[4] In 1885, Occident was 154.4 ft (47.1 m) exclusive of the extension of the main detail over the stern, called the “fantail” on which the stern-wheel was mounted.

[4] The beam (width) of the vessel was 35.8 ft (10.9 m) exclusive of the protective wooden timbers running along the top of the hull called the guards.

[6] Occident was driven by a stern-wheel, turned by twin steam engines, horizontally mounted, each with bore of 16 in (406.4 mm) and a piston stroke of 5 ft (1.52 m) or 5.5 ft (1.68 m)[7] In 1879, Occident had two different stern-wheels which could be mounted on the steamer, one used for the seasonal low-water periods, and another for deeper water.

In 1875, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company was planning to reenter the steamboat business on the Willamette River, which they had stayed away from since 1864, when an accommodation had been reached between O.S.N.

[8] The Willamette River Transportation Company was dissolved, and all of its assets, including the steamer Occident, were transferred to the new corporation.

[3] To reach Jefferson “was something of an accomplishment, since the Santiam, rapid and dashing, was practically unnavigable except during extreme high water and then only for a few days at a time.”[12] The entire local population turned out to greet Occident.

Both of steamers had departed Portland simultaneously, and raced the whole way to Salem, with Church arriving about 3 minutes before Occident.

[17] Both boats then departed upriver to pick up freight, and about 7:00 a.m. on the next morning, November 1, they passed by Salem coming downriver.

[18] In this manner, the O.R.&N, as the new company was known, gained control of every significant steamer operating on the Columbia River system.

[20] Captain Miles Bell was in command of Occident, and he ordered the steamer stopped, and a boat put out to rescue the man.

[20] His partner Cline had been able to climb back onto the skiff and floated downstream, where he was rescued by a man on the Polk County, Oregon side of the Willamette, just upriver from Salem.

[24] As of May 29, 1885, Occident had been seized by the sheriff of Marion County, Oregon for $2,300 in unpaid taxes assessed against the “Narrow Gauge Road.”[25] The steamer was tied up at Salem.

[26] All the steamers were reported to be “in excellent condition, having been thoroughly overhauled recently for the winter.”[26] When the water has at its highest, all the steamers could easily proceed as far as Harrisburg, Oregon[26] The 1888 shipping season opened on October 29, when Occident came up to Salem from Portland in just 12 hours, including time waiting to transit the locks at Oregon City for two other boats to pass.