Captain Arthur Batten & S.S. Caribou

Captain Arthur Batten and S.S. Caribou. . , The weekly arrival of Captain Batten and the S.S. Caribou at Government Dock Beach at the mouth of the Michipicoten River was the highlight of early residents during the shipping season. , Launched from her home port of Owen Sound in July 1904, the S.S. Caribou was a wooden hull ferry, 185 feet long, 33 feet wide, 597 tons and carried a crew of 24. The Caribou serviced the meandering "turkey trail" once a week from Owen Sound to the many ports scattered along Georgian Bay, Manitoulin Island, the North Channel, Sault Ste. Marie, and up to Gargantua Harbour, Michipicoten, Michipicoten Island and Pukaskwa Depot. , As one of the only means of transporting freight and goods to the majority of these tiny points of settlement, the S.S. Caribou and her sister ship, the S.S. Manitou, also conveyed tourists, food, poultry, cattle, horses, vehicles and barrels of fish for the Dominion and Booth Fishing companies. Built to accommodate 40 passengers, the Caribou frequently carried up to 100 from Sault Ste. Marie to the booming mining camps of Michipicoten and Wawa. , Arthur Batten captained the Caribou for 32 years. He claimed he sailed the ship "by ear, by nose and by God." The Captain navigated 1,900 kilometres per week along some of the most treacherous shoreline on the Great Lakes with only a steering wheel, magnetic compass and whistle. Navigating in heavy fog was an art that Captain Batten had mastered, especially when entering tiny passageways such as Gargantua Harbour. Sounding the whistle, sniffing the air and listening for just the right depth of echo was just one of the skills that helped the captain and his beloved ship outlive many of her sister ships and crews over the years. , Captain Batten retired in 1939. The S.S. Caribou was decommissioned in 1947 thus ending the regular steamship service to Government Dock on Michipicoten Bay.