The Forty-Nine was a steamboat

Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...

 built in 1865 at Marcus, Washington Terr.

Marcus, Washington

Marcus is a town in Stevens County, Washington, United States. The population was 117 at the 2000 census and 183 at the 2010 census, a 56.4% increase over the 2000 census.-History:Marcus was named for Marcus Oppenheimer who settled in the area in 1863....

, just above Kettle Falls

Kettle Falls

Kettle Falls was an ancient and important salmon fishing site on the upper reaches of the Columbia River, in what is today the U.S. state of Washington, near the Canadian border...

 on the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 to carry travellers and freight north up the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 and the Arrow Lakes

Arrow Lakes

The Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada, divided into Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, are widenings of the Columbia River. The lakes are situated between the Selkirk Mountains to the east and the Monashee Mountains to the west. Beachland is fairly rare, and is interspersed with rocky...

 to the Big Bend Gold Rush

Big Bend Gold Rush

The Big Bend Gold Rush was a gold rush on the upper Columbia River in the Colony of British Columbia in the mid-1860s....

 in the Colony of British Columbia

Colony of British Columbia

The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866. At its creation, it physically constituted approximately half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely...

. The destination of its run was the boomtown of La Porte, one of the main centres of the rush, which was located at the foot of the Dalles des Morts

Dalles des Morts

Dalles des Morts, also known as Death Rapids in English, was a famously violent stretch of the Columbia River upstream from Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada, now submerged beneath the waters of the Lake Revelstoke Reservoir.-1817:...

 or "Death Rapids", the head of river navigation on the route and which were located in the immediate vicinity of the goldfields, which were on the nearby Goldstream River

Goldstream River

The Goldstream River is a tributary of the Columbia River, joining that stream via the Lake Revelstoke reservoir after running largely west from the heart of the northern Selkirk Mountains. The river's name derives from the Big Bend Gold Rush of 1865, during which it was the scene of busy...

 and Downie Creek. The Forty-Nine was the first chartered vessel to serve on this portion of the Columbia.

The first attempted run, with Captain Leonard White at the helm, was in December 1865 but failed to reach La Porte due to heavy ice in the Narrows between the Arrow Lakes (normally a strong, rapids-like current), and the first successful runs were not until the spring of 1866. When the gold rush ended, Forty-Nine was withdrawn for lack of clientele, and Captain White gave free passage out of the Big Bend area for those who could not afford passage. His last soutbound run carried only three passengers.

In 1871 the Forty-Nine was brought back into service for the Canadian Pacific Railway survey undertaken by Walter Moberly

Walter Moberly (engineer)

Walter Moberly was a civil engineer and surveyor who played a large role in the early exploration and development of British Columbia, Canada, including discovering Eagle Pass, now used by the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Trans-Canada Highway.He was born in Steeple Aston, Oxfordshire, England...

.