USA > Wisconsin > Buffalo County > History of Buffalo County, Wisconsin > Part 28
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An essential part of a county organization is the description of every town in the usual way. These descriptions have been given incidentally in the proceedings of the county board of sup- ervisors, but it can not be expected that every reader should take the trouble to combine the pieces detached from one or more towns annexed to one or another. For the purpose of giving an accurate idea of the extent and figure of each town, as now organized, the description will be prefixed to the separate history of each town, village or city, and it is also accurately delineated upon the ac- companying map.
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TRANSPORTATION.
TRANSPORTATION.
We find in the chapter on Indians that the canoe was the first vehicle for the transportation of persons and of burdens. Its building, the materials necessary or customary for the purpose and its general utility are sufficiently described in the same place. Its capacity for commercial transportation was indeed very limited, yet not so much so as to prevent its general use. From the narra- tives of early explorers it clearly appears that a canoe of ordinary size was capable of carrying from two to five men with their arms and implements, and sometimes a considerable stock of provisions or merchandise also. La Salle carried a blacksmith's forge and the necessary iron along with him in canoes perhaps divided up, but still consisting of heavy material. It being clearly impossible to man very many canoes, as one man could not be expected to manage a very large weight with safety and dispatch, and an ex- pedition of that kind requiring tools for building fortifications and houses, besides a heavy stock of goods for trading and presents, and a plentiful supply of arms and ammunition, we can form an estimate of the weight each of these canoes must have been cap- able of floating. There were, however, some limits to that capac- ity not dependent on size even in those primitive times, when the demands of commerce were as a grain of sand beside a mountain, compared with those of modern times. The first advance from the canoe, for the same purposes, and still with a view to propell- ing by the use of paddles, was the batteau or Mackinaw boat of the French traders and voyageurs. Its peculiar construction af- forded some advantages over the canoe, especially greater capacity, deeper draught, steadier course, and perhaps greater strength, which were set off by a want of portability and the necessity of having boards for the construction of it. The canoe and the batteaux re- mained the craft for the coasting trade and private communica- tion, as well as in fishing, until in quite recent times, and those
325
TRANSPORTATION.
living on Beef Slough will not fail to remember the fleet of bat- teaux brought down by the crews of the first log-drive in 1868. The skiff has superseded this ancient craft entirely at least on the Mississippi. On the Lakes, where there was more room for ma- nocuvering, sailing craft, with or without decks, with temporary or fixed masts and rigging soon became a necessity, but nevertheless increased very slowly, fast enough, perhaps, for the demands of commerce and the traffic of the past, but infinitely out off all pro- portion with present necessities or accommodations. On the rivers: the capacious keel boat, or as we now would style it, the barge, in- tended to be propelled by poles stuck in the bottom of the river, the men leaning with the shoulder against the upper end, shoving the boat along by seemingly walking on the deck or on a plank, was used for the transportation of heavier goods, or larger quanti- ties. These barges were, at least partially, provided with an upper deck, partly to walk upon, partly for the protection of the men and the cargo against rain or other inclemencies of the weather. Most of them were also provided with temporary masts and sim- ple tackle and rigging for using the same when the wind and the water-space, or rather the width and comparative straightness of the channel, presented a favorable opportunity. This poling or pushing of boats or barges against the current was not only a toil- some and tedious, but also a very unsatisfactory way of transpor- tation. High water, required for boats of deep draught, could not be made available, as it was impossible to provide poles long enough to reach to the bottom, and still not too heavy for managing by the men. At the times of low water, sandbars and rapids were almost unconquerable obstructions. Days, and sometimes weeks were consumed in lightening these barges and conveying part of the goods above the rapids by land on very rough roads, or by the use of scows on the water. This difficulty was overcome by the building of flatboats, where it was not intended to proceed against the stream for long distances.
