Fifty Years In The Northwest
between Stillwater and Taylor's Falls, the extreme point of steam
navigation up the St. Croix. It is true he did not appear to have a
very correct idea of the kind of craft the people really wanted and
would well support in that trade, but such as he thought and planned
he late last season, brought forth. * * Indeed, the little Humboldt is
a great accommodation to the people of the St. Croix. She stops
anywhere along the river, to do any and all kinds of business that may
offer, and will give passengers a longer ride, so far as _time_ is
concerned, for a dollar, than any other craft we ever traveled upon.
She is also, to outward appearances, a temperance boat, and carries no
cooking or table utensils. She stops at the 'Marine,' going and
returning, to allow the people aboard to feed upon a good, substantial
dinner; and the passengers are allowed, if they feel so disposed, to
carry 'bars' in their side pockets and 'bricks' in their hats. A very
accommodating craft is the Humboldt, and a convenience that is already
set down on the St. Croix as one indispensable."
The Diamond Jo line of steamers was established in 1867. Jo Reynolds
was president of the company and has served as such continuously to
date. Under his general supervision the company has been quite
successful. The business has required an average of six steamers
yearly. In 1888 the line consists of the boats the Sidney, Pittsburgh
and Mary Morton.
The St. Louis & St. Paul Packet Company, successors of the various old
transportation companies, is in successful operation in 1888,
employing three steamers. There are but few transient boats now on the
river.
ICE BOATS.
Several attempts have been made to navigate the river during the
winter months by means of ice boats, but the efforts have uniformly
failed. Of these attempts we mention the two most notable:
Noman Wiard, an inventor of some celebrity, made an ice boat in 1856
and placed it on the river at Prairie du Chien, intending to run
between that point and St. Paul. It was elaborately planned and
elegantly finished, and resembled somewhat a palace car mounted on
steel runners. It failed on account of the roughness of the ice, never
making a single trip. It, however, proved somewhat remunerative as a
show, and was for some time on exhibition within an inclosure at
Prairie du Chien.
Martin Mower, of Osceola, Minnesota, invented a boat to run on the
ice between Stillwater and Taylor's Falls, in the winter of 1868-9. It
made several trips, carrying passengers and freight. The rough ice
prevented regular trips and the project was abandoned.
STEAMBOAT LIFE--1846.
James W. Mullen, of Taylor's Falls, spent much of his early and middle
life on the river, and cherishes many pleasant recollections of the
early days. We have been favored with a few of these, which will give
the reader a vivid idea of the scenes depicted:
"A. D. 1816 found me a cabin boy on the War Eagle at the St. Louis
levee, with sign board up for Stillwater and Fort Snelling. The levee
was a wonder to behold. It was thronged with teams, policemen keeping
them in rank. Piles of freight were awaiting shipment. Steamboats for
three-quarters of a mile along the levee were discharging and
receiving freight; passengers were rushing frantically to and fro;
bells were ringing, and boats leaving for the Cumberland, Tennessee,
Missouri and Illinois rivers; and New Orleans, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh,
Keokuk, Galena, Stillwater, and Fort Snelling.
"It was a delightful June day on which we pulled out from this busy
scene and commenced our voyage to the far off north land, then known
as Wisconsin Territory. Capt. Smith Harris gave the last tap of the
bell; the lines were loosened; the wheels of the War Eagle revolved
slowly at first, and we were soon on the broad bosom of the
Mississippi, heading northward in the wake and black smoke of the
steamers Ocean Wave, Tobacco Plant and Western Belle. The Luella, the
Alton packet, followed us closely, racing with us. All was enjoyment.
We pass the steamers Osprey and Di Vernon. At Nauvoo we note the
magnificent Mormon temple on the high ground, and also long files of
Mormons going westward. We pass many fine farms, much beautiful
scenery, and many growing towns, among them Rock Island and Davenport,
the latter the home of Antoine Le Clair, a half-breed Indian trader
and heavyweight, tipping the beam at three hundred and fifty pounds
avoirdupois. He lives there in sumptuous splendor from his profits
made in trade. The villages, or tepees, of Sac and Fox Indians are
seen along the shores; their bark canoes glide silently over the
waters. Further on we ascend for seven miles the sluggish and narrow
channel of Fever river, and find ourselves at Galena, the home of the
Harrises, river captains.
