Fifty Years In The Northwest
from St. Louis to St. Paul was frequently reduced to ten dollars, and
considering the time spent in making the trip (often as much as two or
three weeks) was cheaper than board in a good hotel, while the fare on
the boat could not be excelled. The boats were frequently crowded with
passengers, whole families were grouped about the tables or strolling
on the upper decks, with groups of travelers representing all the
professions and callings, travelers for pleasure and for business,
explorers, artists, and adventurers. At night the brilliantly lighted
cabin would resound with music, furnished by the boat's band of sable
minstrels, and trembled to the tread of the dancers as much as to the
throbbing of the engine.
The steamer, as the one means of communication with the distant world,
as the bearer of mails, of provisions and articles of trade, was
greeted at every village with eager and excited groups of people, some
perhaps expecting the arrival of friends, while others were there to
part with them. These were scenes to be remembered long, in fact many
of the associations of river travel produced indelible impressions. In
these days of rapid transit by rail more than half the delights of
traveling are lost. Before the settlement of the country the wildness
of the scene had a peculiar charm. The majestic bluffs with their
rugged escarpments of limestone stretched away in solitary grandeur on
either side of the river. The perpendicular crags crowning the bluffs
seemed like ruined castles, some of them with rounded turrets and
battlements, some even with arched portals. Along the slopes of the
bluffs was a growth of sturdy oaks, in their general contour and
arrangement resembling fruit trees, vast, solitary orchards in
appearance, great enough to supply the world with fruit. On the slopes
of the river bank might have been seen occasionally the bark wigwams
of the Indian, and his birch canoe gliding silently under the shadow
of the elms and willows lining the shore. Occasionally a deer would be
seen grazing on some upland glade, or bounding away in terror at sight
of the steamer.
A complete history of early steamboat navigation on the Upper
Mississippi would abound with interesting narratives and incidents;
but of these, unfortunately, there is no authentic record, and we can
only speak in general terms of the various companies that successively
controlled the trade and travel of the river, or were rivals for the
patronage of the public. During the decade of the '30s, the Harrises,
of Galena, ran several small boats from Galena to St. Louis,
occasionally to Fort Snelling, or through the difficult current of the
Wisconsin to Fort Winnebago, towing barges laden with supplies for the
Wisconsin pineries. Capt. Scribe Harris' favorite boat from 1835 to
1838 was the Smelter. The captain greatly delighted in her speed,
decorated her gaily with evergreens, and rounding to at landings, or
meeting with other boats, fired a cannon from her prow to announce her
imperial presence.
The Smelter and other boats run by the Harris family held the commerce
of the river for many years. In 1846 the first daily line of steamers
above St. Louis was established. These boats ran independently, but on
stated days, from St. Louis to Galena and Dubuque. They were the
Tempest, Capt. John J. Smith; War Eagle, Capt. Smith Harris; Prairie
Bird, Capt. Niebe Wall; Monona, Capt. ---- Bersie; St. Croix, Capt.
----; Fortune, Capt. Mark Atchinson. These boat owners, with others,
subsequently formed a consolidated company.
In 1847 a company was formed for the navigation of the Mississippi
above Galena. The first boat in the line, the Argo, commanded by
Russell Blakeley, was placed upon the river in 1846. The boats in this
line were the Argo, Dr. Franklin, Senator, Nominee, Ben Campbell, War
Eagle, and the Galena.
In 1854 the Galena & Minnesota Packet Company was formed by a
consolidation of various interests. The company consisted of the
following stockholders: O. Smith, the Harrises, James Carter, H.
Corwith, B. H. Campbell, D. B. Morehouse, H. M. Rice, H. L. Dousman,
H. H. Sibley, and Russell Blakeley. The boats of the new company were
the War Eagle, Galena, Dr. Franklin, Nominee, and the West Newton. In
1857 a new company was formed, and the Dubuque boats, the Itasca and
Key City, were added to the line. This line continued until 1862, and
the new boats, Dr. Franklin, No. 2, and the New St. Paul, were added.
The Galena had been burned at Red Wing in the fall of 1857.
The following is a list of the earliest arrivals at St. Paul after the
opening of navigation between the years 1843 and 1858: April 5, 1843,
steamer Otter, Capt. Harris; April 6, 1844, steamer Otter, Capt.
Harris; April 6, 1845, steamer Otter, Capt. Harris; March 31, 1846,
steamer Lynx, Capt. Atchison; April 7, 1847, steamer Cora, Capt.
Throckmorton; April 7, 1848, steamer Senator, Capt. Harris; April 9,
1849, steamer Highland Mary, Capt. Atchison; April 19, 1850, steamer
Highland Mary, Capt. Atchison; April 4, 1851, steamer Nominee, Capt.
Smith; April 16, 1852, steamer Nominee, Capt. Smith; April 11, 1853,
steamer West Newton, Capt. Harris; April 8, 1854, steamer Nominee,
Capt. Blakeley; April 17, 1855, steamer War Eagle, Capt. Harris; April
18, 1856, steamer Lady Franklin, Capt. Lucas; May 1, 1857, steamer
Galena, Capt. Laughton; March 25, 1858, steamer Gray Eagle, Capt.
Harris.