The application of steam power to the navigation of vessels which now is such a matter of everyday occurrence, that nobody takes much notice of it, had to contend, not only with the usual prejudices against new ideas in general, but also, quite naturally, with the obstacles created by the want of experience in the enter- prise, and which could only be overcome by venturesome experi-
326
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ments, requiring untold time and money. We know that the problem was solved, and if we should be surprised at anything we should be surprised by the rapidity by which the invention or its application spread to all the navigable waters from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains. The first successful trip of the Clermont, having proved the feasibility and the advantages of the invention in 1807, we nevertheless find but little mention of its application before or during the war of 1812, yet there must have been some progress. One of the great obstacles to navigation in general, and steam navigation in particular, on the western rivers, was that shifting of sand bars from one location to another, which made the progress of a boat or vessel extremely hazardous, the more so the greater the force propelling the craft was. The model of a ship, or even a canal-boot, or anything drawing as much water as was considered indispensable for the rivers, and bays in the East, was clearly out of place on the western waters, and more especially upon the Upper Mississippi, which could not be reached without passing over the rapids of the Des Moines, and the still more in- tricate and shallow ones at Rock Island. The question was clearly, whether the boats used for the navigation of the Lower Mississippi could be used for that of the upper part of the same river, for never did it enter into the brain of any captain or pilot running upon the Mississippi at that time, that there would ever be, and not so very far off, either, a period, when it would not only be necessary and possible, but also very profitable, to con- struct boats for the express purpose of Upper River Navigation, and run regular lines of them, not merely to Keokuk near the Lower Rapids, but up to the Falls of St. Anthony. At all events it was the great surprise among river men, and not less among other sojourners upon the river, that in May 1823, the steamer Virginia, drawing six feet of water, ascended to Mendota, opposite Fort Snelling, below the junction of the Minnesota and the Missis- sippi, just as the fort is above it. She was freighted with provi- sions, ammunition and other stores, and perhaps, also, with a re- lief for the garrison of Fort Snelling. She was the first steamer of any kind, which ascended so far, but from that time steamboats in government employ came up every year, making however, seldom more than one trip, always of course, at high water. At first, I suppose, the crew went into the woods, where they were accessi-
327
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ble, to procure the necessary fuel. It did not, however, take many years, until wood-yards began to be established at convenient points along the river banks. Pioneers of different kinds, some of them bent on traffic with the Indians, others for the love of adventure in hunting and trapping, others again with a distant expectation of settling down for the remainder of their days in some place in this wilderness, that would suit their fancy or their means, began to string themselves along the great natural highway, putting in a winter's work to take their rest in spring and summer, when they sold their wood to the boats and bought of them such provisions as they could not procure by hunting and fishing. It is not to be supposed, however, that this was done in a hurry, in one or two years, nor that the practice of poling keel-boats up the Missis- sippi in the manner described was, or could be immediately abandoned. Thus we find in 1827, at the time of the Winnebago outbreak, two such boats upon the river, returning from the very top and head of navigation, Fort Snelling. How slow, indeed, the progress of navigation must have been, when even as late as 1844, the first year, in which a count and record of steamboat arrivals was kept at Mendota, these arrivals did not exceed 41 in number. From 1844-47 the little steamers Otter, Rock River and Lynx were the principal boats in this trade. In 1847, July 8th, the Ga- lena and Minnesota Packet Company was organized at Galena by the following persons. Capt. Orrin Smith, Henry Corwith, B. H. Campbell, Capt. M. W. Lodwick and Capt. R. Blakeley, all of Ga- lena; Col. H. L. Dousman and B. W. Brisbois of Prairie du Chien; Gen. H. H. Sibley and Hon. H. M. Rice of St. Paul.
The first boat purchased by this company was the " Argo " of only sixty tons burthen, which was run in the St. Paul trade until October of the same year, when she ran against a snag, and sunk a little above Winona.
The next boat was the " Dr. Franklin," purchased in the win- ter 1847-48, and put into the trade in spring 1848. In 1849 the "Senator " was added to the line, but in the fall she was sold and replaced by the " Nominee " which was run by Capt. O. Smith, the late president of the company. She was not run as a Sunday boat, for Capt. Smith would, at 12 o'clock Saturday night tie her up to an island, or whatever place he was near, and remain until 12 o'clock Sunday night. If convenient and possible, he would
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have preaching on the boat on Sunday forenoon. The Nominee, however, suffered the fate of its more unchristian brothers and was snagged and sunk in the fall of 1854, forty miles below La Crosse.
