Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-04-10

who are remembered as going from
this place are Paul C. Jeffries and
James r. Ward, altho there were doubt
less many more.
Origin of Sup Soap"
The Maid of Iowa" in 1851 (the flood
year) was making a trip and after
having reached Van Buren, county the
captain. supposed it would be safe to
leave the care of the boat in the pi-
lots hands. This gentleman was sup
posed to know the river, but the cap
tain, William Phelps, gave him orders
nevertheless to keep her straight I'M
It'll you come to an island and then
take the left hand side" The pilot
promisd to obey. 1t was in the night
time and the captain needed sleep. He
retired to take his ''forty winks'' and
the pilot had the boat to himself, like
wise the river, barring distractions.
He had not proceeded more than an
eighth of mile before the limbs of
tall cottonwoods began to strike the
chimneys, and breaking off came down
in shower on the deck. Finally one
of the giant cottonwoods, spreading
,NSiA ONSL tllS DdIICSl UllC way
with one of its huge limbs and came
in contact with the boats tunnels with
such a crash as to bring the captain
up on deck about half dressed and in d
somewhat dazed condition. He took in
the situation after a minute or two
and then sang out: up Soap, by
CD The expression passed into an
idiom in the lower part of the river
country, and in fact the first two
words have become with western peo-
pie to be synonymous with gone to
pieces, failure, or gone out of exist
ence.
Came Rome by Packet.
On March 90, 1858, there occurred an
event which has taken place twice since
the admission of the state into The I'M
ion. At the adjournment of the iegis-
lature, the roads being impossible, all
the legislators who could possibly reach
their homes by packet did so. 1t was
somewhat periious journey for the
little steamboat Skipper but to
avoid many of the dangers of the jour
ney, the captain prudently tied up NJ
night. Among the names of those vic
We're aboard this craft were Senator
John a. johnson and Representatives
William Campbell and William McCor-
mick, of Wapello county, and Theron
\. Morgan, representative from Keokuk
county. Mr.. Morgan lately died at the
home of his daughter, Mrs. George
Griswold, in this city. Later, in 1862,
the river again overlooked its banks,
and many members of the Ninth gen
eral assembly We're again forced to
coma homo Inv, A 10, NJ,
took package on the de Nome City,
and among them are chronicled the
names OF Senator j. w. Dixon, Repre-
sentatives Joseph II. Flint, afterwards
county judge. and Thomas G. McGloth-
len, OF Wapello county. !.
Passin" the Steamboat.
The year 1862 virtually closed Des
Moines river navigation. The near ap-
proach of the railroads made the bust
ness uncertain and Improbable; be-
sides there was great demand for
steamboat service on all rivers of the
south during the civil war, which had
then assumed alarming proportions and
required much service in the way OF
transporting troops and supplies from
one place to another; SO the steam
boat captains Withdrew their boats TIC
more profitable fields /,
In the lapse of years it hard ~ seems
possible to this genera ton that steam
boats We're once the principal means
of transportation from Ottumwa, but
Tacitus Hussey, of Des Moines,J the au-
thor and compiler of the steamboat
number of the Annals of Iowa, has
the information at hand to fully prove
the assertions made between the COW
ers of the book