Her length was a hundred and one feet, breadth inside paddle boxes twenty feet, outside thirty-three feet, depth eleven and one-half feet, having one hundred and nine tons burden. She carried a crew of twenty-six men and was armed with five nine-pounders. Her building, and especially her launching, created a great interest, as she is reported to have plunged into the mighty Thames under the patronage of royalty and in the presence of a vast throng of spectators. _H.B.C. Quality Shewn in Building_ The construction of the "Beaver" indicates that the Hudson's Bay Company were up-to-date and were living up to their British traditions by being always first in the field in any new enterprise that required capital and far-sighted commercial methods. It must be remembered that steam vessels were not at that time proven to be successful, but were in the experimental stage. The spirit of adventure, as the term was understood in those days, was much in evidence when the Company's Governor and Committee ordered the "Beaver" in 1834 from Messrs. Green, Wigham & Green, at Blackwall, London. [Illustration: _The "Beaver" Riding at Anchor Near Victoria_] Two new masts were made and installed at Port Simpson in 1858 by a carpenter named Rudlin, and she was sent to Sitka, Alaska, to be overhauled by the Russians the same winter (1858). Apart from this, nothing seems to have been spent on her other than what her own crew could do. She had two engines 35 nominal horsepower, each of the long since obsolete side-lever type, though much in favour during those early times following the "Beaver's" construction. It was an interesting day when the keel of this wonderful little black steamer was laid, but how much more interesting must the 29th day of August, 1835, have been when the "Beaver" glided down into the English Channel and out on the trackless ocean on her voyage to the north Pacific ocean to become famous in the annals of the west. The "Beaver" arrived at Robinson Crusoe Island, via Cape Horn, December 17th, 1835, and Astoria (Columbia River) April 4th, 1836. _H.B.C. Fur Headquarters on Columbia River_ The Hudson's Bay Company's fur trade up to this date had as its headquarters on the Pacific Coast the Columbia River, but as the trade was being developed it was soon apparent that Columbia River was not the most suitable location from which to administer affairs. The ships from London were taking great risks when crossing the Columbia River bar, and as there were no steam tugs available, going up the Columbia River with a sailing vessel for one hundred miles or more was not at all to their liking. The coastwise boats, apart from the "Beaver," were all small sailing-ships and the voyage to the Columbia from Puget Sound was really a stupendous undertaking.