Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-07-15
AS OTHERS SEE US.
Island and Davenport as he set S
Them From rhe River.

Island and Davenport as he set $
Them From The River.
The editor of the Quincy Journal is
making tour up the river on the steamer
Sidney He has written his paper an en-
| tertaiuing eiter on the cities visited along
the shore and thus he speaks of this To-
calitY:
The next towns of importance above
Muscatlne are Rock Island. H.. and Dav-
export, Iowa. They have beautiful sites
and are both bright-looking towns. Dav-
export is nearly twice as large as Rock
Island, the population of Rock Island
being $500 and that of Davenport,
$4,000. The population of Moline,
which adjoins Rock Island on the north,
is IL. 900. 50 that Moline and Rock Island,
which are substantially one. are little
larger than Davenport.
There is wagon bridge connecting
Davenport and Rock Island.
At Rock Island, the Rock Island rapids
begin. and extend north 10 miles to lie
Claire, Iowa. the fall in that distance
is-20 feet. The government has already
spent over a million and quarter of dol
lars making channel through the rock
bottom of these rapips, Work Is now IN
progress. N many places the boats run
in channel that runs between TWO stone
walls, the rocks in the channel having
been blasted out with dynamite. Scores
of borings having been made for dy-
Mantle charges. The place of each
boring is marked by good sized willow
stick ramme down into the boring, and
held fast there When the engineers are
ready these borings will be charged with
dynamite ard great explosion will be
made. The loosened rock is removed
from the river. Stone piers are built in
the river to mark the course of the chan
mel, and nlmberless buoys are main
tanned TO mark dangerous rocks. Spe-
cial pilots pilot all boats up and down
through the rapids. A pilot gets SIS for
plotting boat like the Sidney through
the rapids. 1t takes from two hours and
a quar- r to two hours and half TO make
the run up and about an hour and half
TO run down.
The ISLAND of Rock Island begins at the
city of Rock Island. 1t is about four
miles long, and has an area of 975 acres.
1t is a royalty beautiful spot. we saw
nothing prettier on our trip. The base of
the island is solid limestone 1t is high
and dry aboTe high water. and the gov
eminent arsenal and military works are
on Rock Island. All sorts OF military
trappings, munitions and accoutrements,
We understsl d, are made there, except
ord nance. 1t is spot that we should
like TO inspect.
Col. Davenport's old house. the one in
which he was murdered. is sui standing.
II is quite ike the p'cture of it in book
issue1 some 40 years ago entitled The
Banditti of the Prairie, or The Murderer's
Doom" in which was detailed in striking
phrase. the tloody work of those border
ruftians of Iowa and Illinois. There is no
Ned Buntlile business about that old
book. Imagination had nothing to do
with its preparation. 1t is history, not
fiction. Its blood-curdiing stories are
true. The murderers, whose bloody ex-
ploits it recounts, met their doom upon
the scafold. What Iowa or Illinois pic.
neer has not read The Banditti of the
Prairie. or The Murderer's DOOM" We
hope that Col. Davenport's old house will
be permitted to stand until it is worn out
by time.
The handsome scenery on the river be-
gins at Rock Island. Every foot of the
way above Rock Island is beautiful. The
river above Rock Island is narrower, and
the bluffs come down to the river on both
sides nearly all the way. / am told that
the prettiest part of the river lies above
McGregor. 1t is our present purpose to
see this part of the river on our way home
from st. Paul.