Old Times On the
Mississippi
By J. D. Barnes
Port Byron Globe
Feb. 28, 1935
Writer’s Experience as a
Riverman
The steamer Bannock City arrived in Stillwater about two
o’clock on the following morning, and as the passengers were
sleeping soundly the boat was tied to the bank, and the crew
was turned in for the remainder of the night, watchman
included. The engineer on retiring had neglected some
part of his engine so that the steam was allowed to escape,
which soon filled the engine room where the sleeping
passengers had made their beds, and it was not long before
they were groping around in the darkness gasping for a little
fresh air for the hot steam was so thick and dense you could
cut it with a knife. However, my partner and I, after
feeling around struck something which proved to be a bulkhead,
and by a few well directed kicks, with our heels we had holes
large enough to admit our heads, and we lost no time in poking
them through those holes, for fresh air in that room was very
scarce at that moment. In the meantime the crew had been
notified and were rushed out of their sleeping apartments half
dressed with the impression that the boat had exploded her
boilers or something worse. The engineer, however, soon
located where the trouble was and the escaping steam was shut
off. The captain of the boat was very much concerned to
know who make skylights in the bulkhead, but he failed to find
them.
Arriving at Stillwater we found another raft all ready and
waiting for our pilot, Sam Register to be delivered at
Muscatine. According Ike Wasson shipped up the same crew
almost to a man and again the steamer Minnesota pushed us in
company with several other rafts thru the lake to Prescott.
We then made the run to the head of Lake Pepin where we
remained until the tow had all arrived, and while here Lige
Wakefield and Dick Swalley of our crew, engaged in
an altercation one day which was contrary to good discipline,
and the result was they were court marshaled and sentenced to
go ashore. Wakefield however, was not long out of a job for
the Winnie Will, Si Bradley, captain, was lying a
little below us so he hired out and remained with them most of
the season. The latter boat will be remembered by the
old floaters as one of the pioneer raft boats. She was a
primitive affair; however, as he fulfilled her mission which
was only to demonstrate the practicability of the steamboat
for rafting purposes.
Our run from the foot of the Lake Pepin was nice and smooth
until we reached raft channel. The river had fallen to a
great extent since our first trip and as a result half of our
raft was hard aground on a sand bar. Now this was a sad
and very unprofitable predicament for the old floater, for it
was the custom in those days to run by the thousands and the
longer they remained on a sandbar the smaller would be their
profits. What made it still worse in our case we were
getting harder on the sand every day for the water was falling
at the rate of one inch every 24 hours. However, we went
at it with a determination to make our stay in raft channel as
short as possible. The first thing in order was to free
that part of the raft that was not aground, from the
remainder. Accordingly it was cut loose and allowed to
drop down out of the way, while the remainder was removed in
pieces, sometimes a part of a string and sometimes only a few
logs. And we labored every day waist deep in the water
until we were once more onward of our course. The b (not
readable) ently amused with raft channel. They declared
that Coon Falls and Bad Ax bend were pretty rough, but raft
channel was enough to break their poor hearts.
Arriving at Le Claire, John Suiter was once more taken
aboard our raft for Sam Register thought there was no man who
knew the Rapids as well as John Suiter. After delivering
our raft at Muscatine the season of harvest was at hand, and
as a result our crew was broken up and scattered to the four
quarters of the earth, most of the boys stopping off at home
and engaging in harvesting. The writer went as far north
as McGregor Landing and then took a run out to Pottsville for
the purpose of harvesting but it did not pan out very good on
account of extreme wet weather, so I returned and boarded the
first steamer for La Crosse. Arriving at the latter
place I found the people very much excited in regard to
cholera that was reported to be raging at St. Louis, and
inconsequence the place was put under quarantine rules.
The Old Northern Line packet Canada stole a march on them and
succeeded in landing, when three coffins were ordered to be
brought aboard the boat at once. This announcement
caused a general stampede of the people who had collected at
the landing on that beautiful Sabbath afternoon, among whom
was the writer. Altho’ I had been guilty of stampeding I
stood my ground, for I saw no danger. I walked down
nearer the boat and learned that three persons who had died of
cholera were to be taken from the boat, making eight in all
since leaving St. Louis. As men were very scarce about
that time the undertaker pressed me into the service and I
assisted him in getting them into his wagon. There has
been a great many conflicting reports is regard to the number
she lost on that trip, some stating it as high as thirty, but
from good authority eight is correct.
