Mosquito Fleet #5: Rosalie Traditional Cache

Rosalie was built at Alameda, California in 1893 originally for the Alameda ferry service. She was 136 ft (41 m) long, 27 ft (8 m) on the beam, with 9 ft (3 m) depth of hold. She was powered by a compound steam engine.

Oakland merchant John L. Davie utilized the Rosalie in 1894 to demonstrate that monopolistic and corrupt practices by the Southern Pacific Railroad's Big Four could be resisted. She was utilized as a ferryboat competing against the established monopoly service across San Francisco Bay, but at first was blockaded by Southern Pacific ships. In one incident, as the Southern Pacific's Alameda entered its namesake estuary and ignored her whistle, the Rosalie crashed into the rear end of the Alameda. The railroad relented and the Rosalie continued freely competing with the Southern Pacific ferries.

Rosalie was brought north from California to run from Puget Sound to Alaska. After two Alaska voyages, Rosalie was purchased by Capt. D.B Jackson, then doing business as the Northwestern Steamship Company, to serve on Puget Sound with the older sidewheelers George E. Starr and Idaho. She was placed on the Tacoma-Seattle-Victoria route, under Capt. C.W. Ames as master and Capt. William Williamson as pilot. When news of the Klondike gold strike hit Seattle, Rosalie was pulled from service (this on July 25, 1897) for some reconstruction to prepare her to go north again with the gold seekers. Capt, George Roberts replaced Captain Ames, and George Lent, a partner in the Alaska Steamship Company, took over as engineer. Charles E. Peabody assumed the all-important financial position of purser.

By 1898, Rosalie was controlled by the Washington & Alaska Steamship Company in which among others Charles E. Peabody (Rosalie's purser) was interested. The company ran six sailings a month from Seattle, to Mary Island, Metlakatla, Ketchikan, Wrangell, Juneau, Dyea, Haines Mission and Skagway with the Rosalie among other vessels.

Rosalie ran in on the Alaska route from 1897 to 1900. By 1900, the extreme boom for transport to the Klondike gold fields had faded, and Rosalie was returned to Puget Sound, this time as the first vessel in the ownership of Joshua Green, who had set up business as the Puget Sound Navigation Co.. Green had secured six mail route contracts on Puget Sound and was looking to buy other vessels in addition to Rosalie to serve the contracts. Green set Rosalie running between Puget Sound and British Columbia points. In 1903, Captain Roberts was appointed master of the new inland steamship Clallam which soon thereafter sank in terrible circumstances in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On January 11, 1907, Rosalie assisted at the wreck of the Alice Gertrude which in a fog had run around on Clallam Reef. In 1908, Rosalie managed to ram the then new steam ferry West Seattle. Also in 1908, the Puget Sound Navigation company, which had purchased the steel steamer Chippewa found her expensive to operate, and so Rosalie replaced her on the Victoria run in the off-season. Rosalie was standing by at Colman dock on May 19, 1912, when Flyer had extended her gangplank improperly, causing it to collapse and throw people that had been on it into the water. The crew of Rosalie lowered a boat to assist the fireboat Snoqualmie and the launch Skeeter in rescuing the people; sadly despite these efforts, two passengers were drowned.

By 1918, Rosalie had been taken out of service and laid up in the West Waterway in Seattle. On June 22, 1918 she was destroyed by fire. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

T he cache.

This is one of six caches hidden to complete Mosquito Fleet series. You can find one or all of them.

Most of the way to the cache is on logging roads or dirt paths. The last 20-100 feet are off trail. There are some moderate elevation changes, up to 400 feet. The forest floor can be mushy and soft. There is no serious bush wacking needed. Expect poor GPS reception under the tree cover, the caches are not cleverly hidden but are camo painted and not visible from the path. It has been rumored that giant mutant banana slugs live in the this area. An attack by one of these creatures is a very slimy affair. Fortunately a brisk walk will allow you to escape.