mr. David Munn, who commenced his operations about the year 1806.
Two or three years later he entered into partnership with Mr. Robert Hunter; the vessels they built were generally from 200 to 350 tons burthen; one, the Earl of Buckinghamshire, was 600 tons.
J. Storrow & Co. built two vessels in 1808 and 1809.
James Dunlop, in the three following years, built several of 330 to 350 tons burthen each.