The sun., 1897-01-03
STORIES OF THE BIG RIVER.
QUEER BOATs AND CHARACTERS ON
the F1IHER or WATERS
Solving the Probiem OF Surface Screws
The Freak Steamboat eureka No. IT
Tom brown. Pilot aud Hedge Tender.

I
to all comers. No franchise was necessary for a
right Of way. nor did the starting OF a boat de-
pend upon the organizing OF n stock company.
Any man who Lad fow dollars to spend and
n surprisingly few sufIiced- could buy or build
boat propelled by steam and coming withn
the vague and general Government REQUIRE
monts. II the boiler and engines stood
certain steam pressure they might be OF
| various forms Of construction. II the null
had a certain thickness 10 might be OF any
imaginable shape. Nor were any specifications
laid down as to the method OF propulsion
whether by stern wheel side wheel. screw
wheel, or otherwise. Hence IL was that for
years steam craft OF every size and shape could
be seen floating UP and down the Father Of
Waters or his tributaries. The most approved
forms OF propulsion were side wheel aud stern
| wheel, but submerged screws and surface
screws were tried by various men Of IDEAS
| Submerged screws were found TO be imprac-
| ticable on account OF the shallow water In the
rivers: surface screws never gained many
friends, probably because wasteful OF power.
But Ii was not so Ot the boat evolved from tho
brain Of genius at keiihsbprg or one OF the
| surface screw boat for use on the lower rivers
| in winter. When the boat screw is completely
| submerged 1t pushes straight ahead. hut when
only part Of the screw IL in the water II pushes
| ahead and sidewse. too. To counteract this
| two screws, "A right hand, and n leithand are
| used together. thus securing a straIght.ahcad
| propulsion. Hut the Keithsburg builder did not
| know OF this requirement.
| 1t was late In the fail when the screws came
| from adisttnt machiueshop. and AZ was at fever
| froze over and prevented his trip to the sunny
| south. When the wheels were in place and
bitter cold aud the surface ~ the river was dot
| tod with tlakes OF newly made ice. but the Cap:
| tain wa In high spirits 20 think that he would
escape Jack Frost, with II few days to spare.
The line. cas-; of fo- tho trial "trip and the
! boat moved slowly out Into the stream. She
| made such graceful sweep as she swung away
| from the dock that great shout burst from the
| crowd which lined the bank.
| bat when the boat had swung far enough tho
| pilot could not stop hcr. lIe pulled the wheel
I hard down and stood on the spokes. but sho
ton OF the rudder had been m AIDE size had COM
| pletcd II circle and dr fted several hundred feet
with the current. Tine engines were reversed
and the bont reversed her circles; Then some
| one remembered that the surfaced wheels
should turn in opposite d d.rections his vas
| tried with the result that one wheel pushed
| ahead. while the other pulled astern and the
boat continued to whiil round and round a. she
| drifted down the river wilder swHpp Wan
| usual brought her within reach Of the bank.
where she was tnndo fast, and the Captain
| walked ashore with bowed head. lie had dis.
covered that he had two rlght-hnn screws and
| that he could not get n leit-hand screw before
| the river would freeze up.
But the best known Of nll the freak steam
| boats WAS doubtless the Eureka. Hey of'nrr
aud builder; m old hatboatman on the ohio
| savanna H.. being possessed OF u tawml en-
| CINE which lao got in n trade. went tu Oshkosh
| Wis. and had built verv strong fatboat null
| which he fioated and tpwed through the Portage
| Canal and Wisconsin, River to savanna. Hero
| he put In the machinery and tui!t the upper
| works after his own idrRs. Upon this hull he
set a perfectly square box the width Of the hull
| and enough shorter to lcayea twenty-f"ot fore
| castle. Upon this enormous box lac piRccd
! smaller one and upon this still smaller one.
