J. S. Williams
Colonel J. S. Williams lived in Paris, Texas before coming north. In 1900, he was the principal shareholder of the Dominion Steamboat Line, owner of the sternwheeler Clifford Sifton. Williams was described by a Whitehorse reporter as a typical southern gentleman of the old school; affable, courteous and hospitable. Accompanied by his wife, Williams planned to make his headquarters for navigation season at Whitehorse.1) In 1900, owing to the completion of the WP&YR railway, the Clifford Sifton was no longer needed on the lakes above Whitehorse.2)
Williams intended to put the Sifton on the White Horse - Dawson run, and expected to be able to make the trip between the two points in three days. He claimed she was the fastest boat in those parts with the possible exception of the sternwheeler Lightning. Williams brought the Sifton through Miles Canyon and the White Horse Rapids on 24 July 1900. The Sifton was 145 feet in length, and 25 feet longer than any other boat that had come through the rapids.3)
There was some worry about bringing the boat through the turbulent water. Sydney and Hill Barrington looked at the situation and took on the job. They slung bales of hay all around her and they sent all but one volunteer ashore. Sydney went to the pilot house and Hill to the engine room and they started downstream with the engine running in reverse. There was a crowd of observers. The Sifton came down Miles Canyon in reverse, except at the bends where Sydney swung the boat and rang for full speed ahead to get out of the eddies. Then he went into reverse again to the next bend. Hill said it was one ship, one mile, three men, three minutes, three thousand dollars. The Barringtons were men of skill and determination.4)
Charles R. Weddleton, a resident of Yarmouth South, had helped to build the boat in 1899, and had installed new engines in her when she was running on Lake Bennett. He described the passage, saying that in the upper canyon she struck two rocks that carried away part of the fantail. It didn’t stop the boat, but the tiller ropes stretched three or four feet and balled on the wheel. It would have been disastrous in any other situation. In the second canyon, the starboard side and bow struck some rocks but she swung free. At White Horse Rapid, the bow cleared the shore by inches. It was a close call because if she had swung so the stern caught on the other shore, she would have broken in two.5)
The crew of the Sifton included Captain Haley, master of the Sifton; Captain Hoggan of the White Horse Pilots Association; Captain Cal Barnes, master of sweeps; Chief Weddleton was in the engine room with firemen Bennett and Thayer. Doctor Barnes was in charge of the starboard sweep, one of the most difficult positions. Captain Ed McKeown was on the bow sweep. Colonel Williams stood on the cabin deck close to the flagpole with a stopwatch marking the time. The Clifford Sifton made it through in twenty-nine minutes. Soon after entering the second canyon two men fell into the river and Colonel Williams, although he had $50,000.00 at stake, shouted to save the men and let the boat take care of itself. One of the men had no trouble in getting out without aid, and the mate grabbed the other and quickly hauled him back on board.6)
Chief engineer Weddleton spent the rest of the season on the Sifton, running between White Horse and Dawson, a 500-mile trip with a current running six to ten miles per hour. They went down in a day and a half, and the trip back against the current rook three and a half days.7)