The "Ben Campbell " was built in the winter of 1851-52, and put in the trade in the spring, but drew too much water, and was sold in the fall 1852. During this season an opposition boat, called the " West Newton," was put into the trade from Galena to . St. Paul, as an about equal match for the Nominee. The latter in May 1852, made the round trip, from Galena to St. Paul and back in two days, seven hours and forty-nine minutes, a distance both ways of eight hundred miles. In the fall of the same year the Harrises, to whom the West Newton belonged, were admitted into the Galena company and their boat afterwards run in the line. In the spring of 1854, the "War Eagle," "Galena " and " Royal Arch " were added to the line, and in 1855, the "Golden Era," " Alhambra," "Lady Franklin," and "City Bell " were added.
In June 1856, the opening of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad gave a great impetus to the business, and. the .company added to their line of boats the " Northern Bell," " Ocean Wave," ".Granite State," " Greek Slave," and " Black Hawk."
Some boats besides the Nominee were sunk during this time; namely, "West Newton " in the fall of 1853, near the place still called by the same name, but formerly "Yellow Banks," where since then a few houses were built and inhabited, and in 1862 abandoned; " Dr. Franklin," seven miles above Dubuque by col- liding with the "Galena " in June 1854 .. . In 1856 the "Galena ", was burned. .
Trade fell off considerably in 1858, and subsequently, but in 1861 the packet company increased its number of incorporators to. about one hundred, and its capital to $400,000,-and run the fol- lowing boats in the upper trade: " War Eagle," " Alhambra," " City Bell," "Fanny Harris," "Northern Light," "Key City," " Northern Bell," " Golden Era," " Ocean Wave," " Flora," "Grey Eagle," " Milwaukee," and " Itasca.". Some of these boats were of the first class, and might well have been called "floating pa- laces."
The " Milwaukee " cost the company $39,000, "Grey Eagle " $43,000, and the "Key City " and "Northern Light " each about the same.
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The "Key City" was built at Cincinnati in 1857, was 250 feet long, 35 feet wide, 360 tons burthen, and 51 state rooms. The "War Eagle" and "Galena" were of a smaller class of boats, the former being but 296 tons burthen, with 46 state rooms. She was built in Cincinnati in the winter of 1853-54, and was 219 feet long and 19 feet wide.
The Galena Packet Company finally reorganized in February' 1864, under the laws of the State of Iowa, with a cash capital of $400,000, under the name of the "Northwestern Packet Company," with general powers to run steamers, and do passenger and freight business between Dubuque and St. Paul. The company was bound by contract with the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Rail- road Company to carry freight and passengers for that company between the latter place and St. Paul.
In the fall of 1865 the Northwestern Company were running the following steamers in the trade: "Milwaukee," "Itasca," " Northern Light," "Key City," "War Eagle," all first class pas- senger steamers. They also run three light-draught boats for low water, and three additional steamers for freight and towing barges.
On the first day of October 1858 the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad was completed, and opened through to the Mississippi at La Crosse, and much of the business of the boats passed over this road.
In 1860 an independent, or opposition, line of steamboats was run from La Crosse to St. Paul by Mr. Davidson and others, which the Galena Packet Company made a spirited but unsuccessful ef- . fort to run off; failing in this they compromised, by forming with Davidson and others, a combination on the 17th of August 1861, which has since done a large business.
In 1863 the La Crosse and St. Paul line ran in connection with the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad the following boats:
"McLellan," Capt. P. S. Davidson; "Keokuk," Capt. J. R. Hatcher; "Northern Bell," Capt. John Cochran; "Frank Steele," Capt. Martin; "Clara Hine," Capt. J. Newton; "G. H. Wilson," Capt. Wm. Butler; "Aeolian," Capt. Sencerbox.
On Chippewa River: "John Ramsey," Capt. N. Harris; "Chip- pewa Falls," Capt. L. Fulton.
On the St. Croix; "Wenona," Capt. L. Brown.
