USA > Iowa > Dubuque County > History of Dubuque County, Iowa; being a general survey of Dubuque County history, including a history of the city of Dubuque and special account of districts throughout the county, from the earliest settlement to the present time > Part 24
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By June 6, 1859, the river had risen so high that it was within
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six inches of being as high as it had been a week or two before. It had risen eighteen inches in the last twenty-four hours. At St. Paul it was reported as high as it ever was and at Red Wing had reached the highest point ever known. By the 8th it was within three inches of the mark of two weeks before. By June 9 it was three inches higher than before. By June 10 it was six inches higher than in May. "Seventh street, the entire onter levee of the Seventh Street and Central Improvement Companies is overflowed; so are First street continued and Dodge street. Third street con- tinued is now the only street leading to the outer levee that is not overflowed and impassable. The river is still going up rapidly."- (Express and Herald, June 11, 1859. ) "The river rose three inches yesterday and is now within half a foot of the warehouses on the lower levee."-(Express and Herald, June 12.) On the 13th it rose two inches higher. It came to a stand at 9 p. m., June 13, and soon thereafter began to fall.
In 1860, among the early boats here were: Ocean Wave, Cap- tain Webb; Denmark, Captain Robison; Hawkeye State, Captain Gray; Sucker State, Captain Rhodes; Harmonia, Captain Hub- bard; Northern Belle, Captain Hurd; Minnesota Belle, Captain Keach; Itasca, Captain Whitten; Laclede, Captain Goodell ; Grey Eagle, Captain Harris; Northern Light, Captain Harris; Peosta, Captain Levens; Canada, Captain Parker; Henry Clay, Captain Stephenson; Shenango, Captain French; Pembina, Captain Hill.
A small party of luxurious sportsmen here, not liking to row their boats up and down the river while hunting, built, in the spring of 1860, a little steamboat, about sixteen feet long and three and one-half feet wide, rigged with a little one-horsepower portable engine set to drive paddlewheels with eight-inch buckets and a diam- eter of thirty inches. With this they could go up bayous, sloughs, etc., and come back without hard work.
In 1860 there was sharp rivalry among the various boat lines and often thereby much inconvenience was occasioned passengers and shippers.
The Frank Steele, in coming down Coon slough, April 10, 1860, came in contact with a tree and got both smokestacks and her pilot house swept clean from the deck, injuring the pilot slightly. In the spring of 1860, the Illinois Central Railroad Company, or its individual members, put on a line of packets on the upper Missis- sippi, under the name Dubuque, Dunleith & Minnesota Packet Line.
So great was the river traffic on April 25, 1860, that eleven ves- sels arrived and ten departed. The Lake City, a railroad packet, was here April 26, and the Key West, a boat of the Independent Railroad Line, was here a day or two later. A barge laden with lead, in tow of the Key City, going down, struck a snag and sank.
There was much complaint here in 1860 that the packet lines of steamers from St. Louis to St. Paul and from Galena, Dubuque
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and Dunleith to St. Paul were disposed to create a monopoly in the carrying trade upon the Mississippi river by driving off every other boat. Numerous acts cited showed that this was the appar- ent object of those lines. It was condemned vigorously by the press, and particularly by G. R. West & Son, wholesalers of Dubuque.
