White-tailed ptarmigan wings, square-ended tail, small black beak and short legs with feathering extending to the toes. Adults are long, with the males being only slightly larger than the females. The average weight is . During the summer, the white-tailed ptarmigan is a speckled grayish brown with white underparts, tail and wings. In the fall, the plumage has turned a much more reddish-brown color and white feathers begin to grow through. By winter all the summer brown feathers are lost and the bird is completely white. A further molt in the spring precedes the breeding season and the bird returns to its
Ptarmigan (sternwheeler) surface). Captain Armstrong was able to raise "Ptarmigan" and return her to service. However "Ptarmigan" caught fire later in 1907, and her upper works were destroyed. Again, "Ptarmigan" was salvaged, her upper works were rebuilt and she was returned to service. The gasoline engine was a new development in the early 1900s. Captain Northcote Cantlie, who has gone down in history as "an eccentric Scot" purchased a gasoline-engined launch, "Gian", and placed her on the upper Columbia. Unlike Armstrong, Cantlie came from a wealthy background, drank champagne for breakfast, and kept a bagpiper as his personal attendant. Cantlie, knowing that