Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-03-12
THE STEAMBOAT SEASON.


Capt. Kuleen Talks About the Prospects
death to sandbars.
Capt. John Killeen, of Dubuque,
superintendent of the Diamond 10
line of steamers. is authority for the
statement that the Gem City will te
the first of the Diamond 10 boats to
go out and she will make her first
trip some time in April. In an in
terview the captain said: Il haven't
been able to form any idea as to how
the business is going to be. So far
as appearances are concerned they
are good, still under the present cir
cum stances one cannot saw whether
the business will be good OF not.
When there is an exceedingly cold
winter there is usually hot summer
and when there is a hot summer the
passenger business on the river is
good. But we are going to endeavor
to give people along the river not
only the benefit of pleasant passenger
accommodations, but we are going
to give the merchants the benefit of
good freight accommodations"
Speaking further about the line,
he said that the company would run
the same boats that it did last year
and would run them on the same
time. The ST. Paul, Pittsburgh and
Sidney are to run between st. Louis
and ST.. Paul, and the Gem City and
Mary Morton are to run between St.
Louis and Keokuk. The work of re-
modelling the steamer Pittsburgh is
almost completed. About 81, 900
has been expended on the boat, and
she will be a daisy when she comes
out. When placed in the water again
she will draw but two feet of water
with a fair load. AS yet, no appoint
ments have been made. but Captain
killeen will have charge of the
steamer Pittsburg again, while the
other boats will be handled by about
the same men that handled them last
year.
To Annihilate Sandbars.
Steamboatmen are generally graft
fled to learn that Commodore Shields
was successful in getting an appro-
priation of $3.50, 600 from congress.
to be used in experimenting with a
portable jetty scheme for washing
out bars that form in the Mississippi
river during low water, greatly to
the detriment of navigation. They
expect through this agency to main
tain channel that will allow the
boats to operate during low water.
Two years ago Capt. Shields became
an advocate of the portable jetty as
a means of removing sandbars and
reefs which cripple river business.
Many practical and experienced river
men have Endorsed the invention and
declare it to be the most perfect de-
vice for keeping a clear channel that
has yet been suggested. The port.
able jetty is an iron tank-boat or
barge, 800 feet long, % feet wide in
the middle, 10 feet deep and taper
ing at both ends. 1t is made of
steel. and has a number of air-tight
compartments asa precaution against
snags knocking a hole in the hull and
thus disabling the craft. When a
sandbar is formed across the river
several of these jetties will be sent to
the spot and will be anchored in the
stream SO as to divert the water into
one channel. The iron boats will be
sunk to the bottom, one behind The
other, until they form a funnel
which gathers in all the water of the
stream and causes it to pass between
the jetties, which will be set from
100 to 800 feet apart. The increased
volume Of water pouring through
this narrow aperture will, in 1:
hours, cut away the bar at that point
and create a channel deep enough fol
the largest river steamboat. Wher
this has been accomplished, the water
in the compartments of the jettie.
will be pumped out and they viii
rise to the surface like corks. They
can then be towed to the next poin
where a bar has been formed. A.
there are less than 20 bad spots il
the river of this character. and a.
the work of the portable jetty is per
formed in a night or day. the prob