Late in May, 1860, the Minnesota Packet Company's steamers began to carry a daily river mail between Dubuque and St. Paul. "The steamer Metropolitan ran into the railroad bridge at Galena, June 26, and tore off a portion of her guards and otherwise injured herself. This is her third accident lately. Recently she ran down a man in a small boat and caused his death, and two weeks ago she disabled the Northern Belle."-( Herald, June 27, 1860. )
"We have found it to be a duty we owe to Dubuque, to the mer- chants of this city and to ourselves to cease giving to the Northern Line of steamboats that attention which their course to this city and to its mercantile interests have forfeited. Dubuque and her business interests have submitted too long and too tamely if not too servilely to the outrages inflicted upon her business by persons and companies who have taken advantage of the adversity to which this city has been subjected to inflict upon her, if possible, a lasting, permanent injury. For our part we do not feel like suffering sucht treatment as this Northern line of boats seem disposed to inflict upon this city with impunity."-(Herald, July 14, 1860. )
The river was so low in September that few boats ran and they carried very light loads ; no lead was shipped from Dubuque during this stage. The War Eagle, Henry Clay, Northern Belle and a few others did a small business. At St. Paul river business was livelier. There the Minnesota Packet Company was trying to force out of business the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad & Packet Line. The fare from La Crosse to Chicago was reduced to $4.75 via Dunleith and Prairie du Chien. The Minnesota Packet Company thus carried passengers for nothing in order to injure its rival. In fact, it reduced the fare from St. Paul to Chicago to $1 about September 20, 1860, but the next day raised it to $4.75. On the levee at Dubuque were 2,300 pigs of lead, 1,000 sacks of wheat, etc., waiting for a better boating stage.
The river closed up suddenly on November 22, 1860, with snow and extreme cold. Boats were caught where they happened to be. The Key City, Milwaukee and Metropolitan here; the Northern Belle at Le Claire ; the Ocean Wave and La Crosse were caught in the ice and grounded on Sycamore Chain: the Golden Era was forced ashore east of Dubuque; the War Eagle, after exciting ex- periences, laid up at McGregor ; the Fanny Harris was safe at Pres- cott ; the Favorite and Frank Steele were at La Crosse. Late in November the ferry was again running.
The Herald became so incensed at the actions of the Northern
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Packet Line in the summer of 1860 that it afterward refused to publish its usual news of the river and boats.
It was declared in March, 1861, that Dubuque needed three things: ( 1) A drydock for the repair of steamboats and other river craft; (2) an ice harbor where steamboats could stay during win- ters; (3) the removal of the bar in front of the lower levee and inner slough. The nearest place where boats could be docked and repaired was Le Claire. It was shown that at slight expense Lake Peosta could be made into an ice harbor.
In 1861 the Northern line of packets had the following boats and captains: Haweye State, R. C. Gray ; Sucker State, T. B. Rhodes; Canada, J. W. Parker; Pembina, J. B. Hill; Metropolitan, T. B. Buford; Henry Clay, C. B. Goll ; Denmark, J. J. Robinson ; W. L. Ewing, J. H. Rhodes ; Northerner, P. A. Alford; Fred Loring, M. Green. William Wellington was the line's agent and clerk at Du- buque. On March 2 the ice here moved twenty-five or thirty feet. Crossing on foot was dangerous. The ferry boat prepared to start March 3.
"Things begin to look business-like on the levee. Wellington has got the wharf boat out of the slough and placed it in front of the levee in its proper place. The Ferry Company has also got its wharf boat in its place. There is a large quantity of lead await- ing shipment."-( Herald, March 16, 1861.)
On April 11, 1861, Mr. O. Chamberlain, agent, shipped on the Key City over one thousand packages. of wheat, flour, corn meal, beans, etc., for Kansas. This was the contribution of Dubuque and other towns back in the interior to the sufferers in that new State. The packages went down to Hannibal, thence by rail to Kansas.
"The rivalry between the boats for several years past in the effort to make the first landing at St. Paul is stimulated by the favor of free wharfage for the season to the successful boat. Captain Harris has. in the period named, made the first landing six times."- (Herald, April 6, 1861.)
The Metropolitan. Canada, W. J. Clay, Connewago, Rocket, Northern Light, Pembina, Key City, Sucker State, Golden Era, Ocean Wave, Emma, Bill Henderson, War Eagle, Henry Clay, La Crosse, Northerner, Winona, Milwaukee, J. Bell, Luzerne were here from April 9 to 14. The levee on April 10 awoke and was soon alive with boats, there being no less than five large ones there at a time loading and unloading. Steamers now left regularly for St. Paul. The river was rising, freight plenty and business brisk.
