The Enterprise was a passenger and freight sternwheeler

Paddle steamer

A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...

 that was built for service on the Soda Creek

Soda Creek

Soda Creek is a rural subdivision 38 km north of Williams Lakein British Columbia, Canada. Located on the east bank of the Fraser River, Soda Creek was originally the home of the Xat'sull First Nation. Soda Creek Indian Reserve No. 1 is located on the left bank of the Fraser River, one mile...

 to Quesnel

Quesnel, British Columbia

-Demographics:Quesnel had a population of 9,326 people in 2006, which was a decrease of 7.1% from the 2001 census count. The median household income in 2005 for Quesnel was $54,044, which is slightly above the British Columbia provincial average of $52,709....

 route on the upper Fraser River

Fraser River

The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...

 in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. It was built at Four Mile Creek near Alexandria

Alexandria, British Columbia

Alexandria or Fort Alexandria is a National Historic Site of Canada on the Fraser River in British Columbia, and was the end of the Old Cariboo Road and the Cariboo Wagon Road...

 by pioneer shipbuilder James Trahey of Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

 for Gustavus Blin-Wright and Captain Thomas Wright and was put into service in the spring of 1863. Her captain was JW Doane.
The Enterprise was the first of twelve sternwheelers that would work on this section of the Fraser from 1863 to 1921. Though she wasn’t large, she was a wonderful example of the early craft of shipbuilding. All of the lumber she was built from was cut by hand and her boiler and engines had been brought to the building site at Four Mile packed by mule via the wagon road

Douglas Road

The Douglas Road, aka the Lillooet Trail, Harrison Trail or Lakes Route, was a goldrush-era transportation route from the British Columbia Coast to the Interior...

 from Port Douglas

Port Douglas, British Columbia

Port Douglas, sometimes referred to simply as Douglas, is a remote community in British Columbia, Canada at the head of Harrison Lake, which is the head of river navigation from the Strait of Georgia...

, 300 miles away..

The route

The Fraser River was not considered navigable by sternwheeler between Yale

Yale, British Columbia

Yale is an unincorporated town in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was founded in 1848 by the Hudson's Bay Company as Fort Yale by Ovid Allard, the appointed manager of the new post, who named it after his superior, James Murray Yale, then Chief Factor of the Columbia District...

 and Soda Creek due to many hazardous canyons and rapids, so the terminus of river navigation on the upper Fraser River was located at Soda Creek. From there a steamer could travel with no obstructions to Quesnel where a stage road ran to Barkerville.
The stages of Barnard's Express

Barnard's Express

Barnard's Express, later known as the British Columbia Express Company or BX, was a pioneer transportation company that served the Cariboo and Fraser Fort George regions in British Columbia, Canada from 1861 until 1921....

 would travel on the Cariboo Road

Cariboo Road

The Cariboo Road was a project initiated in 1860 by the colonial Governor of British Columbia, James Douglas...

 up from Yale and connect with the Enterprise at Soda Creek. Passengers and freight would then be transferred onto the sternwheeler and travel upriver 56 miles to Quesnel. Once there they would be transferred to company stages again to Barkerville for the last 54 miles. The Enterprise made this trip three times a week, from May to October, for eight years.
In October 1863 she carried two Englishmen, Viscount Milton and Dr. Walter Butler Cheadle who would later write fondly of the experience, “Given use of captain’s cabin, cigars and books. Fetched out every few minutes to have a drink with someone... Cocktails every five minutes and champagne lunch afterward.”.

Not all early sternwheeler passengers would be so delighted with the experience. Most would be expected to sleep on the open deck and had to work for, as well as pay for, their passage. Usually this work involved ‘wooding up’: cutting and loading firewood for the boiler which could consume as much as five cords an hour..

The Omineca Gold Rush

In 1871 during the Omineca Gold Rush

Omineca Gold Rush

The Omineca Gold Rush was a gold rush in British Columbia, Canada in the Omineca region of the Northern Interior of the province. Gold was first discovered there in 1861, but the rush didn't begin until late in 1869 with the discovery at Vital Creek....

, the Wrights decided to take the Enterprise up to Takla Landing, 230 miles northwest of Quesnel, following a route that even the seasoned Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

 canoe-men regarded as extremely difficult.
In June 1871, the Enterprise left Quesnel with a full load of passengers including a reporter from Barkerville’s Cariboo Sentinel. She navigated the Fort George Canyon on July 6th, although the help of the passengers was required as they cranked her manual capstan

Capstan (nautical)

A capstan is a vertical-axled rotating machine developed for use on sailing ships to apply force to ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle is similar to that of the windlass, which has a horizontal axle.- History :...

 to line through. She arrived in Fort George

Prince George, British Columbia

Prince George, with a population of 71,030 , is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, and is known as "BC's Northern Capital"...

, then a large First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 village and a Hudson’s Bay Company Post, and continued onto the Nechako River

Nechako River

The Nechako River arises on the Nechako Plateau east of the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia and flows north toward Fort Fraser, then east to Prince George where it enters the Fraser River...

, up to the Stuart River and through Stuart Lake onto Tachie River to Trembleur Lake to Middle River, finally arriving at Takla Lake on August 12th.
It would be a journey worthy of its own chapter of sternwheeler history and a fitting swan song

Swan song

"Swan song" is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that the Mute Swan is completely silent during its lifetime until the moment just before death, when it sings one beautiful song...

 for the pioneer steamer because, although it was an amazing accomplishment, it was made too late. Other supply routes had been made to the Omineca diggings, from Hazelton

Hazelton, British Columbia

Hazelton is a small town located at the junction of the Bulkley and Skeena Rivers in northern British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1866 and has a population of 293...

 via the Skeena River

Skeena River

The Skeena River is the second longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada . The Skeena is an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan - whose names mean "inside the Skeena River" and "people of the Skeena River" respectively, and also during the...

. On her journey back from Takla, the Enterprise was wrecked and abandoned on Trembleur Lake.

See also

• Steamboats of the Upper Fraser River in British Columbia
  Steamboats of the Upper Fraser River in British Columbia
  Twelve paddlewheel steamboats plied the upper Fraser River in British Columbia from 1863 until 1921. They were used for a variety of purposes: working on railroad construction, delivering mail, promoting real estate in infant townsites and bringing settlers in to a new frontier. They served the...
  
  
• List of ships in British Columbia
• Enterprise (1855)‎