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TRANSPORTATION.
On the Minnesota: "Pomeroy," Capt. Bell; "Stella Whipple," Capt. Norris-in all 14.
The combination of the steamboat interest proving unsatisfac- tory, the new Northwestern Packet Company and the La Crosse line, generally called "Davidson's Line," on the 1st of May, 1866, consolidated into a new company, under the general laws of the State of Iowa, at Dubuque, and organized a company which they called the "Northwestern Union Packet Company." The general office of the company was located at Dubuque, Iowa; and the com- pany organized with a capital of $1,500,000, and put immediately into the trade thirty steamers and seventy-three barges.
NAVIGATION AT ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.
The following table will show the time of the opening and closing of navigation at St. Paul Minnesota. the number of arrivals at that point in every year, and the length of the season of navigation.
RECORD OF FIRST ARRIVALS.
NUMBER OF BOATS, LENGTH OF SEASON AND LAST DEPARTURE
Navigation.
Year.
First Boat.
Captain.
Arrived,
Year.
Number of Boats.
River Closed.
Open.
Closed.
18-14
Otter.
Harris.
April 6.
1844
41
Nov. 23.
231
131
1845 Otter.
Harris ..
April 6.
1845
48
Nov. 26.
234
131
1846 Lynx.
Atchison.
March 31.
1846
21
Dec. 5.
245
120
1847
Clarie.
Throckmorton
April 7.
1847
47
Nov. 29.
236
129
1848 Senator.
Harris.
April 7.
1848
63
Dec. 4.
241
124
1849 Highland Mary.
Atchison ..
April 9.
1849
85
Dec. 7.
242
123
Nov. 19.
1850 Highland Mary.
Atchison.
.
1850
104
Dec. 4.
239
126
Nov. 18.
1851 Nominee .
Smith.
April 1.
1851
119
Nov. 28.
238
127
Nov. 20.
1852 Nominee
Smith.
April 16.
1852
171
Nov. 18.
216
141
Nov. 10.
1853
West Newton.
Harris.
April 11.
1853
235
Nov. 30.
233
132
Nov. 22.
1854 Nominee .
Blakeley ..
April 8.
1854
310
Nov. 27.
223
142
Nov. 23.
1855 War Eagle.
Harris.
April 17.
1855
563
Nov. 20.
217
149
Nov. 19.
1856 Lady Franklin
Lucas.
April 18 ..
1856
887
Nov. 10.
212
153.
Nov. 10.
1857| Galena.
Laughton.
May 1.
1857
965
Nov. 14.
198
167
Nov. 14.
1858| Grey Eagle.
Harris ..
March 25.
1858
1068
Nov. 16.
236
128
Nov. 16.
1859
Key City ..
Warden.
April 19.
1859
808
¡Nov. 29.
222
143
Nov. 29.
1860
Milwaukee
Cochran ..
March 28.
1860
776
Nov. 23.
-240
125
Nov. 23.
1861 Ocean Wave.
Webb
April 8.
1861
927
Nov. 26.
232
133
Nov. 26.
1862
Keokuk
Hatcher ..
April 18.
1862
1015
Nov. 15.
211
154
Nov. 15.
'1863
Keokuk
Hatcher.
April 5.
18 6
731
Nov. 24.
223
142
Nov. 24.
1864 Hawk Eye State.
Mason ..
April 14.
1864
630
Nov. 10.
211
154
Nov. 10.
1865 Burlington ..
April 15.
1865
1866 Sucker State ..
April 19.
1866
Nov. 23.
219
146
Nov. 23.
1867 Itaska .
April 21.
1867
?
Nov. 20.
222
143
Nov. 20.
1868 Sheridan.
Hutchison ..
April 4.
1868
Dec. 10.
225
140
Nov. 30.
1869 Sucker State.
Hight ..
Aprtl 19.
1869
Dec. 10.
226
139
Nov. 20.
1870 Tom Jasper ..
West
April 11.
1870
Nov. 21.
233
132
Nov. 21.
1871 Diamond Joe.
April 10.
1871
?
Nov. 28.
239
126
Nov. 20.