The boats and captains of the Galena, Dunleith, Dubuque and Minnesota Packet Company for 1861 were as follows : War Eagle, C. L. Stephenson ; Golden Era, W. H. Gabbert ; Itasca, J. Y. Hurd; Milwaukee, J. Cochrane; Northern Belle, W. H. Laughton ; Ocean Wave, N. F. Webb; Keokuk, E. V. Holcomb; North Light,
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John B. Davis ; Grey Eagle, D. S. Harris; Key City, Jones Worden; Fanny Harris, W. L. Faucette; Alhambra, Ben Howard; Flora, J. W. Campbell. The first four were a daily line between Duluth and St. Paul; the next three were on the daily line between La Crosse and St. Paul ; the next three were on the Northern line from St. Louis to St. Paul; and the last three were on the freight line from Dunleith to St. Paul.
The river continued to rise rapidly on April 19-seven inches in twenty-four hours. The Fanny Harris arrived here from a trip up the Minnesota river, where she went after government troops. Her cabin and all the woodwork were badly damaged by the winds, storms and soldiers. She laid up for repairs. The river still continued to rise on April 24. The water was running over Jones street and several others. The lumber yards were piling loose boards and making property as secure as possible. The Grey Eagle struck the Rock Island bridge and sank in five minutes in May; several lives were lost, among them being Mrs. Weaver and child, of Dyersville.
"Fastest Trip on Record .- The Northern Line packet Sucker State left St. Louis on the 16th of May at 5:30 P. M. and arrived at St. Paul on the 20th of May at 3:30; time from St. Louis to St. Paul, three days and twenty-two hours, doing all her regular business ; also going in to Galena, discharged in the up-trip 309 tons of freight and had 425 passengers. Left St. Paul on the 20th at 5 :30 P. M., discharged on down-trip at different points 1,000 sacks of wheat, and arrived at St. Louis on Thursday, the 23d, making the round trip in seven days and two hours."-(Herald, May 28, 1861.)
"The Hawkeye State made the run from St. Louis to this city (Dubuque) in forty-eight hours and thirty-eight minutes, made thirty-three regular landings and laid one and a half hours at Dav- enport. This is the quickest trip on record and shows that she is a hard boat to beat. The river never was in better boating condi- tion than it has been this spring."-(Herald, June 12, 1861. )
In August Daniel Hewitt launched a repaired flat-boat at Third street. It was claimed that the Sucker State was the fastest boat on the Upper Mississippi. At all times sandbars in the river were the terror of all pilots and masters. The Key City struck and badly damaged the ferry boat A. L. Gregoire; the Peosta took its place.
In the spring of 1862 deck hands of the Minnesota Packet Com- pany, who were then receiving $25 per month, struck for $40 per month ; this line ran daily boats between Dubuque and St. Paul. The Northern Packet Line had five boats: Northerner, Hawkeye, Sucker State, Canada and W. L. Ewing; it was tri-weekly. In the St. Louis and St. Paul Line were the Pembina, Denmark, Metro- politan, which ran tri-weekly between St. Louis and Dubuque, and
THE MISSISSIPPI LOOKING SOUTH FROM BELOW DUBUQUE, SHOWING JULIEN DUBUQUE'S MONUMENT
EAGLE POINT HIGH BRIDGE
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the Bill Henderson, Fred Lorenz and others, which ran daily be- tween Dubuque and Davenport.
"The light of other days can be seen by going down to the foot of Fourth street, where the wharf boat is moored, and see the ferry boat going through the Barney Cut to Dunleith, as of yore."- (Herald, May 2, 1862.)
In 1862 the names of the boats and captain were Pembina, Hill ; War Eagle, Webb; Alhambra, Wellington; Canada, Parker ; Mil- waukee, Holcomb; Pearl, Hale; Itasca, Hurd; Bill Henderson, Rhodes; Key City, Worden; Hawkeye State, Gray; Northerner, Alford ; Keokuk, Hatcher. In May the flood was only ten inches lower than the rise of 1859; boats ran across the islands and levees to the foot of the principal streets. A race between the Key City and the Keokuk in June, 1862, was won by the latter in fast time. There was sharp rivalry between the lines of the Minnesota Packet Company, the Northern Packet Company and the Davidson Packet Company at this date. Business was very brisk here on the river in 1862; low water was the only hindrance. The Denmark struck a snag and sank near Keokuk in November.
