PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS
Page 67 – THE WHALEBACK, “CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.”
THE WHALEBACK, “CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.”—The steamboat company accorded the privilege of controlling the passenger traffic by water between the central part of Chicago and the Fair Grounds had a number of boats in its service but none to compare either in size or speed with the “Christopher Columbus,’ popularly known as the “Whale-back.” The “Christopher Columbus” was one of the best of the type of freight carriers, a comparatively recent invention, built with the idea of rather sliding over the waves than cutting them, the device of an old lake captain who found his support in Duluth. The ordinary “Whaleback” from its appearance in the water fully deserves its name, but the “Christopher Columbus” had the addition of a large part of the ordinary passenger steamer, built on top of its queer body. It proved not only the fastest but the most comfortable of all the steamers engaged in the World’s Fair traffic. The decks built above the odd looking hull accommodated a vast number of people, the boat being one of four thousand tons and carrying 5,000 passengers, and the comfort of the trip was increased by the fact that the furnishing of the big boat was made even luxurious. Before the end of the Fair it became almost a fact that the visitor had not “done” the opportunities of the great occasion thoroughly unless at least one journey had been made on the snow-white monster which made such flying trips over the blue water between the Van Buren Street wharf opposite Chicago’s business center and the Fair Grounds to the south.
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