USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men > Part 13
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1,000
Its tributaries-Tennessee.
600
Cumberland.
300
Wabash
300
Green, Kentucky, and Muskingum .. 500
Allegheny
400
2,100
The Illinois ..
300
Rock River, Galena, Wisconsin, and St.
500
Making the total river navigation .. 12,200
At Fort Snelling the St. Peter's, or Minnesota River empties into the Mississippi, eight hundred and thirteen miles above St. Louis, and is navigable for sixty miles. By the River and Harbor Act of 1882 the Secretary of War is directed to cause examina- tions and surveys to be made of " the source of this river, near the foot of Big Stone Lake, with a view to its being added to the reservoir system of the Mississippi and its tributaries." The St. Croix River, with its large lumber trade, is about two hundred miles in length, and enters the Mississippi at a point seven hundred and sixty-five miles above
St. Louis ; the chief river points on the St. Croix are Hudson, Stillwater, Osceola, and St. Croix Falls.1 The Chippewa River empties into the Mississippi six hundred and eighty-six miles above St. Louis, near the end of Lake Pepin, upon which a harbor of refuge at Lake City is to be constructed under the River and Harbor Act of 1882. This river is naviga- ble for steamboats about seventy miles, and upon its surface large quantities of timber are annually rafted to St. Louis ; its length is three hundred miles, and its chief tributaries are the Clearwater and Red Cedar Rivers. For the improvement of the Chip- pewa River thirty-five thousand dollars was appro- priated by the River and Harbor Act of 1882.
The Wisconsin River empties into the Mississippi four miles below Prairie du Chien, and five hundred and thirty-eight miles above St. Louis. This river is navigable for steamboats as far as Portage, where the canal connects it with the Fox River, which flows into Green Bay, and connects the Mississippi system with the lake system of navigation. The length of the Wisconsin is six hundred miles, and it receives the waters of many tributaries, some of them streams of considerable volume. The Fevre River, upon which Galena is situated, enters the Mississippi a few miles below Duluth, and is navigable a part of the year to Galena. The Wapsipinicon River, at a point seven miles below Camanche, and three hundred and eighty-three miles above St. Louis, empties into the Mississippi. Its length is two hundred miles, but it is not navigable. The Rock River, rising in Fon du Lac County, Wis., near Lake Winnebago, flows south- westerly, and enters the Mississippi River two miles below Rock Island, at a point three hundred and fifty-two miles above St. Louis. Its navigation is dependent upon high water, and extends two hundred and twenty-five miles.
The distances on Rock River from Watertown to the Mississippi are :
Miles.
Total.
From Watertown to Jefferson.
16
16
To Fort Atkinson
8
24
Janesville
34 58
Beloit ..
18 76
Roscoe ..
8
84
Rockford
12
96
Byron ...
12
108
Oregon.
10
118
Dixon ..
20
138
Sterling.
12
150
Lyndon
16
166
Prophetstown.
2
168
Camden ...
45
213
Mississippi River.
1
214
The Iowa River takes its rise in Hancock County, Iowa, and is navigable for small steamboats in the
1 Thirty thousand dollars was appropriated by the River and Harbor Act of 1882 for improving this river.
Croix
1,200
1041
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES.
high-water season for eighty miles from its mouth, on the Mississippi River, two hundred and ninety-four miles above St. Louis, near New Boston. Its length is about three hundred miles, and its course south- easterly.
The Des Moines River, rising in the southern part of Minnesota, flows through an exceedingly fertile and productive country for four hundred miles, of which two hundred are navigable. It enters the Mississippi near Alexandria, Mo., about two hundred and seven miles above St. Louis. The distances upon this river are :
Miles.
Total.
Meredosia.
6
119
La Grange ..
10
129
Fredericksville
4 143
Browning.
6
149
Sharp's
6
155
Bath.
12
167
Havana
12
179
Liverpool
10
189
Copperas.
