The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1867-07-05
A Welcome Visltor-A Remarkable
Voyage-Direct from Green Bay
St. Paul Steamers Through by the
Lakes to Buffalo.
From the st. Paul Press, June Is.

From the ST. Paul Press, June 10.
By reference to our river news, it viii be
noticed that the steamer Brooklyn, Capt.
w. w. Nef, arrived at this port yesterday,
nine days from Green Bay direct. This is,
if We are not misinformed, the very first
vessel that ever came through the Fox Riv
er to the Mississippi with a freight, al
though small steamers and new barges have
been foated from the builders yards on
Lake Winnebago The Brooklyn belongs
to the firm of d. NJ Kelley & Co. the
senior partner being a passenger-and is
one of the line boats on Fox River of which
Mr.. Kelley is superintendent She Is l33
feet long, 30 feet wide and 300 tons bur
then, with a capacity of 1000 bushels OF
wheat in her hold. Her model is highly
spoken of by river men.
The novelty of the trip is not its only
claim to remark. 1t is an experiment IN
tending to demonstrate the feasibility OF
regular line of communication direct from
Green Bay to the Mississippi, and as such
has great bearing upon the future inter
ests of our growing State She brings now
100 tons Of freight, and has proved the
practicabilty Of the route. To show how
desirable it would be to make permanent
thing of the communication, but cursory
glance at the facts is needed. For exam
! pie, in good yield, Minnesota will now
produce $4,000, 900 bushels Of wheat in a
single crop. To get this to Chicago now
costs the producers from % to 40 cents per
bushel. BY this suggested route the grain
could be proftably carried to Green Bay,
nearer an Eastern market than Chicago,
from IL to 10 cents per bushel-thus yield
| ,po al 70 ha n
crage of 20 cents, which on single crop
aggregates $4,000, 900. This is certainly a
most desirable saving Then many of our
heavier articles of commerce come from the
East, by way of the lakes, and a similar
saving could be made on return freights. -
The ultimate prosperous results to our city
and State by the complete establishment Of
such communication can hardly be over
estimated, and we shall doubtless crafty
our citizens by demonstrating its feasibil-
ity.
The route the boat has passed is this -
From Green Bay through the lower Fox,
Lake Winnebago, and the upper Fox to
Portage City, and thence through the Wis
consin to Prairie du Chen. 1t will be sug-
gested at once that the high stage of water
now existing in the northwestern rivers is
the accident by which the trip has been
possible. Such is the fact, but it is not a
difficult nor expensive project to secure 4
permanent passage for boats Of even larger
capacity than the Brooklyn. The Fox is
navigable all the year round. Between
Green Bay and Portage City are u locks
of the Green Bay and Mississippi Canal
company, Of capacity to pass vessels con-.
siberably larger than the Brooklyn, which
is 1873 feet by 30,-and they are now in me-
dunn condition. Slight expense would
make them all they need be. Between the
Fox and Wisconsin is canal of only be-
tween one and two miles, and of course it
is a slight work to make it of any desired
capacity, while the bed of the Wisconsin is
five or six feet higher than the Fox at the
point of the canal entrance, thus supplying
water, and insuring permanent passage.
The only drawback to the scheme is the
difficulty of navigating the Wisconsin in
low water. That this can be overcome is
now certain. Congress, in its last session,
appropriated $40, 600 for survey of the
river and plan for its Improvement. Mai.
Suter, OF Gen. Wilson's staff, has made
the survey, and, as we understand, reports
that the Wisconsin can be easily rendered
nayigable at all seasons by means of wing
dams and dredging, while permanent
canal, six feet deep, can be made for ST.
100000. The distance from Green Bay to
Prairie du Chen is 2SS miles by the route
and we can see no reason why this grand
enterprise may not be speedily perfected -
One eau hardly over estimate the benefc-
al results of it, and we look for the aston
ishing fact of direct communication be-
tween St. Paul and Buffalo by this water
route Hence we estimate the advent of
the Br0okiyR as a remarkable event Of Won
derful significance.