This article was provided by Mansel Hill for publication in Whitewater News. It’s from an issue of the former Cobden Sun.
Sun Strokes 1852 – The fire that was too much for Jason Gould
Sun Strokes, this week, is devoted to a fascinating story from Cobden’s history.
It’s the story of the steamship North Star, its Captain, DK Cowley, and a race against a raging forest fire.
The First portion of this story ran in last week’s edition.
Now.. You know the rest of the story…
The steamer Muskrat was burned from its top to where the hull met the water. Soon the crew of the North Star could see the greater part of the Gould Station in Cobden had been destroyed and the villagers were working diligently to prevent the remainder of the settlement from taking fire.
The Village of Cobden was saved, but Jason Gould’s stage line was burned from Cobden to the very edge of the Ottawa River, with all of his storehouses and sheds destroyed. Jason Gould never recovered from the loss and it is believed the fire hastened his death.
So, that is the story of how the steamer North Star raced against fire to deliver her passengers to safety.
From what I can tell from the newspaper clipping, the story was originally written by Harry J. Walker and appeared in the now defunct Ottawa Journal.