12
201
Lancaster
8
209
Kingston
2
211
Pekin.
10
221
Wesley City
6
227
Peoria . .
3
230
Spring Bay
14
244
Rome ..
6
250
Chillicothe ..
2
252
Lacon
20
272
Peru ..
30
302
From Fort Des Moines to Dudley .....
14
14
To Lafayette
5
19
Bennington
10
29
Red Rock
16
45
Amsterdam
12
57
Bellefontaine
12
69
Auburn ..
12
81
Des Moines City
8
89
Eddyville
2
91
Chillicothe
8
99
Ottumwa
12
111
New Market
20
131
Portland.
6
137
Philadelphia
8
145
Pittsburgh
7
152
Pleasant Hill
5
157
Vernon.
8
165
Bonaparte ..
5
170
Farmington.
8
178
Black Hawk
3
181
Croton
3
184
Athens
5
189
Belfast.
6
195
St. Francisville.
10
205
Mississippi River.
15
220
Quincy, Ill., one hundred and sixty-seven miles above St. Louis, on the Mississippi, is situated in one of the finest agricultural sections of the country. Hannibal, Mo., one hundred and forty-seven miles above St. Louis, is an important point for the ship- ment of pork, hemp, tobacco, and other produce. Both of these thriving cities are important centres of the trade and commerce of St. Louis.
The Illinois River empties into the Mississippi at Grafton, Ill., forty-three miles above St. Louis. The Kankakee and Des Plaines Rivers uniting at Dresden form the Illinois, which, receiving the waters of Ver- milion River, then becomes navigable for steamboats during a part of the year. The productiveness of the country through which the Illinois flows makes the commerce of that river very valuable. The dis- tances from St. Louis to trading-points on the Illinois River are as follows :
Miles.
Total.
To Mason's Landing.
42
42
Hardin ...
25
67
Columbiana.
10
77
Apple Creek
4
81
Bridgeport.
2
83
Montezuma
14
97
Florence
6
103
Griggsville
6
109
4
113
Naples
Miles.
Total.
La Salle.
1
303
The Missouri River unites with the Mississippi twenty miles above St. Louis. The springs in the Rocky Mountains from which its head-waters flow are not more than a mile from those which supply the Columbia River, which empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Jefferson, Gallatin, and Madison, three small streams, unite to form the Missouri. The " Gates of the Rocky Mountains," which, rising perpendicularly from the water's edge to the height of twelve hundred feet, compress the river into a breadth of four hundred and fifty feet, are four hundred and forty-one miles from the extreme point of navigation of the branchcs. The " Great Falls," a series of rapids, having a fall of three hundred and fifty-one feet in sixteen miles, arc one hundred and ten miles below the " Gates." These falls are broken into four leaps, of which the first in the descent of the river is twenty-six feet; the second, forty-seven feet ; the third, nineteen feet ; and the fourth, ninety- eight feet. Below the falls navigation is unobstructed by any permanent barrier, and only impeded by low waters after the July flood has passed down. The great number of islands and sand-bars that have formed in the river render the channel intricate and difficult for navigation, which, with the numerous " snags," make steamboating extremely hazardous. The first important tributary, the Yellowstone, is as yet not of any material importance from a commercial point of view. It is navigable for a considerable dis- tance by the steamboats of the upper Missouri, and when the country through which it flows shall have been settled and cultivated, the trade of the Yellow- stone will doubtless become very valuable.
The Platte, or Nebraska River enters the Missouri seven hundred and forty miles from St. Louis. Formed by its North and South Forks, which rise in the Rocky Mountains, the Platte flows easterly for two thousand miles, but is shallow, and, except in the great freshcts of the spring, is not navigable.
1042
HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.
Sixteen miles above Kansas City and four hundred and seventy-three from St. Louis, the Little Platte from Iowa enters the Missouri. It is two hundred miles in length, shallow, and not of much importance commercially.