The ferry boats ran almost continuously in January, 1863 ; large numbers of cattle and hogs were taken over and shipped to Chicago. February was very cold. When the ice left the river each year a great crowd usually gathered to witness the event. In February the ferry boats ran through channels cut in the ice. The sandbar in front was a great hindrance to navigation ; many boats struck it and often grounded ; strong demands for its removal were made.
Captain Spencer J. Ball, an old river captain, was employed by the government to pick out vessels for the expedition against Vicks- burg. He was authorized to draft into service all boats of two hundred feet and under. Hc selected the Ocean Wave as one in March, 1863, and eight more were under inspection. It looked to shippers as if they would have to use the railroads. The Bill Hen- derson had been in the government service, but was released at this time, though soon taken again. The Allamakee, Eolian, Chippewa Falls and Frank Steele were seized up the river for the use of the government.
The Bill Henderson took down the river one hundred and fifty packages of sanitary stores for different Iowa regiments April 9, 1863. The government had taken so many boats that almost any- thing that would float was put in commission in 1863.
In the summer of 1863 it was claimed that the Key City was the fastest boat on the river; she had a ten-pounder on board which shook the city when fired. A huge ice-boat, 132 x 21 feet took immense quantities of ice to St. Louis. The new Davenport looked like the Canada and Hawkeye and was a fine boat-203 x 34 feet. It was owned by Mullally. The Henry Clay was burned before Vicksburg. The ferry boat was thoroughly repaired at La Crosse
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in 1862-3. The Favorite passed down in April with 292 Indians on board-taken from the Indian war in Minnesota. The North- erner passed up the river May 3, 1863, towing a barge laden with negroes from the South on their way to a home in the North. Thomas McLean, a river man and a Dubuquer, received May 6, 1863, $1,050 for piloting a raft from the foot of Lake Pepin to St. Louis in less than three weeks. The little steamer Ad Hine ran the blockade at Vicksburg; she was well known here; she drew only sixteen inches of water.
"The bottom of the river is rising as usual and becoming more visible daily ; some people call it low water." A lumber raft con- taining one million feet came partly from Stillwater on its way to St. Louis in charge of Pilot Jack Parker; water low ; but his skill was equal to it. In 1863 an independent line of steamers was established here; they began with one boat, the U. S. Grant, Cap- tain Gray, and later owned the Pearl, Captain Hale, and seven barges.
Late in 1863 the Minnesota Packet Line sold all its steamers to the stockholders of the Illinois Central Railway, as follows: Key City, Worden; Milwaukee, Holcomb; Itasca, Webb ; Ocean Wave, Laughton; War Eagle, Mitchell; Northern Light, Gabbert; Clara Ames, Ewing; Flora, Wilcox; Franz Siegel, and the Durand; in all fifteen steamers and twenty-seven barges were sold for $150,000. The Milwaukee, a large side-wheeler, reached St. Paul October 26th; the first boat to reach that city since June. She was wel- comed as if navigation had just opened. The War Eagle, Ocean Wave, Franz Siegel, Durand and Pearl passed the winter of 1863-4 here "in the slough."
Late in 1863 the Northwestern Packet Company was organized with John Lawler as president ; W. E. Wellington was its Dubuque agent. The ferry boat Gregoire was sold late in 1863 for over forty thousand dollars, presumably to the Illinois Central Railway control. The Northern Packet Company elected the following officers late in January, 1864: T. B. Rhodes, president ; T. H. Griffith, secretary. Their vessels were the Davenport, Hawkeye State, Sucker State, Northerner, Canada, Pembina, Muscatine, Burlington and Savannah. The Ad Hines was sunk in the Arkan- sas river near Pine Bluff early in 1864.