1872 S. S. Merrill.
Davidson
April 23.
1872
?
Nov. 20.
216
149
Nov. 12.
1873 Northwestern
Davidson
April 17.
1873
?
Nov. 28.
213
152
Nov. 15.
. . .
(Longest Season.) "
TRANSPORTATION.
331
134
Dec. 1.
Dec. 1.
231
Hight.
Rhodes.
Webb
HAA
J. Sherwood.
Last Boat.
April 10.
332
TRANSPORTATION.
As all the boats that reached St. Paul must have passed by Buffalo County, and through Lake Pepin, this table gives the open- ing and closing of the regular steam boat season for the years enum- erated. But occasional trips were usually made, even by boats of regular lines, from 10 to 20 days earlier from points below as far as Reed's Landing, though perhaps never any later, as it is a pecu- liarity of the river to close about as early at La Crosse as at St. Paul, and much earlier than at Alma and Wabasha. At the latter place it has never been known to be reliably closed during a whole winter, so as to admit of crossing with teams, while it usu- ally opens one or two weeks earlier at Alma, than at Fountain City, Winona and La Crosse, a fact ascribed partly to the influence of Chippewa River and partly to the water of the lake from below the ice coming to the surface and expending its latent heat in the distances named.
From the year 1867 the railroads in Minnesota began to come into active competition with the steamboats, and the latter grew fewer in number and smaller in tonnage from year to year, until at the present time, with the exception of small stern-wheelers, but few boats are to be seen, and none at a low stage of water.
The following table will show the opening of navigation at Winona during the years from 1875-1882, according to the His- tory of Winona County:
YEAR. FIRST BOAT. DATE OF ARRIVAL.
1875-Lake Superior April 12.
1876-Dubuque. April 10.
1877-Red Wing April 11.
1878-Penguin March 12.
1879-Maggie Reanie April 4.
1880-Belle of Bellevue March 22. 1881-Josie April 24.
1882-Robert Harris.
With the exception of the Dubuque and the Josie these early arrivals were all small boats, and from this we may safely conclude that navigation did not improve much in number or size of boats, and that especially early ventures were considered superfluous.
In August, 1866 the Minnesota Valley Railroad reached West St. Paul; in 1869 the railroad bridge was built and the railroads crossed over; in 1872 the West Wisconsin road reached St. Paul
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TRANSPORTATION.
from the east side and the trade of the steamboats passed to the railroads forever, with the exception of that on the eastern bank of the river. It did no longer pay to run so many boats. The pas- senger business was insignificant, especially after the river division of the Milwaukee & St. Paul road had been built. People of this county wanting to go up or down the river crossed to Winona or Wabasha, and the question had now become, how to reach these stations conveniently. There being, however, yet considerable freight to be forwarded to and from points on the East side, the old lines still kept up a show of activity, and a new line of the "Diamond Joe Boats" started in. Joseph Reynolds, of St. Louis, a speculator in wheat on a large scale, found it convenient to trans- port his own wheat in his own boats, and, as the wheat went only one way, down the river, there was every inducement to transport other freight not only up, but also down the river. Passengers could also be accommodated.
The prospectus of the
" Old Reliable Diamond Jo. Boats,"
for 1887 claims that boats of this line have been in operation for nineteen years between St. Louis and St. Paul. The line has its general office in Dubuque, Iowa, and Mr. Jo Reynolds is its presi- dent. During the present season the following boats are run:
Mary Morton. Pittsburgh. Sidney.
Libbie Conger.
Josephine. Josie.
They are in fact what the prospectus claims for them: "Ele- gant stern-wheel steamers."
In the paper referred to the distance between the two cities one forming the southern, the other the northern terminus of the line is given at 729 miles by the river.