One of the largest tributaries of the Missouri is the Kansas, which enters that river near Kansas City, four hundred and fifty-nine miles from St. Louis. Rising in the Rocky Mountains, and flowing east- ward through the rich State of Kansas, its length is twelve hundred miles, nine hundred of which, with some improvement, might be made navigable. It is one thousand feet wide at its mouth, and has many tributaries, of which Solomon's Fork, seven hundred miles long, and Smoky Hill Fork, eight hundred miles long, are the largest.
Grand River enters the Missouri three hundred and one miles from St. Louis. It is two hundred and forty miles in length, and navigable one hundred miles between the Missouri and Madison, Iowa.
Five miles below Cambridge, Iowa, and two hun- dred and sixty-nine above St. Louis, the Chariton River from Iowa enters the Missouri. It is navigable for thirty miles, and its length is one hundred miles.
Eight miles below Arrow Rock and two hundred and forty miles from St. Louis, the La Mine River enters the Missouri. It is navigable for about thirty miles.
The Osage River is about five hundred miles in length, and runs through a very fertile and productive country, and enters the Missouri one hundred and sixty-nine miles from St. Louis. It is navigable for about two hundred miles.
The Gasconade, rising in Wright County, Mo., runs nearly two hundred miles, and empties into the Missouri one hundred and twenty-nine miles from St. Louis. It is important only as supplying water-power, and is not navigable.
The distances from St. Louis to points on the Mis- souri River are as follows :
Miles.
Total.
To mouth of Missouri River
20
20
Bellefontaine Bend.
5
25
Jamestown
2
27
Charbonier ..
8
35
St. Charles ...
10
45
Howard Bend.
12
57
Bonhomme Island.
1
58
Howell's Ferry ..
4
62
Dozier.
5
67
Port Royal.
1
68
Tavern Roek
1
69
Mount Albans.
1
70
Angusta ..
6
76
Jones Point
2
78
South Point
4
82
Basonia ...
1
83
Washington
1
84
Tuque Point
1
85
2
87
...
Miles.
Total.
Newport Landing ..
2
89
Miller's Landing ....
9
98
Hermann ....
23
121
Gasconade.
8
129
Portland ...
12
141
St. Aubert's ..
10
151
Shipley's
4
155
Bonnot's Mills
7
162
Osage.
2
164
Moreau
5
169
Jefferson City.
5
174
Claysville
7
181
Marion
10
191
Martin's Landing ..
7
198
Nashville.
7
205
Mount Vernon
7
212
Rocheport.
8
220 232
La Mine.
8
240
Arrow Rock
8
248
Glasgow
17
265 274 300
Miami.
15
315
Waverly
31
346
Dover Landing.
13
359
Lexington
12
371
Wellington
8
379
Camden
10
389 397
Napoleon,
8
Riehfield
24
421
Liberty
15
436
Kansas River.
2
457 459 472
Little Platte.
1
473
Weston
33
506
Atchison ..
15
521 528 556
Palermo.
24
580
St. Joseph.
11
591
Nodaway.
25
616
Iowa Point.
30
646
Brownsville
40
686
Nebraska City.
30
716
Plattsmouth
21
737
Platte River
3
740
St. Mary's ...
2
742
Council Bluffs.
15
757
Florence ...
10
767
Fort Calhoun.
10
777
De Soto.
15
792
Tekama ..
30
822
Sioux City.
60
882
Yellowstone River.
1075
1957
Great Falls ..
675
2632
Rocky Mountain Gates.
110
2742
Kansas City
21
Leavenworth
13
Doniphan
7
Maysville
28
Cambridge
9
Brunswick
26
Boonville.
12
...
