Daily Astorian, June 24, 1913 Captain U. B. Scott, a pioneer Willamette and Columbia river steamboat man, died Monday on the Lewis river, where he has been staying for a short time with his son Eustace B. Scott. Captain U. B. Scott was born in Lawrence Country, O., in 1827, and consequently he was 86 years old. Despite his great age he was active as the ordinary man 20 years his junior up to a few weeks preceding his death. In 1859 Captain Scott began steamboating on the Ohio River. He built the sidewheel steamer Lily, following her with the Victor No. 1, a sternwheeler 110 feet long, Victor No. 2, 135 feet long and Victor No. 3 135 feet long. He then bought the steamer Undine from the Government, remodeled her and named her the Victor No. 4. She was 200 feet long by 30 feet beam. He subsequently owned the steamers R.H. Barnham and Charles Bowen, and constructed the Ben Gaylord, which he ran from Portsmouth to Parkersville. He built and operated a number of steamers on the Ohio River. Captain Scott came to Oregon in 1873. He tried to get employment with the People's Transportation company and the Oregon Steam Navigation company. Turned down by them, he took the machinery out of an old dredge and built the Ohio. Interested with him in this venture were Lamar B. Seeley, Samuel H. Brown, the late E. W. Crichton and Z.J. Hatch, now of California. The remarkable partnership between these men that began then continued unbroken until the Columbia River and Puget Sound Transportation company, into which their business grew, was sold a year ago. The death of Mr. Crichton last week was the first gap in their membership. Capt. Scott's is the second. Other boats designed and built by Captain Scott include the City of Salem another Willamette river boat, and the Fleetwood, which ran on the Columbia to the Cascades and later to Astoria, and cost the Oregon Railroad & Navigation company, its competitor, a mint of money. Later he built the Flyer, which in 1894 traveled a greater number of miles than any other river or Sound steamer in the world. She ran between Tacoma and Seattle, making four round trips a day. The first Telephone was built in 1882 and burned in 1887. Her burning was a dramatic episode. It took place in the summer beach season, when the Telephone was running as night boat between Portland and Astoria, connecting with the little old Ilwaco for North Beach points. One morning the Telephone, after and uneventful night trip, swung into the upper bay and headed for Astoria. There were hundreds of passengers aboard, mostly women and children, bound for beach points. Astoria was about four miles off when Captain Scott at the wheel was called through the speaking tube by the engineer. "Engine room's afire," came the terse message. "It's driving us from the engines." "Put her full speed ahead!" ordered Captain Scott. Then ensued as dramatic a race for the lives of women and little children as was ever run. Captain Scott, calm and collected at the wheel, headed for the shore, four miles away. Before that race was five minutes old, the whole after part of the boat was in flame. The wind of the Telephone's passage blew a great sheet of smoke and flame far behind the churning wheel. The passengers thronged the decks on the forward part of the ship, but with the inspiring example of Captain Scott's coolness to steady them there was no panic. The engines of the Telephone did not fall in the great crisis and Captain Scott brought her to the shore as gently as if making an ordinary landing. Every soul aboard was saved. No one was even injured. But the Telephone burned to the water line. In all his years of service as pilot and captain, and later as commodore for his company, Captain Scott never lost or injured a passenger.
Morning Oregonian, June 24, 1913 BOATS TESTIFY TO ABILITY. Remarkable Shallow Draft Vessels Built From Unique Designs In Service Still At Many Points On Pacific Coast. Captain U.B. Scott, foremost of Columbia River pioneer boatmen, died yesterday morning of heart disease at the age of 86 years. Capt. Scott was commodore of the Columbia River and Puget Sound Navigation company, until a year ago, when he resigned. His death took place at Woodland, Wash., where he lived with his wife and son, E.B. Scott, on his son's ranch. Captain Scott came to Portland from Ohio 40 years ago. He had been master and pilot of Ohio river vessels, and upon arriving in Portland built a river boat, the Ohio, which drew less than 18 inches laden and made a trip to Eugene in her. This craft cleared $10,000 in three months and was copied by many other builders. Those who were partners in this venture were; Lamar B. Seeley, Samuel H. Brown, the late E.W. Crichten, and Z.J.Hatch, now in California. Design of Boats Remarkable Captain Scott was a noted pilot and ship Captain, as well as an expert designer. He designed his boat from knowledge gained by experience, and among them were some remarkable shallow draft vessels, including the City of Salem, another river boat, the Fleetwood, which ran to the Cascades, and the Telephone. The old Telephone was the most famous of his productions, as she was the fastest stern-wheel boat built. She is now being used by the third generation in San Francisco Bay. The Flyer has made four round trips between Tacoma and Seattle daily for nearly 22 years. The Telegram was another of the stern-wheel type. This boat was brought to Portland from the sound during the Lewis & Clark Fair, when it carried many excursions on the Columbia River. The City of Everett on Puget Sound is another successful steamboat to his credit as a builder. Passengers Lives Saved Captain Scott's presence of mind saved the lives of the passengers on the Telephone when she was on fire four miles from Astoria. He ordered the engines put full speed ahead and landed all on board safely. Besides his wife and son at Woodland another son at Seattle, Charles O. Scott survives.
