Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1897-09-06
IT FLOWS ON FOREVER
Boats Hay Come and 60, But the Missia
sippi 10 stin Here.

Boats Hay Come and 60, But the Mlssi0.
sippi 10 stin Here.
In referring to the fact that while
the low stage Of the water in the
Mississippi has caused a withdrawal
of packets, although there will be
boats and business as long as the
water lasts, q correspondent Of the
Chicago Record says:
probably we now shall never see
the repetition Of the famous load that
the Sidney of the Diamond 10 fleet
took into St. Louis, mainly from the
upper river, one fine September day
in 1884. She had not long been on
the Mississippi from her old run on
the Ohio, where she was built and
first operated. 1t was in the good
times of the sos, when crops we're
fine and prices for them were good.
She WAS loaded to the guards herself
and she had with her five big barges.
each of them piled high with all
manner OF merchandise, mainly az
ricultural products, though upper
river manufacturers were not want
ing. She landed several train loads
of freight at the st. Louis levee and
earned enough money on that one
trip to go long way toward paying
for herself. But it has been years
since through packet on this part
OF the river has seen the necessity of
carrying a barge for any purpose.
unless to use IS lighter in case she
got aground.
"This summer the packets handled
many people from Chicago and from
the country east OF it. It is q COM
mon thing for people to 90 from this
part OF tho country to Chicago and
take steamer for the run up the
lake or to lay oat q tour that takes
them well around the lakes. 1t ap-
pears that little vogue has been
given to the practice of reversing this
movement. For people who live
along the river all their lives there
is always matter of interest in the
coming and going of the steamers,
even at the larger towns. where city
papers and other points Of contact
with the outside world arc numerous
and common. II would only be the
natural thing for the person who
may have read Mark Twain's "Old
Times on the Mississippi" but whose
lot has never been cast aboard of one
Of its steamers, to find a trip up or
down it very interesting, full of new
things-most Of them sights aed
facts and incidents, but some of them
oven rising to the dignity of real ex-
perienees."
with the growth and denser set
Element Of the country and further
improvement of the river, 30 that
easy and sure navigation is a matter
of certainty. there may come q great
growth of the passenger business by
boat. but it is hardly safe to expect
that it is to come soon.
The laying of the boats to the
bsnk at this season indicates that
what there is now to be had in the
way Of traffic is really not worth
banning for very hard. The short
line packets are still on their regular
runs and will stay there till the
river freezes over. and the raft boats
still ply to feed the hungry sawmills
that are always crying for more. bat
in fact there is not much traffic OF
reslly serious extent left on the river
above Keokuk now, save that in the
lumber trade. This still gives en-
ployment to a great many men and a
large fleet of steamers.
The Records source OF information
is greatly at fault in much that be
says. There is still a good river
here and still all the boats can do.
AS for the local packets, they are
having plenty OF business, and so
are the packets as fast as they can
get around. The Mississippi is still
great artery of com merce, and will
continue to increase as such as fast
as the government realizes the i'm
pcrtance Of improving and develop.
ing it.