The Ohio, which enters the Mississippi at Cairo, one hundred and seventy-four miles below St. Louis, is formed at Pittsburgh, one thousand and nineteen miles from Cairo, by the junction of the Allegheny and Youghiogheny. The Allegheny, which is the proper continuation of the Ohio, rises on the borders of Lake Erie, where its tributaries terminate in Lake Chautauqua, one thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea, and seven hundred feet above the level of Lake Erie. A boat may start from these sources, within seven miles of Lake Erie, in sight sometimes of the sails which whiten the ap- proach to the harbor of Buffalo, and float securely down the Conewango or Cassadaga to the Allegheny, down that river to the Ohio, and thence uninterrupt-
St. John's Landing
1043
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES.
edly to the Gulf of Mexico. In all this distance of two thousand four hundred miles the deseent is so uniform and gentle, so little accelerated by rapids, that when there is sufficient water to float the vessel, and sufficient power to govern it, the downward voy- age may be performed without difficulty or danger in the channels as they were formed by nature. Steam- boats have aseended the Allegheny to Olean Point, two thousand three hundred miles from the mouth of the Mississippi, and two hundred and fifty miles above Pittsburgh. From the junetion of the two prin- cipal tributaries of the Olio at Pittsburgh, to Point Pleasant, where the Great Kanawha River from West Virginia enters the Ohio, there are only small and un- important streams entering the Ohio. Point Pleasant is distant from St. Louis nine hundred and forty-two miles. The Great Kanawha is navigable for small boats, and the produets of salt, eoal, and iron which in great quantities are sent down that river find at St. Louis a market. The salt manufactures along the Great Kanawha amount to eight million bushels annually.
Improvement of the Mississippi and Tribu- taries .-- Prior to the construction of the New York and Canadian eanals, and the opening of railways be- tween the Western and Eastern States, the Missis- sippi River and its navigable tributaries were the only highways of eommeree between the vast territory embraeing the Western States and the other States of the Union. The elosing of the mouth of the Missis- sippi during the civil war, the general paralysis of Southern industry and trade ineident to that war, and the inerease in the size of ocean vessels turned the current of eommeree from the southern to the eastern route, and from the bosom of the Mississippi to the canals and railways that led to Northern Atlantie eities. This defleetion of the eommeree of the Western States from the southern to the northern routes dim- inished, without destroying, the value of the Missis- sippi River as a great commercial highway. The relative economy of water over rail transportation for heavy freights, and the failure of the railways to sup- ply sufficient eheap transportation to meet the demands of a rapidly inereasing commeree between the great eentral basin of this eontinent and the markets of the world, ereated that public sentiment, to which Congress has within a few years past responded, for the improvement of the navigation of the Mississippi and its tributaries. Previous to the publie reeogni- tion of the vast importance of this national under- taking, the prevention of "inundations of the delta of the Mississippi" had attraeted attention, together with the practicability and cost of improving the
navigation of Western rivers, as ineidental rather than primary reasons for those improvements. The memoir of Charles Ellet, Jr.,1 was prepared under the authority of an aet of Congress direeting the Secretary of War to institute such surveys and in- vestigations as were necessary to the preparation of adequate plans for protecting the delta from inunda- tions, and increasing the depth of water on the bars at the mouth of the Mississippi. Mr. Ellet, though not an officer of the government or in the employ of the War Department, was ealled to this important duty, and authorized to make such investigations as would enable him to devise and report suitable plans for the protection of the delta from inunda- tions by overflows.
As early as 1841 the attention of Congress was ealled to the condition of the Mississippi above the mouth of the Ohio. From 1836 to 1841 it was said that more property had been destroyed from the mouth of the Ohio to St. Louis by snags than on all the other parts of the river and its tributaries.2 Not- withstanding the general government had provided snag-boats for the lower river, the manifest negleet of the Western rivers was entailing an annual loss of millions of dollars upon the eommeree of the West, owing to the dangerous and destructive condition of the then only eommereial highway for that great see- tion of the country. A theory of constitutional con- struetion intervened to obstruet the work of improve- ment, which became so obviously absurd that to avoid its inconveniences Mr. Calhoun designated the Missis- sippi River as an "inland sea," to the improvement of which the powers of the general government might be applied. Notwithstanding the vast extent and wonderful fertility of the country which those rivers drain, the nature, variety, and location of the produets seeking transportation, and the almost ineal- eulable eommeree which demanded the facilities of easy and safe movement, their navigation was left un- improved until the competition of the railroads gave weight and influence to the demands of an injured publie.