Statesman Journal (Salem), June 24th CAPTAIN U. B. SCOTT DIES Portland, June 23 -- Captain U. B. Scott, a Columbia river pioneer boatman and designer, is dead at the age of 86. He came to Portland forty years ago and since, has been one of the best known navigators.
Portsmouth Times, July 1, 1913 Relatives in this city have received news of the death of Capt. U.B. Scott at Portland, Oregon. He was well known along the Ohio as a steamboat builder, having built several Victors, the Chesapeake, Little Fashion, etc. T.M. Scott of Chillicothe street, this city, is a nephew.
Semi-Weekly [Ironton] Register, July 1, 1913 Tuesday: [some of this appears to be from the Oregon Journal, some cribbed from the Astorian obit, and some totally new material, like the corpse story...] PICTURESQUE CAREER OF CAPTAIN SCOTT The Oregon Journal published at Portland, in its issue of Monday, June 23, had the following concerning the death of Captain U. B. Scott, a former Ironton man, who will be well remembered by many of our older citizens: A prominent and picturesque figure in the navigation world on the Willamette and Columbia rivers and Puget Sound for 40 years passed today in the death of Captain U. B. Scott, who, until a year ago, when his company changed hands, was commodore of the Columbia River & Puget Sound Navigation Co. of this city and Seattle. The 86 years of his long life were crowded with events and achievements. He had been ailing for some time, and for several months had been with his wife and son, E. B. Scott, on his son's ranch near Woodland, Wash. He died there at 4:45 o'clock this morning. Heart disease was the cause. Captain Scott was a noted river skipper and pilot. As a designer of staunch and speedy river and sound boats, he has probably never had an equal. He did not have a day's technical training or instruction on the theory of boat building in his life, but the boats he designed and built are to this day regarded as [can't make out this line..] BUILT OLD TELEPHONE Most famous of them all probably, though in the list of famous boats he built, it is hard to pick out one that stand above all the others, was the old steamer, Telephone, which plied between Portland and Astoria in the '80s and '90s. The Telephone was the fastest sternwheel steamboat ever built. On a run between Portland and Astoria one summer day in the '80s she hung up a record of four hours 34 ´ minutes. The Telephone, which burned to the water's edge once, and rebuilt was as fast as ever, has gone to the third generation. With a new hull but the upper works of Captain Scott's second Telephone that replaced the one burned, the third boat of that name now plies in San Francisco Bay for the Western Pacific railroad. She shows her heel to all the fast ferry boats there. Captain Scott designed for his company the propeller steamer Flyer. For nearly 22 years this vessel has been in steady operation on Puget Sound between Seattle and Tacoma. In that time she has run 1,410,416 miles and carried at last accounts, 3,766,541 passengers, her record not approached by any other river or sound steamer in the world. In later years he designed and had built on Puget Sound the crack steel sternwheeler Telegraph, considered at present the fastest sternwheeler in the world. She was at Portland for a time in the excursion business during and after the Lewis and Clark exposition. The City of Everett on the Sound is another boat of his design, and until a year ago one of the fleet under his command. Captain Scott came to Portland in 1873 from Ohio. For a number of years he had been a skipper and builder of boats on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers prior to that time. The first year he was here he built a river vessel that was a marvel of her kind. BOAT DREW EIGHT INCHES This was the light draft steamboat Ohio. It drew only eight inches light, and from 12 to 18 inches laden, and was the lightest draft craft that ever ran on the upper Willamette. Before she demonstrated her ability in a notable trial trip in which she went as far up the river as Eugene, this boat was the butt and laughing stock of nearly every river man in this section. She was an uncouth appearing craft, with an utter lack of polish and fine varnish. But in the first three months of her service she cleared $10,000 for her owners, and became a model for other boatbuilders to pattern after. There is an interesting story in how she came to be built. On his arrival here, Captain Scott, who was not overburdened with money, tried to get employment with the People's Transportation company and the Oregon Steam Navigation company. Turned down by them he took the machinery out of an old dredge and built the Ohio. Interested with him in this venture were Lamar B. Seeley, Samuel H. Brown, the late E. W. Crichton and Z. J. Hatch, now of California. The remarkable partnership between these men that began then continued unbroken until the Columbia River & Puget Sound Transportation company, into which their business grew, was sold a year ago. The death of