The Topeka state journal., 1897-08-24
Buried i'm the Island Under the
Old Bridge.
BEARS DATE OF 1894.
More Than Fifty Years Before
Kansas Was Settled.
Believed to Be Relic of Lewis
g. Clark Expedition,
Which Went Through ssCanzas"
Territory in 1904.

A piece of timber which may open
new field for Kansas historians was
found today by workmen who are cart
ing away the island in the middle of
the Kansas river at the foot of Kansas
avenue.
The workrnen dug up a piece of oak
IL feet long which had been used for a
rudder on a fiat boat, on one side of
which is plainly carved the figures
1884, The rudder was cut from the
base of a white oak sapling which had
a natural bend curve On the end
is fastened with iron brads an oaken
clapboard. The handle end of the rud-
der was cut out by hewing and after
ward trimmed up with a knife of some
kind. The work was pretty well done.
About five feet from the handle end
is wrought iron swivel which looks
like a large oar lock. This has been
| hammered out at forge, but it is very
ancient, for the bolt which goes through
the rudder and which fastens the swiv-
el to the rudder, is held in place at one
end by a wrought iron key instead of
bur or nut, such as are used now on
bolts.
The whole thing is in an excellent
state of preservation. 1t was found
about 100 feet east of the old Kansas
| avenue bridge and almost exactly in
| the middle of the island from north to
| south. 1t was in a place in the sand
| just even with the water line, and that
I
! timber, as it has lain practically in the
| water all these years. 1t was covered
| by at least Is feet of sand and earth
| and a cottonwood three feet in diane
| ter grew almost directly over it's rest
ing place.
The man who first caught sight of the
| antiquated rudder is Albert Tut, who
| IS a shove1er and helps load the wag
| ons. He struck something hard with
his shovel and dug the sand away un-
til the end of the rudder was revealed.
| ance and they cleared away the sand
| and raised the timber to the surface.
| 1t was covered with a kind of black rot
| and the men scraped that away with
| their shovels
What is that?" said Foreman Josiah
| Ross. who was standing near watching
the proceedings. His eye had caught q
glimpse of what looked like some let
| ters, on one side of the timber. He or
| dered the men to be careful and in a
| few minutes the figures 1894 were visi-
bic.
They had been cut deep into the wood
and so withstood the disintegrating eff
| fectS of time.
Superintendent J. L. Campbell of the
new bridge was called and examined
the rudder which was placed on
| stump near where the men were work.
| ing. He said he had doubt it was
used by some early explorers to guide
their fiat boat up stream.
One by one men came to look at the
| relic. They gazed at it almost with
! awe. One or two looked over the wood
| carefully for other Inscriptions but no
| other letters could be found on the
| wood. The figures 1874" are the onIv
identifying marks.
The question now is where was the
| ancient rudder used. 1t is reasonably
| certain that it was used in a very early
day for the island under which il was
| found has been in the river since To-
peka was founded. Was ii part of a
pushing up the "Canzas" until he was
attacked by the warlike Padouchas who
lived near the mouth of the Smoky Hill
and lost his life and boat.
II. G. Larifner who is a close student
of history made an investigation to find
If possible where this piece of timber
was used.
| Mr.. Larimer says that after Coronado
who was in this region in the sixteenth
century the first white man in this re-
| gion was NJ. DeBourgon, a French ex-
| plorer who in 1924 made a journey from
the settlement of the Canzas or Kanzaa
Indians near Atchison on the Missouri
| river to the settlement of the Padoucfas :
| at the mouth of the Smoky Hill
few years later a Spaniard left
| Santa Fe with an expedition to conquer
| the Missouri Indians and he followed a
| route supposed to be almost the same
| as that now used by the Santa Fe. and
he consequently passed near the present
! site of Topeka. His party was anni-
| hilated by the MiSsouris and he never
returned but it is probable that neither.
of these expeditions had any connection
with the old rudder though it is possible
| that some wanderer from one of them
might have used a boat to descend the
| river.
Mr.. I4arimer says that the rudder
may be relic of some French mis-
| sionary, though there is no record tina
| any of them were west of the MfssissiD-
| pi prior to 1900. The figures on the rui-
| der indicate that they We're carved bv
an American, for they are not sha ned
in the style of the French or SpaniarIss
Consequently, the conclusion reached
is that the rudder is part of one of the
boats used in the Lewis & Clark ex-
| pedition to the northwest. The expe-
) | dition started in 1904, which was ten
| years after the date inscribed on the
rudder, but Mr.. Larimer explains that
, ! by the statement that they were several
| years preparing for the expedition. II
. | may be that the party picked up boats
: | wherever they could as they Travelled
| and this rudder may have been secured
at some of the settlements along the
| Ohio or Mississippi rivers and used tc
steer the boat all the way up the Mis-
| souri, until they were forced to abandon
| it in the shallow waters of the Kansas
No one will ever know just where the
old rudder came from, but 1T opens the
| possibilities for boundIess speculation
| by persons interested in the history OF
| Kansas.
4 The rudder will be given to the State
Historical society.
/ 'eThey don't make much fuss abou