The steamers here early in 1864 were Canada, Itasca, Pearl, James Means, Sucker State, War Eagle, Northern Light, Musca- tine, Davenport, Key City, Keokuk, Hawkeye State, Chippewa Falls, Cutter, Pembina. Boats came annually from Pittsburg laden with glassware, crockery, hardware and oil. In April, 1864, the Chippewa Falls and Cutter passed down on their way to Idaho via the Missouri river ; others were to follow later. They belonged to "Captain Davidson's line." They belonged to what was known as the Idaho Packet Line, the headquarters of which were at La
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Crosse ; the cabin passage to Fort Benton was $150, with eighty pounds of baggage free.
The boats and captains of the Northwestern Packet Company in the spring of 1864 were: Northern Light, Gabbert; Milwaukee, Holcomb; Key City, Laughton; Itasca, Webb; War Eagle, Mitchell; Ocean Wave, Sheets; Flora, Wilcox; Pearl, A. Haile ; Lansing, K. C. Cooley. The Mrs. Partington was remodeled and repaired for jobbing trade up and down the Upper Mississippi. The wreck of the Grey Eagle at Rock Island was removed for $1,000. Charles Chever, a steamer drawing only sixteen inches of water, went from St. Louis to St. Paul in August, 1864, when the water was extremely low. The Emma Boyd was another light draught boat for the St. Paul trade. Stephen Dolson, who had served for many years as pilot on the ferry across the river at Dubuque, was succeeded by Orville West in August, 1864.
The following boats were here undergoing repairs early in August, 1864: Itasca, Pearl, Ocean Wave, Flora, Mrs. Parting- ton, Grey Eagle, Northern Light and Joe Gales. A little steamer, St. Paul, was put in commission in August, 1864. The river by August 5, 1864, was at its lowest point-the lowest on record. Large quantities of freight were heaped on the levee. Water in the river was so scarce that it was humorously said that its use even to soften whisky was forbidden. The movement of boats was very uncertain and irregular.
T. B. Rhodes, president of the Northern Packet Company, bought the entire interest and stock of the Rapids Packet Company, the latter owning the New Boston, City of Keithsburg and Jennie Whipple.
The Pembina, with a crew one-half negroes, was boarded here by roughs who objected to the colored hands and attacked them with clubs, etc. The ship's officers resisted with iron bars and drove the gang away; five were arrested and three sent to jail; they were "levee loungers." Many rafts came down in 1864- often five hundred thousand to seven hundred thousand feet. As early as the latter part of May boats quit running to St. Paul, owing to low water.
By August 13, 1864, the river at Dubuque was lower than it was ever known before. The sandbars were covered with weeds and grass.
"The up-river papers say that boats have frequently to blow the whistle to drive cattle out of the channel to allow them to pass. The oldest inhabitant, always reliable, does not remember a season when the water was so low."-(Herald, August 27, 1864. )
"The river is no better than formerly. She is confined to her bed, and won't be up for some time. Her complaint is the pre- vailing one in the North and all her cry has been, 'Water, more water!' "-(Herald, September 15, 1864. )
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The Dubuque harbor was a terror to boatmen, owing to the sand- bars. The packet lines threatened to quit stopping at Dubuque unless this state of affairs was remedied. It required as much skill to pass these bars as to pass the Rock Island bridge, which likewise was for many years the hobgoblin of boatmen.
The business of boat building and repairing was steadily increas- ing. In September, 1864, a new barge was under construction on the island above the levee and several barges were being repaired and caulked.
The steamer Mrs. Partington, a light draught tow-boat of the Western Packet Company. burst her boiler near La Crosse and the boat was torn in pieces. One man was killed and every other man on the boat was injured. She had been known as the Durand and was valued at $5,000.