Mr. Crichton last week was the first gap in their membership. Captain Scott's is the second. Uriah Seeley, brother of Lamar B. Seeley, was not here in 1873, but for 20 years was associated with them as agent of the company on Puget Sound. EXCITING RACE RECALLED Other boats designed and built by Captain Scott include the City of Salem, another Willamette river boat, and the Fleetwood, which ran on the Columbia to the Cascades and later to Astoria and cost the Oregon Railroad & Navigation company, its competitor, a mint of money. The first Telephone was built in 1882, and burned in 1887. Her burning was a dramatic episode. It took place in the summer beach season, when the Telephone was running as night boat between Portland and Astoria, connecting there with the little old Ilwaco for North Beach points. One morning the Telephone, after an uneventful night trip, swung into the upper bay and headed for Astoria. There were hundreds of passengers aboard, mostly women and children, bound for beach points. Astoria was about four miles off when Captain Scott, at the wheel, was called through the speaking tube by the engineer. "Engine room's afire," came the tense message. "It's driving us from the engines." "Put her full speed ahead!" ordered Captain Scott. Then ensued as dramatic a race for the lives of women and little children as ever was run. Captain Scott, calm and collected at the wheel, headed for the shore, four miles away. BOAT IN FLAMES Before that race was five minutes old, the whole after part of the boat was in flame. The wind of the Telephone's passage blew a great sheet of smoke and flame far behind the churning wheel. The passengers thronged the decks on the forward part of the ship, but with the inspiring example of Captain Scott's coolness to steady them, there was no panic. The engines of the Telephone did not fail in the great crisis and Capt. Scott brought her to the shore and reached her as gently as making an ordinary landing. Every soul aboard was saved. No one was even injured. But the Telephone burned to the water line. In all his years of service as pilot and captain, and later as commodore for his company, Captain Scott never lost or injured a passenger. KNEW HIS BUSINESS THOROUGHLY Captain Scott was a thorough steamboat man in every way. In all the time that he ran a boat, he would never accept pay for carrying a corpse. A competing line which had a traffic agreement with him once objected strenuously to this custom, and required him to pay them their traffic share for carrying bodies of the dead that had come from their lines. "Pay them and give them their money," was Captain Scott's gruff remark when this was called to his attention. "As long as I'm on the river I'll never charge a cent for carrying a corpse - maybe it's the only free ride some of them ever had." Captain T. H. Crang, Portland manager of the Union Oil company, who was under Captain Scott for eight months on the Telephone and succeeded him as its skipper, tells a characteristic incident of him. The Telephone, of whose record for speed Captain Scott was intensely proud, had once as a competitor a boat named the Bonita. One day as the Telephone neared Eureka's cannery town, the Bonita was just pulling out. A man on the Bonita jumped overboard so he could take the Telephone. The Telephone's purser collected this man's fare after he had been duly hauled aboard. Later he told Captain Scott about it. "What!" said Scott, "charge him?" When a man will jump overboard to go on the Telephone he rides free. Give him back his money." Captain E. W. Spencer is another river man who was under Scott for a number of years. Captain Scott leaves a widow and two sons, E. B. Scott, of Woodland, and Charles O. Scott, of Seattle.
[the following appeared in the Ironton, Ohio newspaper:] The following clipping from the Morning Oregonian of June 24,1913 was received by Attorney Frederick Bonser, of Cheyenne, Wyoming. The Captain Uriah Bonser Scott referred to was an old resident of Scioto county, Oh., who immigrating became one of the empire builders of the great northwest, Smith Bonser, a relative of Capt. Scott is also an old resident, being a grandson of Major Isaac Bonser, one of the first settlers of the county. He has passed the three quarters of a century mark. The clipping is under the heading
Captain U.B. Scott is dead,
Pioneer Mariner Succumbs to Heart Disease at 86. Boats Testify to
Ability. Remarkable Shallow Draft Vessels Built From Unique Designs In
Service Still At Many Points On Pacific Coast. Oregon Journal (Portland), June 24, 1913
Arrangements for the funeral of Captain U. B. Scott, who died yesterday morning, have been practically completed. The body will be interred in Riverview Cemetery following services at Holman's undertaking parlors tomorrow afternoon. The pallbearers will be: Captain E.W. Spencer, L.B. Seeley, Captain O.W. Hosford, Captain T.H. Crang, Orrin Kellogg and Herbert Holman. The funeral services will probably be at 2 o'clock.
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