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a . \ By Jim Bell THE BURNING OF THE QUINTE I remember when, as a very small boy, I heard older folk talking about the ship that burn- ed in the Bay of Quinte in 1889. I was very much _ interested therefore on picking up a book a few days ago entitled ‘“Ship- wrecks of the Great Lakes” to find a detailed account of this disaster. The author of the book is Dana Thomas Bowen of Day- tona Beach, Florida. There are, no doubt, quite a few people in the Colborne district who will have some recollection of the event. I am taking the liberty of reviewing the details of this Lake Ontario shipwreck. “The finest of the Bay of Quinte steamers was the Quinte, flagship of the Deseronto Navi- gation Company. Her equipment was of the finest and she was the most popula? excursion steamer on the bay. She had been built only three years before and the summer of 1889 had been a par- ticularly successful one. She was about to close the season as it was well along in October. On October 23rd, in the afternoon, Captain Duncan B. Christie sailed ‘the Quinte out of Deser- onto harbour bound for ‘Picton, thirteen miles south across the bay. His mother and twelve year old brother were on board. The weather was chilly and the passengers were at tea in the dining room as the ship left Deseronto. When the steamer was about three miles out, a deck hand burst into the engine room shouting that the ship. was on fire. Chief Engineer Thos. Short immediately started the pumps and notified the captain. \ § The flames, whipped by a strong | breeze, had got such a start that it was soon apparent that the vessel was in serious trouble. Capt. Christie ordered the ship headed for the nearest land, which was Grassy Point on ai I REMEMBER Prince Edward Island. The Mate and Wheelsman felt the keel of the ship strike the beach before leaving their posts in the pilot house. By that time, the flames were all about them but they managed to escape the inferno. The Captain remained in the midst of his passengers and suc- ceeded in landing all of them on shore as soon as the ship touch- ed the point. His mother and brother fell victims to the flames despite his heroic efforts to res- cue them. Two other persons aboard the Quinte perished totalling four casualties in all. They were a cook’s helper and her little son. Much credit is due to the heroic efforts of the Cap- tain and his crew, as well as to Colonel Strong, the U.S. Counse! stationed at Belleville and a Sal- vation lass, Miss Asulia Kellar. stationed at Picton. Through their combined efforts, there was no panic though several were burned and a fireman was scald- ed. The flaming Quinte could be seen from Deseronto. Small boats hurried to the scene and a steam yacht, the Ripple, man- aged to save many lives. It is re- ported that the charred remains of the Quinte still rest in the shallow water on the edge of Grassy Point.