"We find at the levee here the steamers Falcon and St. Croix, laden
with lead for St. Louis. Back through Fever river to the Mississippi
and past Dubuque, an active, rising town; past Cassville, the expected
but disappointed capital city of Wisconsin Territory, a lovely
location, its castellated hills frowning above it and its fine three
story brick hotel and other buildings; past Prairie du Chien and Fort
Crawford, with soldiers drilling on the green. Here Amable Moreau, a
French Upper Mississippi pilot, came on board. Squads of Indians were
hanging around begging for whisky and tobacco. Resuming our way,
stemming the current of the river we pass other scenes, other birch
canoes gliding over the waves, other tepees and Indian villages along
the shore. At La Crosse we find a few whites and lots of Indians on an
unimproved prairie, with a background of high bluffs. We pass
Trempeleau and then Winona prairie, on which we find an old Indian
village, dating back to unknown time. Opposite the mouth of the
Chippewa river we pass Nelson's Landing with its two log warehouses
and mackinaw boats loading for the Chippewa river. We pass into lovely
Lake Pepin, Maiden's Rock or Lover's Leap rising into a battlement on
the right, and the famous Point-no-Point on the left. Out of the
beautiful lake again into the river, between low, forest covered
islands, till we pass Barn Bluff or Mount La Grange, a bold, abrupt
and isolated hill just below Red Wing. We passed more Indian tepees,
villages and burying grounds,--not that, for the dead bodies of the
Indians were not buried but fastened upon scaffolds and the limbs of
trees, according to Sioux custom. At the mouth of St. Croix river we
pass Prescott Landing, where lives the old pioneer trader Philander
Prescott. Across the St. Croix, opposite Prescott Landing, is Point
Douglas. Some miles above Point Douglas we pass Little Crow village, a
missionary station, where young Indian boys ran down to the landing
and greeted us with such yells as have not rung through these wilds,
perhaps, for ages past.
"We find St. Paul to be a small village. There are a few houses on a
high, almost perpendicular bluff, overlooking the river. At the base
of the bluff on the river shore stands a warehouse with the sign
'Choteau & Valle.' We are soon at Mendota and Fort Snelling. A squad
of soldiers guard the freight over night. We have ample time in the
morning to visit the post before starting down the river, and the
following morning finds the prow of the War Eagle resting against the
Stillwater landing. Here Capt. Harris greets his friends and is warmly
welcomed. So far, Stillwater seemed the most active and enterprising
village on the whole route. Joe Brown's town, Dakota, lies a short
distance above at the head of the lake. Capt. Harris on his return
towed a raft comprising ten acres of logs. Big Joe was one of the
pilots on the raft."
ST. CROIX BOOM COMPANY.
Previous to the organization of the boom company, in 1857, the logs
were floated down the St. Croix and caught in side booms by individual
owners, and owners of lake booms would raft them indiscriminately,
regardless of log marks, but with the mark side up for the convenience
of scaling. The scaling was done by some responsible party in the
interest of the various owners, and balances were settled by
exchanges, or if not balanced by cash or by note, to be paid out of
the profits of the next year's logs. Instances of fraud seldom
occurred. When Minnesota became a territory this system was superseded
by another method of handling, assorting or delivering. The
legislature established surveyor general districts, of which the St.
Croix valley was designated as the First. The surveyors general were
elected in a joint convention of the two houses of the legislature,
and the candidacy for this office, together with questions of salary,
became a leading feature in the politics of the district.
The surveyors general of the First district have been, Robert Harsy,
Samuel Winship, Charles J. Gardiner, Ivory McKusick, James D. McComb,
Z. Wilder Chase, John S. Proctor, and Al. Hospice. The law defining
the duties of the surveyors general has been awarded from time to
time, and the system of scaling improved till it has reached its
present form, in which it meets with very general approval. In 1867 a
law was passed giving to the governor the power of appointing
surveyors general.
The boom company was organized by the territorial legislature, Feb. 7,
1851, with a capital stock of $10,000, with privileges of increase to
$25,000. The incorporators were Orange Walker and George B. Judd, of
Marine; John McKusick, Socrates Nel son and Levi Churchill, of
Stillwater; Daniel Mears and William Kent, of Osceola; and W. H. C.
Folsom, of Taylor's Falls. Fred R. Bartlett was the first secretary,
but was superseded by David B. Loomis.
The first boom was built near an island lying opposite and above
Osceola. The surveyor general had his office at Stillwater, an
arrangement that gave great satisfaction, but as the boom was not
advantageously located, the channel of the river above being too
narrow for the annually increasing production of logs, the company, in
1856, obtained a new charter with power to construct booms from the
head of Lake St. Croix to Taylor's Falls. The capital stock was
increased to $25,000 with the privilege of increasing it to $50,000.
It was subsequently increased to $100,000. The incorporators of the
new company were Martin Mower, W. H. C. Folsom, Isaac Staples,
Christopher Carli and Samuel Burkelo.
The company placed a second boom a mile and a half above Stillwater.
The increase of their business compelled them from time to time to
build side booms and shear booms to prevent the logs from lodging
against the banks or passing bayous or secondary channels, and also to
keep the primary channel free from obstructions to navigation. They
built firm and expensive piers, drove piling and made canals for the
use of steamboats when the main channel was wanted for booming
purposes.
Notwithstanding all this care, navigation was frequently obstructed by
the accumulation of logs. Litigation ensued, and heavy expenses were
incurred in defending the rights of the company or paying damages.
These controversies were not unattended with ill feeling. Public
meetings were frequently held and denunciating resolutions adopted. In
one case, when navigation had been interrupted for fifty-seven days,
the damages were estimated at $146,525. Some controversies also arose
as to jurisdiction. St. Croix river being the boundary line between
two states, the Wisconsin authorities claimed concurrent jurisdiction.
The boom company was organized under Minnesota law and its members
were residents of Minnesota. The surveyor general of the First
district claimed entire jurisdiction and scaled the logs irrespective
of the state in which they were cut. The action of the surveyor