Early in 1865 it seemed that the Illinois Central Railway con- trolled both the transfer and the ferry companies. Among the boats and masters prominent here in 1865 were: Petrel, Jolly ; Burlington. Rhodes: James Means, Wood; Milwaukee, Holcomb ; Itasca, Webb; Key City, Laughton ; Northern Light, Gabbert ; War Eagle, Mitchell; Hawkeye State; Lansing; Davenport; Canada ; Benton; Ryder; Ocean Wave: Northern Belle, West ; Keokuk, Moulton : Mcclellan, Hatcher ; Savannah, Hurd. Daniel Hewitt launched two new barges from the lower levee in May, 1865 ; they were of 300-ton burden each. They were built for the North- western Packet Company and cost about four thousand dollars each. The steamers Victor and Savannah passed up in June with the Thirtieth Illinois Cavalry bound for the Indian country via St. Paul. One of the new barges was christened Ed Sawyer in honor of the "cashier of the packet company, a worthy gentleman who has made numerous friends here. Like her namesake, she is square built, good looking and will carry all she can hold." The other was named for D. P. Norford. an accountant of the company. "He is the well-known ex-dealer in drugs and soothing syrups and never tires of being asked questions in his business capacity."
A sale of forty-four United States steamboats and seven tugs, part of the Mississippi squadron, occurred at Mound City, Illinois, August 17, 1865. Among them was the old Peosta, formerly a ferry boat liere.
The first vessels on the Mississippi were the bark canoes of the savages ; then came the dugouts and flat-boats ; then the sailing ves- sels ; then the stern-wheel steamers, and now in 1865 were the ele- gant side-wheel packets averaging about eight miles an hour, soon to run exclusively for passengers or for freight, with many heavily- laden barges. The Milwaukee was a model side-wheel packet and the Ocean Wave a model freighter in 1865. An immense river business was done this year. Immense quantities of grain passed down. "Dubuque has reason to be proud of the North-
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western Packet Company, which by liberal management has placed its boats ahead of all upper river competition."-(Cor. Herald, October 19, 1865. )
Late in 1865 the Northwestern Packet Company offered for sale the steamers Milwaukee, Northern Light, Itasca, War Eagle, Key City, Ocean Wave, Flora, Diamond Jo, Damsel, Julia and Lansing.
D. W. Hewitt launched a large barge here in April, 1866; it cost four thousand five hundred dollars and had a capacity for eighteen thousand bushels of grain.
On Monday, April 30, 1866, the river was but a few inches below the freshet of 1859, and was over twenty-one feet above low-water mark. The lower part of the city was under water; lumber yards were all afloat. The water was over the sidewalk on the outer levee; boats shoved their gangplanks into the warehouses; wild boats were thick. Tradition says that the greatest rise was in 1828. The flood of 1859 raised the river to 211/2 feet above low- water mark-highest anyone living had ever seen it here.
The Northern Light was covered with ice in April, 1866, while working her way through Coon slough near Brownsville and sank in five minutes up to the hurricane deck. Nothing was saved ; the loss was about twenty-five thousand dollars. Lake Pepin was open about April 20, 1866, and the Sucker State was the first boat through.
The Northwestern Packet Company spent annually in Dubuque about two hundred thousand dollars; its taxes here in 1865 amounted to $6,981.40. Previous to 1850 flat-boats did much of the up-river traffic. The first important change was made in about 1853-4 by the organization of the Minnesota Packet Company at Galena. It started with a single steamer, but finally owned nine- teen, among which were Itasca, Nominee, Alhambra, Galena, War Eagle, Golden Era and Ocean Wave. In 1856 the Dubuque & St. Paul Line, with J. P. Farley as president, was established as a competitor, and a little later the Prairie du Chien Line engaged in the up-river trade. Finally they were all consolidated under a long name with George A. Blanchard secretary and William E. Well- ington agent. Soon thereafter Captain W. F. Davidson bought the stern-wheel steamer Jacob Trabor, began a good business, added other boats and soon was a formidable rival of the consolidated company, under the name La Crosse & Minnesota Packet Com- pany. Mr. Wellington bought a small steamer and commenced business between Dubuque and Winona; was soon joined by Mr. Blanchard ; they secured more boats and ere long had managed to buy enough stock to control the election of officers of the consoli- dated company. This accomplished, they reorganized the com- pany November 19. 1863, under the name North-Western Packet Company. John Lawler, of Prairie du Chien, became president ; W. E. Wellington, of Dubuque, superintendent, and George Blanch-
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