Davenport Democrat Davenport, Scott, Iowa July 20, 1924 STEAMBOATING ON MISSISSIPPI ROMANTIC TALE The Old Side Wheelers Opened Up the Middle West to Civilization WAS PAYING INDUSTRY Davenport and Other River Cities Depended on Boat Transportation The majestic Mississippi, glorified in the histories of many lands, owned by many countries, holds within its muddy waters a tale of intrigue and war, civil strife and prosperity, love and hate. Many are the historic figures who have ridden on the prince of steams from the head-waters at Lake Itasca to where it discolors the salt waters of the gulf. Few Davenporters live yet to tell of those picturesque days before the Sixties, when the packet, the steamboat circus, the fair ladies in crinoline, the "darkies," the two-quart hatted gentlemen, and the gay-vested gambler were common sights along the levee. How many Davenporters still live who would at the whistle of a distant steamboat rush to the levee and watch the wood monster paddle its way to the muddy shore? And how many are left who lay on the river's bank, under the shade of a tree and wondered just why they worked, just why the big wheel would churn the water? Now the little boys of Davenport dream of being the man who opens the throttle on one of the limited cross-country trains; before the Sixties how many Davenport boys who are gone now, perhaps dreamed of being the captain of the "War Eagle," or the "City of Quincy?" Men With Painted Vests. Are they forgotten, those Mississippi river gamblers with their "painted vests", their calm, calculating eyes, their gentleness which was predominated at times by gunplay when marked cards, other than their own, entered the game. Frequent lodgers they were in the old Burtis House, LeClaire House, Worden House, and the New Pennsylvania House. Gay fellows, who always stopped at Davenport's best hotels. They're gone, of course, with the hotels, an undying memory the only thing that remains. And are those Davenporters gone, too, who gave them their hard-earned money-in the early Sixties? Many are the stories that have been written about gambling on the Mississippi. "Skinning suckers" was a staple profession in those days. And in due reverence to posterity, times have changed, the names of those gentlemen will remain a secret. Only the "suckers" know, and they are gone, and only a few of us were told the names of those "fine" gambling gentlemen of the past. But its true that some of their children's children are among us in Davenport-and they are mighty fine citizens. Card playing in those early days was a commonly accepted form of amusement-expensive of course. Professionals who lived in the boats and stayed in the best hotels made it their business to "skin" the unwary. They always played with their own cards-marked cards. "No Limit" Poker Five dollars ante, and no limit, was considered a big game in the early Sixties. Few were the Davenporters who could indulge in this expensive sport. A game of this kind, of course, allowed the gamblers enough scope to soon rid their victims of their money and invite new "suckers" in the game. Luckily, there was never gambling for the faithful family servant or the beautiful quadroon girl in the vicinity of Davenport. Such practices , of course, were quite frequent before the line. Today we have automobile, horse and airplane racing. Thrilling? Yes, but no half so thrilling, nor picturesque as the steamboat races that were staged here between rival owners. While the race between the "Robert E. Lee" and the "Natchez" between St. Louis and New Orleans remains as the biggest steamboat race in history, the many that were staged right along the banks of the Mississippi in the vicinity of Davenport would remain fresh in the memory of those "old timers" if they were with us today. Men have always raced against time; endeavored to out-do the elements. Snorting engines now race across the country and out-timing each other. Such it was in the early Sixties with the steamboats. Glory it was to the "skipper" of a boat who cut off a few minutes from the time between Davenport and points north and south. Steamboats were built for speed or for towing. In some of the fastest boats on the upper Mississippi were engines that were the "latest" thing in designing-they were; a little later the locomotive came along and steamboating was a thing of the past. His Chain of Saloons. In writing about steamboats it wouldn't be fair to omit the saloons and the steamboat saloon keepers. In fact, they were the first form of a trust that Mississippi river folks knew. The head of this trust lived in St. Louis. He was a very rich man. He owned all of the saloons of a large number of boats. In those early days-before the Sixties-nearly everyone drank. Those were the days, of course, before prohibition. It's a safe bet that some of the old time Davenporters, if they were with us today, would laugh, maybe they did laugh, because prohibition has been with us for many days now, if they saw men using "chasers" after taking a drink of "Old Crow." The old timers would remember that whiskey was some cheaper than water on the steamboats during the low-water