In 1870, Congress, in addition to the usual appro- priation for river improvements and surveys, made an
1 " The Mississippi and Ohio Rivers : containing plans for the protection of the delta from inundations; and investigations of the praeticability and cost of improving the navigation of the Ohio and other rivers by means of reservoirs, with appendix on the bars at the mouth of the Mississippi, by Charles Ellet, Jr., Civil Engineer."
2 John A. Seudder, before the Senate Committee on Transpor- tation Routes to the Seaboard, in 1873, said, " I suppose there are five thousand wrecks between this (St. Louis) and Cairo alone. I speak now of all the boats that are sunk." P. 615.
1044
HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.
allowance of funds for the survey and examination of various small strcams tributary to the Mississippi and its great branches. Among the streams to be exam- ined were the Cuivre River in Missouri, the Current River in Missouri, Black River, Missouri and Ark- ansas, White River, flowing through the same States, the Fourche la Faire in Arkansas, and Bayou Bar- tholomew in Louisiana. The surveys of these rivers were made by Brevet Maj. Charles J. Allen, Engi- neer Corps, who in that year reported to Gen. William T. Reynolds, U. S. Engineer Corps, in charge of Western rivers at St. Louis. In addition to the ex- amination of these rivers, the same Congress which authorized this work ordered a complete survey of the Ouachita River from Trinity, La., to Camden, Ark., a distance of three hundred miles. This survey was made in order to ascertain the practicability of im- proving navigation on that stream by the construction of locks and dams.
The opening up of the Little Missouri River for the navigation of light-draught steamboats, a work of immense value to all that section of country adjacent to its waters, as well as to the general interests of Western commerce, was accomplished that year. The country through which it flows is a very productive region, but the fact that it was in a measure cut off from markets prevented its development. Cotton, the chief product of this rich region, had to be hauled on wagons a distance of one hundred miles, which placed an embargo on its production.
The work, however, accomplished by Maj. Allen, in which St. Louis is most deeply interested, was his thorough and complete survey of that portion of the Mississippi River extending from the mouth of the Missouri to the mouth of the Maramec, which in- cludes the harbor of St. Louis. A careful examina- tion of the bars, chutes, and bank abrasions was made, and the particular force of the current in certain localities was ascertained.
During the season of 1871,1 Gen. Reynolds re-
1 The snag-boat fleet in 1871 under the command of Gen. Reynolds was composed of the "Thayer," the "Octavia," the "S. H. Long," the " R. E. DeRussey," and the "J. J. Abert." The "Thayer" operated in the Missouri, between St. Joseph and Omaha, from the time the river opened until the close of September, when she was sent to the upper White, Black, and Little Red Rivers.
The "R. E. DeRussey" operated in the Missouri, between Kansas City and St. Joseph, from early in the season until the 1st of September.
After her arrival at St. Louis she was loaned to the city au- thorities to remove obstructions in the harbor, the city paying all her expenses. This was a benefit to the city and no loss to the general commerce, for the reason that the appropriation was not enough to keep the boats at work until the 1st of July.
moved over four thousand snags, roots and all, from the streams, as well as " rack heaps" destroyed and wrecks removed, and thousands of trees cut to pre- vent their becoming snags, and aid given to vessels aground or in distress, which was always rendered when possible and never charged for.
