the hull in the middle of the boat, causing Mascot to sink in six feet of water. The lower deck was submerged under about two feet of water, while the water just covered the bow. There were about 50 passengers on board at the time, and a newspaper report stated that "for a moment considerable excitement prevailed, but as soon as they realized that the boat was resting on the bottom, order was restored." The steamer Walker came by to take off the passengers and assist the sunken Mascot. There was no loss of life or damage to cargo. The estimated damage to the steamer was $400. Capt. Charles Tilton Kamm (1860–1906), superintendent of the Lewis River Transportation Company, stated that the wreck was caused by the steamer getting out of the channel and running into a hard clay bank, out of which projected a huge snag which tore a large hole in the hull, much worse than had been originally thought. The hole went from under the boiler back to the cylinder timbers, which were the heavy wooden braces under the engines near the rear of the vessel. Until Mascot could be repaired, its route would be covered by the Sarah Dixon. 1900 sinking On Thursday, January 4, 1900, Mascot "found another of the snags in the Lewis River", prompting the Morning Oregonian to quip that "the steamer Mascot will never have any luck till her name is changed to Hoodoo." The sinking happened near the mouth of the north fork of the Lewis River. Mascot had been running under Captain Davis at the time. He was able to beach the vessel on a bar in the river with the objective of keeping its deck dry until the hole in the hull could be repaired. It was initially anticipated that Mascot would be refloated again in a few days. In the meantime, the company's steamer G.W. Walker took over its route. However it turned out that the sandbank on which Mascot had been beached was actually quicksand which was being pushed downwards under the weight of the boat. The steamer Undine left Portland on the evening of January 6 with a barge and lifting equipment to raise Mascot off the bar. The raising was going to be much more difficult than had been originally thought. More detailed reports of the salvage efforts followed. According to one report, Andrew Allen