season. It is pretty safe to say that when the Mississippi river lost its steamboats, it lost its life, its picturesqueness. Even if it were to come back today, where would the gambler fit, and where would be the old-time barkeepers, and the be-whiskered "skipper"? It's a thing of the past and its pretty sure that fifty years from now they'll be writing about the wonderful days in the early "20's". Many a story is told of a steamboat that caught fire and some of its passengers cremated in the flames while the boat struggled in the mid-stream current. There were no headlines in those days to acclaim some steamboat captain who had heroically saved the lives of his passengers. But if some of the old-time Davenporters were here they could narrate some tales. Sometimes when the boats were built and sometimes it was several days before they were rescued. [ Sentence transcribed as written]. Several such wrecks occurred near Davenport. What stories they would make for the newspapers today! Among the old-time steamboats that stopped at Davenport were the "City of Quincy", "Fanny Harris", boats of the Diamond Joe line, "Grey Eagle," "Itasca", "Northwesterner", "Key City", "West Newton", "Kate Cassell", "Nominee", and a dozen or so more. Then, of course, there were dozens of smaller boats, tugs, that piled up and down the river. Many are the songs that the old-time Davenporters sang when they road on the palatial steamboats. They're forgotten songs now, with a few exceptions. They're gone too with the steamboats, the gamblers, and the old timers. If today we could only see those picturesque pilots who knew every inch of the river between New Orleans and St. Paul. There were lights along the shore to guide them as they plied their boat through the muddy water. Only the familiar land sights were the guides to where the sand bars extended out into the river. And those old pilots of the days before the Sixties knew the river. Every tree, hill, and bluff was a landmark. Today the government has buoyed the river so that by day the modern pilot if he is on the job runs no chance of going around. At night there are lights to direct him on his course. A familiar boat was the "Davenport", a side wheeler built in 1860 and which was sunk near St. Louis in 1876 by the breaking of an ice gorge. Later the boat was raised at a cost of approximately hit the Rock Island bridge in 1858 and was a total loss. [ Sentence transcribed as written]. Sinking of "Grey Eagle." One of the largest boats to sink here was the "Grey Eagle," large side wheeler built at Cincinnati at a cost of $63,000, a lot of money in the early days. Her length was 250 feet and she maintained an average speed of 16 1/2 miles an hour. On May 9, 1861, when caught in a gust of wind which veered her from the course it struck the Rock Island bridge and sunk rapidly. Captain Harris was in the pilot house with the rapids pilot who took the boats thru from Clinton to Davenport. "Grey Eagle" sank within five minutes with a loss of seven lives. Captain Harris, who was one of the best known Mississippi pilots and known in early Davenport, was broken-hearted over the loss of the boat. Soon after he sold out his interests in the packet company and retired. He died of a broken heart, the loss of the most beautiful and fastest boat on the Mississippi was more than he could endure. Another boat which was to sink near here was the "Iowa", which hit a snag near Iowa island in 1845. She was a side-wheeler and cost $22,000. The "J.M. Mason" sunk in 1852 above Duck creek when it hit a large rock. Another historic boat that sank opposite Davenport was the "Rollo." It was built at Galena in 1837 and on its maiden trip had Major Tallafero, U.S.A. aboard with a party of Indians. The boat arrived at Fort Snelling during November of the same year bringing delegates of chiefs who had been at Washington to make a treaty whereby the St. Croix valley was opened to settlers. Later in November on its first trip down the Mississippi it caught fire while moored on the Davenport levee when a flue collapsed. One fireman was killed and several severely scalded. Destroyed in Civil War. Many of the boats that stopped in Davenport were destroyed during the Civil war. A dozen or so were destroyed by the great wharf fire at St. Louis. Several burned during a great fire at LaCrosse, Wis. A dozen or so were crushed in ice floes when too adventuresome pilots took to the stream. In an account of the early boats it is found that many of them were built at Pittsburg and Cincinnati. A great number of the smaller were built at Galena. St. Paul and St. Louis were also steamboat-building towns. But the art of steamboat building has been forgotten. And so the steamboat days on the Mississippi are a thing of the past. A few remain, innovations in steamboating have been introduced and have failed. Gone are the picturesque of the side-wheelers, gamblers, the crinoline gowns, the two-quart hats and the people who ran to the levee to welcome the packet. Cathy Joynt Labath Scott Co, IA USGenWeb Project http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/index.htm Iowa Old Press http://www.IowaOldPress.com/