Before the advent of bridges and dams on the intermountain rivers, steamships had plied the Columbia River since 1858. Only in May 1861 did the Colonel Wright, under the command of Captain Leonard White, venture up the Snake and Clearwater Rivers for 100 miles. Running into rough water, the ship turned around and steamed down to Lewiston to tie up. Thus Idaho had a seaport.
Colonel Wright, on a return trip to Lewiston in 1862, with a cargo of saloon equipment, including bartenders, dealers and dance hall girls, tied up at Walla Walla for a few days. Word got around (or was it the perfume?) and local ranchers stormed Captain White's ship, taking away many of the girls. A return trip to Lewiston brought more Portland girls to work in the saloons.
Travelers from Portland traveled as far as Celilo Falls, then disembarked and portaged around the falls where they boarded another steamship. Tied up at the dock one may have noticed the steamship Idaho. You could leave Portland, with your freight on a Friday morning and dock at Lewiston at noon on Sunday.
The Oregon Steam Navigation Co. looked into the possibility of steamship travel on the lower Snake River. Plans were made for a new 130 foot steamer to be built near the mouth of the Boise River (near Parma). Lumber and iron were ordered for construction. The ship was finished May 15, 1866 at an enormous cost of $80,000 it was christened the "Shoshone" and her maiden voyage took her 45 miles upstream. Upon returning, it was decided to traveled downstream to Olds Ferry at Farewell Bend. The running time was four hours and 40 minutes. A regular schedule was worked out so passengers could travel between Owyhee Landing (east of Marsing) and Farewell Bend. After three months of operation, their wood fuel supply was exhausted. The Shoshone was tied up at the dock for over three years.
The owners, Oregon Steam Navigation Co., had a lot of money invested in the ship, so it was decided to take it through Hell's Canyon to Lewiston. Captain Cy Smith was hired to navigate the ship. Rough water at Lime Point discourage the crew, so they quit, tied up their ship and walked away.
One April 8 another crew, under the command of Captain Miller, made minor repairs to the hull and started downstream to Lewiston April 20. At the first bend in Hell's Canyon, Captain Miller lost control in the rough water. The ship spun around three times and nearly capsized before it could be put under control. At another point, they crashed into rocks, ripping away 8 feet of the bow above the water line. The impact damaged the steam control valve, letting out all the steam and leaving them stranded with no power. They floated to a spot where the ship could be beached. After assessing the damage, the crew was ordered to make repairs, even if by porch light. Working through the night, morning light saw them underway again down the narrow canyon and through the rough rapids.
The Shoshone tied up the next day at shore for further repairs which lasted for several more days.
Underway again, high winds forced them to shore. Steering was impossible through the narrow canyon. When the winds subsided, they started again downstream. After a short trip, they ran out of wood fuel so a stop was to go ashore to cut down trees. A rolling log struck the Captain, injuring him to the extent that he had to be carried aboard and put to bed for two days while the crew chopped down more trees.
On April 26, the trip resumed and was uneventful until Goose Creek Rapids was reached. On through the rapids they went and into smooth water.
The ship and crew reached Lewiston at 9 a.m., April 28. A crowd gathered around their docking. The crew was presumed dead as parts of their ship had been found floating in the river earlier.
The Shoshone operated for many years on the Columbia and lower Snake.
On Lake Coeur d'Alene, the first steamship afloat was the Amelia Wheaton in 1879. H.C. Merriam built it and several others that plied the waters as pleasure boats.
The Spokane steamer hauled passengers and cargo up the Coeur d'Alene River to the Cataldo Mission. Because of overloading, high waters and strong currents, it hit obscured obstacles and sank with loss of life and cargo. The owners raised the ship and put her in use under another name. Owned by lumber interests, The Bonnie Doone made the rounds of lumber mills on Lake Coeur d'Alene and the St. Joe River at St. Maries.
Steamship tugs pushed logs, as well as freight barges on Lake Pend Oreille in the panhandle of North Idaho.