Sioux(steamship)

Siouxas shown on an old postcard.
History
Name	SiouxlaterOlympicandFranklin R. Leisenburg
Owner	Puget Sound Navigation Co.,U.S. Army,others
Route	Puget Sound,Strait of Juan de Fuca
Builder	The Moran Company
Completed	1911
Identification	US registry #208278
Fate	Sold
General characteristics
Type	coastal steamship and ferry
Tonnage	as built:466 gross tons, 266 regist. tons
Length	148.3 ft (45.20 m)
Beam	24.2 ft (7.38 m)
Depth	14.8 ft (4.51 m) depth of hold
Installed power	compoundsteam engine;four cylinders, 14 in (35.6 cm), 22 in (55.9 cm)and two 26 in (66.0 cm); stroke 20 in (50.8 cm), 1,400 hp (1,000 kW)
Speed	16 knots (following 1924 rebuild)

Siouxwas a steamship which was operated onPuget Soundand theStrait of Juan de Fucafrom 1912 to 1941. From 1924 to 1941, following reconstruction, the vessel operated as an auto ferry under the nameOlympic.During the Second World War (1941-1945) this vessel was taken under the control of the U.S. Army and renamed theFranklin R. Leisenburg.TheLiesenburgserved as a ferry in thePanama Canalarea under Army control, and then was sold to a firm which ran the vessel on theSurinam riverin South America.

Design and construction

Following the loss of the nearly-new but wooden steamshipClallamin 1904,Joshua Green,president of thePuget Sound Navigation Company,owner of theClallamand the dominant Puget Sound shipping concern, announced that the company would replace its wooden steamships with ones built of steel. As part of this effort, in 1910, the steel steamersSiouxandKulshan.were built nearly simultaneously inSeattlebyThe Moran Company.Sol Ducwas specifically designed for the Seattle –Tacoma.

Dimensions forSiouxwere 461 gross tons, length 148.3 ft (45.20 m) beam of 24.2 ft (7.38 m) and depth of hold of 14.8 ft (4.51 m). Power was supplied by a four-cylinder, compoundsteam engine,with cylinder bores sized14 in (35.6 cm), 22 in (55.9 cm)and two 26 in (66.0 cm); stroke 20 in (50.8 cm). Two oil-fired boilers produced steam at 250 pounds pressure, with whole power plant developing 1,400 horsepower (1,000 kW).

Operations

OriginallySiouxwas intended to be placed on the route fromSeattletoIrondale,where an important ironworks had been established, and which had provided much of the steel for the construction of the vessel. In May 1911Siouxwas placed on the Irondale route but only ran until July 1911, when she was replaced by theCity of Everett.The ironworks was in trouble financially and about to file bankruptcy, so the traffic on the route didn't appear to justify use of the new steamer. Instead,Siouxwas placed on the route from Seattle to the new municipal dock at Tacoma, alternating with theIndianapolisso that a steamer left Seattle every two hours bound for Tacoma.

Siouxwas later placed on theHood Canalroute, running with the sternwheelerState of Washingtonfor the rest of the summer of 1911. Afterwards the steamship's permanent route became Seattle-Edmonds-Everett.Siouxcould make the run in two hours, not as fast as theFlyer,but still considered good time.When theLake Washington Ship Canalwas completed, theSiouxwas the first commercial vessel to pass through the locks during the opening ceremony on July 4, 1917.

1912 Everett harbor accident

Siouxwas involved in an accident at Everett on August 16, 1912, which as it was said, resulted in "seriously depleting the local mosquito fleet".Steamships had no direct speed control from the bridge of the vessel. The captain signaled the engine room using a system of bells and dials called theengine room telegraph.Accidents could and did happen when engine telegraph signals were misinterpreted by the engine room. On this particular occasion,Sioux,coming in from Seattle, was approaching the Everett dock. From the bridge, Capt. William Thorton signaled the engine room for "half astern" to slow the vessel down. Instead the engine room gave him "half ahead" which caused the steamer to ram into the dock. Captain Thorton then signaled for "full astern".

Another mistake was made and theSiouxwent full ahead, smashing into the stern of theCamano,drivingCamanoforward into the 75 ft (22.86 m) gasoline launchIsland Flyerwhich in turn struck another gasoline launch, the newly builtAlverene.Island Flyerwas sunk as a result andAlverenewas seriously damaged.Camanothen sank at the dock. The small launchArrowwas demolished and the steam launchesRangerandDaphnesuffered lesser damage.

It turned out that an engine room assistant, known as anoilerhad been left in charge of the telegraph. No one was killed although there was at least one close call.The destruction showed the vulnerability of wooden-hulled steamers, one of the reasons why the Puget Sound Navigation Company switched to steel-hulled vessels.

Reconstruction as ferryOlympic

In 1923, the Puget Sound Navigation Company decided to rebuildSioux,then running the Seattle -Port Townsendroute into an automobile ferry, and late in the year gave the reconstruction contract to the Todd Dry Dock corporation in Seattle. The reconstruction was completed in the first part of 1924.Siouxwas renamedOlympic.

Sioux,renamedOlympicwas placed on theVictoria, British ColumbiatoPort Angeles, Washingtonroute across theStrait of Juan de Fuca,departed from Seattle on Saturday, June 14, 1924, making her first run on June 15, 1924, under Capt. Louis Van Bogaert, Chief Officer Harry Carter, and Chief Engineer I. Terado.Olympichad been scheduled to depart on Friday the 13th, but company management felt this supposedly ill-omened date would create too much adverse comment, and postponed the departure by one day.

Olympicis also reported to have been run on theVictoria, BC-Bellingham, Washingtonroute.

Later years

In 1941, the U.S. Army boughtOlympicfrom the Puget Sound Navigation Company and rebuilt her for service in thePanama Canalarea as theFranklin R. Leisenburg.After the war the vessel was sold to a firm in Dutch Guiana for service out ofParamariboon theSurinam River.As of the late 1950s the ship was reported to be still in operation on the Surinam river.

References

• Faber, Jim,Steamer's Wake -- Voyaging down the old marine highways of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and the Columbia River,Enetai Press, Seattle, WA 1985ISBN0-9615811-0-7
• Kline, Mary S., and Bayless, G.A.,Ferryboats -- A Legend on Puget Sound,Bayless Books, Seattle, WA 1983ISBN0-914515-00-4
• Newell, Gordon R., ed.,H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest,Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, WA (1966)
• Newell, Gordon R.,Ships of the Inland Sea,Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, WA (2nd Ed. 1960)
• Newell, Gordon R. and Williamson, Joe,Pacific Steamboats,Superior Publishing, Seattle WA (1958).

External links

• evergreen (Olympicpage)(accessed 06-04-11) (provides several images ofSiouxin service as ferryOlympic.)
• Photograph ofSioux,circa 1912, probably in Seattle, University of Washington digital archives image TRA927(accessed 06-04-11)