In the upper Ouachita and Little Missouri, where snag-boats could not go, flat-boats drawing not over ten inches of water were set at work " cutting" snags which their light power could not pull out. The work was done under the superintendence of experi- enced pilots of those streams, and at a low stage of water. This was the only cutting that was done, ex- cepting in the case of chutes, in two or three cases, when they were so low that the yawl only could go through. This method was adopted to render the chute available when a rise should come.
Under the law of Congress 2 allowing the employ- ment of civil engineers for the purpose of executing the surveys and improvements of Western and North- western rivers, much work has been done on the nav- igable waters of the Mississippi valley.
In 1845 the Memphis Convention, for the purpose of bringing the condition of navigation on Western rivers to the attention of Congress, was held. John
The "Long" operated in the Missouri, from Kansas City to Hermann, until about the 1st of September, when she was with- drawn. After she reached the Mississippi she worked a few days in the St. Louis harbor, and on the 1st of November was ordered below, between Memphis and the mouth of the Ar- kansas.
The "J. J. Abert" worked in the Missouri, below St. Aubert, until the middle of August, when she came into the Mississippi, and worked between the mouth of the Missouri and Memphis.
The "Octavia" was employed the entire season between Keokuk and Cairo, endeavoring to keep a good depth of water between these points, until it was necessary to send her into the Missouri to help the "DeRussey" and " Abert" out of that river.
The work of the " Octavia" was of great service between St. Louis and Keokuk, but owing to the nature of the river from St. Louis to Cairo the benefit was not so great. Channels across the worst bars were cut several times during the season, but they soon filled up.
The amount available for running and operating the dredge and snag-boats after using enough for repairs was only one hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars. With this they were run about nine months each, which, as there were five boats in all, was an average cost of about three thousand four hundred dollars per month, or less than one hundred and twenty dollars per day.
The Missouri from Omaha to the mouth, the Mississippi from Keokuk to Vicksburg, the Arkansas from its mouth probably to Little Rock, the Ouachita from its mouth to Camden, the White from its mouth to Jacksonport, the Little Red, Black, and St. Francis Rivers from their mouths as far up as the boats can go well, were all passed over by the snag-boats at least twice, and the greater part of the distance four or more times during that season.
2 March 29, 1867; Rev. Stat., Sec. 5253.
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES.
1045
C. Calhoun presided, and was made chairman of the committee to memorialize Congress. In that memo- rial Mr. Calhoun took the broadest ground in favor of the improvements being made by the Federal gov- ernment without regard to their eost.
A convention was held in Chieago July 4, 1847, to consider the subject of the improvement of the Mississippi River and its principal tributaries, to which delegates from St. Louis were appointed.
These delegates prepared an able report upon the subjeet, which was published in pamphlet form,1 from which it appears that there were 1190 steamboats and 4000 keel- and flat-boats engaged in the eommeree of Western rivers, employing 61,650 persons, the eost of which is set at $16,188,561, and the running ex- penses at $32,725,000. The cost of river transporta- tion was summed up as follows :
Cost of running 1190 steamboats ...... $32,725,000
Insurance, at 12 per cent ..
1,942,627
Interest, at 6 per cent ...
971,313
Wear and tear, at 24 per cent ...
3,885,254
Tolls on Louisville and Portland Canal
250,000
Cost of flat-boats (included because sacrificed at New Orleans).
1,380,000
Total cost of transportation ... .... $41,154,194
This vast sum was an annual " tax upon the surplus produee, enterprise, industry, and trade of the eoun- try." The aggregate annual tonnage transported was set at 10,126,160 tons; and the " grand aggregate value of eommeree afloat upon the navigable waters of the valley of the Mississippi" was estimated by this eom- mittee at $432,621,240, "being nearly double the amount of the whole foreign eommeree of the United States." Taking into consideration the loss of steam- boats and eargoes, the committee regarded it as not " too high an estimate to put down the actual losses at two millions of dollars per annum. This is anni- hilated,-so much destroyed of the wealth of the country,-amounting every ten years to a sum equal to the purchase-money paid by the government for all Louisiana."
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