The following list includes boats not named in the packet and company
lists with date of first appearance as far as can be ascertained:
Virginia May 20, 1823
Rufus Putnam April 5, 1825
Mandan 1825
Neville ----
Indiana 1825
Lawrence May 18, 1826
Versailles May 12, 1832
Missouri May 5, 1836
Frontier 1836
Palmyra 1836
Saint Peter's 1836
Rolla 1838
Sciota 183-
Eclipse 183-
Josephine 183-
Fulton 183-
Red River 183-
Black Rover ----
Burlington 1838
Ariel 1839
Gypsy 1839
Fayette 1839
Warrior 1840
Enterprise 1840
Volant 1840
Glancus 1840
Pennsylvania 1840
Knickerbocker 1840
Otter 1841
Highland Mary 1849
Gov. Ramsey (above the falls) 185-
Anthony Wayne 185-
Yankee 185-
Black Hawk 185-
Ben Accord 185-
Royal Arch 185-
Uncle Toby 185-
Indian Queen 185-
Di Vernon 185-
Osprey 185-
Lamartine 185-
Fannie Harris 185-
Asia 185-
Equator 1860
The following made their appearance some time in the '40s: Cora, Lynx,
Dr. Franklin, No. 2, and St. Anthony.
The Northern Line Company organized in 1857 and placed the following
steamers upon the Mississippi, to run between St. Louis and St. Paul:
The Canada, Capt. Ward; Pembina, Capt. Griffith; Denmark, Capt. Gray;
Metropolitan, Capt. Rhodes; Lucy May, Capt. Jenks; Wm. L. Ewing, Capt.
Green; Henry Clay, Capt. Campbell; Fred Lorenz, Capt. Parker;
Northerner, Capt. Alvord; Minnesota Belle, Capt. Hill; Northern Light
and York State, Capt. ----.
Commodore W. F. Davidson commenced steamboating on the Upper
Mississippi in 1856 with the Jacob Traber. In 1857 he added the Frank
Steele, and included the Minnesota river in his field of operations.
In 1859 he added the Æolian, Favorite and Winona. In 1860 he organized
the La Crosse & Minnesota Packet Company, with the five above named
steamers in the line. In 1862 the Keokuk and Northern Belle were
added.
In 1864 the La Crosse & Minnesota and the Northern Line Packet
companies were consolidated under the name of the Northwestern Union
Packet Company, with the following steamers: The Moses McLellan, Ocean
Wave, Itasca, Key City, Milwaukee City, Belle, War Eagle, Phil
Sheridan, S. S. Merrill, Alex. Mitchell, City of St. Paul, Tom Jasper,
Belle of La Crosse, City of Quincy, and John Kyle. This line
controlled the general trade until 1874.
There were upon the river and its tributaries during the period named
the following light draught boats: The Julia, Mollie Mohler, Cutter,
Chippewa Falls, Mankato, Albany, Ariel, Stella Whipple, Isaac Gray,
Morning Star, Antelope, Clara Hine, Geo. S. Weeks, Dexter, Damsel,
Addie Johnson, Annie Johnson, G. H. Wilson, Flora, and Hudson.
LATER NAVIGATION ON THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI.
The Northwestern Union Packet Company, more familiarly known as the
"White Collar Line," from the white band painted around the upper part
of the smokestacks, and the Keokuk Packet Company, sold their steamers
to the Keokuk Northern Line Packet Company, which continued until
1882, when the St. Louis & St. Paul Packet Company was organized. Its
boats were: The Minneapolis, Red Wing, Minnesota, Dubuque, Rock
Island, Lake Superior, Muscatine, Clinton, Chas. Cheever, Dan Hine,
Andy Johnson, Harry Johnson, Rob Roy, Lucy Bertram, Steven Bayard, War
Eagle, Golden Eagle, Gem City, White Eagle, and Flying Eagle.
STEAMBOATING ON THE ST. CROIX.
The steamer Palmyra was the first boat to disturb the solitude of the
St. Croix. In June, 1838, it passed up the St. Croix lake and river as
far as the Dalles. The steamer Ariel, the second boat, came as far as
Marine in 1839. In the fall of 1843, the steamer Otter, Scribe Harris,
commanding, landed at Stillwater. The steamer Otter was laden with
irons and machinery for the first mill in Stillwater. Up to 1845
nearly every boat that ascended the Mississippi also ascended the St.
Croix, but in later years, as larger boats were introduced, its
navigation was restricted to smaller craft, and eventually to
steamboats built for the special purpose of navigating the St. Croix.
Quite a number of these were built at Osceola, Franconia and Taylor's
Falls. The following is a list of boats navigating the St. Croix from
the year 1852 to the present time: Humboldt, 1852; Enterprise, 1853;
Pioneer, 1854; Osceola, 1854; H. S. Allen, 1857; Fanny Thornton, 1862;
Viola, 1864; Dalles, 1866; Nellie Kent, 1867; G. B. Knapp, 1866;
Minnie Will, 1867; Wyman X, 1868; Mark Bradley, 1869; Helen Mar, 1870;
Maggie Reany, 1870; Jennie Hays, 1870; Cleon, 1870.
A number of raft steamers, built at South Stillwater and elsewhere,
have plied the river within the last ten years. A number of barges
were built at South Stillwater, Osceola and Taylor's Falls.
The passenger travel on the St. Croix has decreased since the
completion of the railroad to Taylor's Falls and St. Croix Falls.
An interesting chapter of anecdotes and incidents might be compiled,
illustrating the early steamboat life on the St. Croix. We find in
"Bond's Minnesota" a notice of one of the first boats in the regular
trade, which will throw some light on the subject of early travel on
the river. It describes the Humboldt, which made its first appearance
in 1852:
"In addition, some adventurous genius on a small scale, down about
Oquaka, Illinois, last year conceived the good idea of procuring a
steamboat suitable to perform the duties of a tri-weekly packet