| The large box was the freight room, the smaller
| one the cabin and III. tiny one the pilot house. |
| call them boxes because that's what they were;
| them look like au ,iinary steam boat or to add
| tn their beauty as an original specimen iier
owner had little muhuy, and his horror OF debt
made him rNpcnd only what was absolutely
necessary. She was built as n trading boat in
| the southern rivers, the intention being 10
| stock an immcnrs store and supply the planta-
| tons. Her pnwer. which was the sawmill en-
| glne attached to stern wheels by means Of end
less chains. was designed to move her along
veloped more speed than was expected. and
trade This, together with the fact that her
owner spent his summers at lone in Illinois,
| made the Eurekaa familiar object to the people
along 900 miles Of tho Mississippi aLd many
! iler owner had run sixteen nathoa,s out OF
| the Ohio River. each named Eureka, with the
consecutive number 10 which II belonged.
that this remark able creation was uamed Eu-
rcka No. u. which appcIiaticn, was printed on
% the box that % ssrvcd a, pilot house, In letters
! preached n wood yard just be.pw Mem phi- and
| N. natives were Grazing their meek, to MAKE
enough 10 the bank fer the people on the boat
| to hear the comments when her name was read.
| lanE specimen OF the bottoms drawl out:
! "E-u-r-e-k- "A num- ber.s.Ven.tern! Great Je-
| hnsephat, Air there seventeen ~ them things z"
! Probably the worst shot the Captain ever got
/ was from the tender of the old Rock Island
| bridge. II Will be remembered by those familiar
| with the history of tho Mississippi that tho
| Rock Island bridge was the first Ia span the
! though IL served well the railroad that used il,
! H. was constant source "f trouble To the boats
| plying through y. II was placed across the
| river just ut The foot of the rapids, where the
| cnrrent was stronger than at any other point on
! the river: II Wa dithcult thinG for any boat
to get safely through the draw but for the slow.
| going old Eureka IL alway- seemed prObematcAl
| whether she could get through or not. The cur
| rent there was about eight miles an hour and
| the speed OF the boat under normal conditions
was about one mile less. bni by carving all
| thing in racing condition she could do a little
more than the eight miles.
As the boat approached the bridge pufring
| and snorting like an asthmatic turtle, the bridge
| tender. who lived with his family in the brick
hou.e on he end OF hsdrnw pier GnGaged ne
along the open draw TO keep pace with the toat.
Where are you from " asked u. bridge
ing along inch by inch.
New Orleans" replied the Captain. proudly.
BRIDE %U ,snde @ say ii Iy% la y@p S
" "T9s y Iso, Is, ,aar Of June" said the Captain
Speaking OF the Rock Island bridge l. a re-
mInder OF an old boatinan on the river. az all
Mississippi In the pa!my days of steamboa.ing
none was more widely known than was Tom
| Brown. Tom WAS great, blum lrlsh. American
| In the broadest sense ot the term, Big honed
and big hearted lac was as ready for fight as
he was for nursing sick child. ahd whether on
duty in the pilot house or OH duty at tho bar he
was always nn entertGing talkcT, and people
| loved to hear him cum uD tho facts Ms he saw
them, OF any inooted question. Tom lived in
that golden nse Of s,eamhoating when the
pilot OF tho boat tho most indppen-
dent dcuendenl on earth. Tho Captain or
owner employed him, Rni when at the bank
could discharge him, hut when the boat was
under way he yas the man to say when and how
the boat should go. THIS environment. coupled
with great force OF character. developed in
| Brown a disregard tor al, forms and customs
which did not agree with his notions Of the eter-
nal fitness Of things. II an idea came into his
| head he acted upon II, regardless Of what might
| DO IN other heads. All this was excused in Tom,
| for with all his crOtchets there WAS no other
| pilot who could keep boat OF saudhars and
| snags better than he.
! It was IN those days that tho Rock Island
| bridge made steamboats, the most trouble The
narIowest point in the river had been chosen,
Just AT the foot OF the Government island, where
| the current was swiftest Of any place in the
whole length OF the river. But, 10 make matters
worse, the draw pier was set little CrOsswise OF
| the current. no that in approaching 1t from
| above boat had to come far over IN front uf
| the pier and then, when at the proper point.
shoot across the current into the narrow draw.
| Only the best pilots could make that bridge and