River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-07-09
Floating Notes.

EIOaIllS NOIES.
There was a time when it was DEEM
ed an impossibility TO bridge the Mis-
sissippi-impossible physically and
morally. First, because in moist
times it is big piece of water to get
across; and second, because bridges
would impede navigation and steam
boatmen wouldn't have them. The
Rock Island bridge was built, howey-
eT, and two classes of people learned
something for themselves. Railroad
men learned that il was no engineer
ing feat at all to span the river; and
steamboatmen learned that they and
their interests cut but a sorry figure
at Washington where all the prelimin-
AIRY building is done. A hundred
thousand dollars placed ''Where it
would do the most good would gain
the privilege of bridging the Mssis-
sippi every forty rods from st. Paul
to st. Louis, even if it threatened to
sink every boat on the upper river
They do sink boats every season, in
spite of the greatest caution of officers
and men, and still the bridges multi
ply. In 1851 there was one bridge at
Rock Island. Now there are bridges
at st. Paul, Hastings, Wabasha, Wi
mona, La Crosse, Prairie du Chen, Du-
buque, Rock Island, Fulton, Hannibal,
Quincy and st. Louis, and | am not
sure but that | have forgotten few,
they are 50 common. OF course the
element of danger in passing the
bridges enters in only occasionally.
The element of detention is ever pres
ent, and with steamer towing two
bargeS down stream, the time lost is
very appreciable. l remember well
the first victim of the Rock Island
bridge. The Fanny Harris, the
steamer upon which | was clerking,
was high, and almost dry, on the lee
side of the Galena cutoff " The
GREY Eagle of the same company, had
pulled at us until she had parted ey-
cry line on the two boats and pulled
up enough trees to stock wood yard,
and finally gave it up and proceeded
down the river. Two days later we
had the news that she had been wreck
ed in passing the draw at Rock Island
losing fifteen passengers and crew,
and destroying the fastest and finest
boat that ever turned wheel on the
upper river. The loss of his pet and
pride ended the career of Captain
Smith Harris on The river. Almost
broken hearted be returned to his
home, never again to step upon the
roof of boat as its commander. He
lives yet, however, the oldest of all
the pioneer steamb0atmen of the up
per Mississippi, nearly eighty years
Old very patriarch of the river.
There is a good deal of innocent
Irritation INDUCED in between the otli
GERS of a first class steamer and the
young ladies who flock to the levee to
see the boat. The bigger the boat the
better the charm, as the boat lends
dignity to the men upon it. Our OBJ
seryation leads us to the conclusion
that the pilots have the most fun.
When the landing is made they have
nothing to distract their attention
from the ladies ashore. The captain
has too much dignity to hirt except
under the most extraordinary tempta-
ton. The mate is too busy about his
duties, and the engineer on watch Ia
bors under the disadvantage of dress
coat of inexpensive material and abre.
waited eXtremities. We did have a
good looking engineer on the Morton,
| however, with auburn hair and a be-
| Witching smile, who improved his OPP
| portunities when off watch and dress
| ed up, with measurable degree of
| success. But the pilots, as before
stated, have all the advantage, and
are selfish enough to improve it. They
generally use their field glasses which
brings the object of their worship
very near, while they remain afar;
and if they keep their hats on and the
! back of their heads in an opposite di-
rectiOn the girls never suspect that
| they are over twenty-five, or thirty at
| the outside. There is a suspicion that
they average older than those figures.
In old times it used to be said of a
| light draft boat that she could "run
ON IA heavy dew" or could ''run over
a wet log" if she was superlatively
| light The Morton is that sort of
| craft. Coming up the river, just
| above TrempealeaH. where the river
81 ais out very wide and very thin,
we must have run where the ground
was only little damp, as the sense of
| smell with which even the least sen
| sitiye OF the passengers WAS endowed,
enabled them to testify that the boat
must have run over and exploded a
strong specimen Of mePhiteS Ameri-
CAMS, and it is a well known fact IN
natural history that cats, Of any kind,
do not like water. We called the Cap
tain S attention to the incident and he
asserted that it was Il very common
| occurrence for his boat to run over all
sorts OF dry land creatures, and this
particular instance excited no surprise
| i'll MS mind. If we had not had olfac-
| tory evidence of the fact we might
have suspected that the Capt. was
spinning "twister" for the benefit
| OF the marines.