In the mean time the other problem of regular communica- tion with railroad stations across the river began to be solved by the employment of small steamers one from Alma to Wabasha and one from Fountain City to Winona that made daily trips dur- ing the season of open navigation, and one from Alma to LaCrosse making trips, one day down and up the next. The Steamer Lion, Captain Hiram Wilcox, began to run as a ferry-boat between Alma and Wabasha, in spring 1873 and continued in this line until the close of navigation in 1886. Partly to encourage this enterprise,
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TRANSPORTATION.
partly on account of some dissatisfaction with the management of the mail-service by land from Fountain City, the people of Alma petitioned Congress to transfer the mail-service with the exception of local connections to the Wabasha-Alma line, the mail to be carried by land in the winter time, which arrangement continued from 1876 to spring 1887, when the mail-service was transferred to the Chicago, Burlington and Northern Railroad. As the Lion passed through Beef Slough as far up as the cut-off, it afforded to the company as well as the men many conveniences.
Remark I. The steamer Lion was preceded by the propeller "Comet" belonging to Levy Dutz and run by him during the sea- son of 1872; sold to Capt. H. C. Wilcox and displaced by the "Lion" in the following year.
Between Fountain City and Winona, Wm. Heck of Fountain City, and Capt. Peter Schneider of Winona ran the steamboat "Express" from 1876 to 1880, when they sold her to parties in Galena, where she was to run on Fever River; in her place the "Robert Harris" was put the same year, and run until now, 1887. Circumstances for the present favor her opposition with the Chi- cago, Burlington & Northern Railroad upon this distance.
The circumstances favoring the "Robert Harris" in its opposi- tion with the C. B. & N. R. R. in the local traffic between Fountain City and Winona are:
1. The cheapness of rate, that of the railroad being 40 cents each way, while the boat does not charge more than 35 cents both ways.
2. The chance of longer time for business with the boat and return leaving out of seven hours fully one half foi a stay in Winona.
3. The acquaintance of the officers and owners of the boat with the business men of Winona as well as of Fountain City, which enables them to carry out orders in each place without the need of long writing and explanation.
Similar advantages were enjoyed by Capt. Jacob Richtmann, who ran several boats partly from Fountain City to other points, partly in regular trips from Alma to La Crosse and back. But as with the longer distance the chance for a sufficient time for busi- ness, and a return on the same day became impossible, the com- petition of the new railroad proved too strong for his enterprises.
335
TRANSPORTATION.
The first of Captain Richtmann's boats was the " Penguin," which was followed by the "City of Alma," a very nice looking craft, but drawing too much water for this part of the Mississippi. She was sold below, and sunk. The last boat was the "Percy Swain." The " Belle of Bellevue " was occasionally engaged on the line in cases of accidents to the other boats, but usually as a tug.
We come now to the time when railroads began to be talked of in onr county. Especially in the northern part the people amused themselves persistently with schemes and projects, an oc- cupation for which they yet find time and opportunity, since there is yet (1887) no railroad in that part of the county. The first road crossing a very small part of our county only, from Trempealeau River to Bluff Siding opposite Winona, was the Chicago & North- western Railroad, which at that place crosses the Mississippi .-- Some time previous there had been much speculation with regard to a railroad from the Mississippi to Green Bay, agitated more particularly by Gen. H. Sharpe of Wabasha. This must have been about 1867-68, for I remember he wanted me, (then county surveyor,) to accompany him in his expedition, to be undertaken during the winter up Beef River, and thence on until a party from the other direction was met somewhere. Mr. Sharpe, being very profuse of promises, and very unreliable regarding performances, did not succeed in getting iny services, but I think he was accom- panied by A. W. Miller of Durand, who was certainly better quali- fied than I was at that time for such work. The general, as we styled him, was very anxious to persuade everybody that the road was going to be built up the Beef River Valley, and that it would cross the Mississippi at Alma, or at least below the mouth of the Chippewa River. He tried his persuasions in Buffalo City and probably in other places, for instance in Waumandee, but people failed to see how a road could be built up Beef River and at the same time through Waumandee and other places, not in the valley of that river. The main party of his prophecies, however, became true, the Green Bay and Mississippi Railroad was, in course of time, built, but it did not come down, or go up Beef River Valley nor cross anywhere near Wabasha, for it struck the Mississippi in the neighborhood of the mouth of Trempealeau River and crossed on the bridge belonging to the Northwestern line. There is but little of the road, and only one station on it, in Buffalo County,
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