The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-04-25

wheat Some OF the DargeS WERE VI
great ssize. Among the largest was
one owned by Captain Davidson call
ed, 'sLittle Mac" which was 142 feet
long by 90 feet in width and ia tons
burden. The wheat shipments from
the principal points in the Minnesota
valley this year were as follows: Belle
Plaine. 40, 600 bushels; Faxen, u. 600
bushels; Henderson, 80, 400 bushels I;
LeSueur, 90, 900 bushels Ottawa, 5000
bushels; st. Peter, 6S,95O bushels;
Mankato, 1870, 900 bushels South Bend,
%, 900 bushels, Shakopee, 1O6, 791
bushels; Carver, so, 600 bushels;
Chaska, 1O4, 900 bushels. Total 6SS, 64l
bushels.
The navigation this year, however,
was quite poor owing to. low water
through most of the season. A United
States survey was made of the river
during the summer with view to
improving it.
The arrivals at the st. Paul wharf
this year from the Minnesota was only
about 100 The decrease was probably
due to two causes, the construction to
Belle Plaine of the st. Paul and Sioux
City Railway, which out off most OF
the boat traffic on the lower. which
was the most navigable portion of the
river secondly, to the fact that most
of the freight was now being carried
in barges, which, having no occasion
to stop at st. Paul passed down the
Mississippi without being registered
| in the st. Paul wharfmaster books.
The year 1857 was exceptionally
good for boating, as fine stage of
water continued during the entire
season. The first boat to land at Man
kato was the Chippewa Falls on the
18th of April.
| During the summer and until the
first of September, the Mollie Mohler,
Captain H W. Holmes, made daily
trips between Mankato and Belle
Plaine-a distance of 175 miles, MAX
! ing close connections at the latter
place with the st. Paul trains. She
would leave s.Mankato every morning
! at o'clock and arrive at Belle Plaine
about 4 O. clock in the afternoon, and
then leave Belle Plain on her return
journey at O'Clock P. M, and reach
Mankato by sunrise. As Indicative of
her speed, she would at times make
the trip from Mankato to st. Peter-a
distance of 30smiles-in one hour and
twenty minutes; and as. evidence of
the abundant water in the rivers this
season, the Mollie on the 9th of June
assembled the Blue Earth and LeSueur
rivers to the Red Jacket mills then
situated about where now thesMil-
waukee railway crosses the latter
stream, and carried hence 425 barrels
of -four. Up to September, when the
Mollie Mohler retired. there had been
| 1866 steamboat arrivals at MankatO, of
which the Mollie had made 81. After
this the Otter ran quite regularly until
the Both of October, making two or
three trips a week, and the Ellen Hardy
and Mankato made few. trips, while
the Ariel made regular trips between
Mankato and st. Peter and the rail
road terminus, until the river closed
about the 10th of November. Congress
had made an appropriation of 81, OOC
this year towards the improvement of
the river, and in July bids were re-
received by Gen. G. K. Warren, gov
eminent engineer, ION two proposed
contracts for such improvement-one
covering the first section, reaching
from Red Wood.to Mankato, and the
other for the second section, extending
from Mankato to the Lower Rapids.
Nothing much came of this river i'm
provement project, and it was aban,
doned, as the advent of railroads into
the valley rendered it unnecessary.
The principal river casualty of 1867
was the sinking of the Julia two miles
below Mankato on the morning of the
10th of May. She struck snag af
she was coming up the river, under
full head of steam, we'll loaded with
passengers and freight, and sank il
twelve feet of water. None of the pas
sengers were injured, and nearly al
the freight was recovered, but the
boat itself was a wreck. Her ma
chinery and upper deck were eventu,
ally removed, but the hull lies in the
sands of the Minnesota to this day.
In 1868, the Chippewa Falls was AGAR
the first boat at st. Peter and Mankatt
arriving at the latter place on the S1s
o March.
While navigation was not nearly al
good this year as the year before ye
by the first of May over 90 boats hat
arrived at Mankato. No new boat
as far as known, entered the river thi
year, and quite few Of the boat
prominent in the trade the prio
season had dissppeared-among then
the we'll known Mollie Mohler ant
Jeanette Roberts. Most of the trad
was confined to points above the rail
road terminus, which terminus, b.
October, had reached Mankato-th
first passenger coach on the st. Paul ant
Sioux City road arriving there on tn
9Th of that month.
The first boat to reach Mankato il
1869 was. the Ellen Hardy, on the 1Stl
of April. The Otter, ST. Anthem.
: Falls. Pioneer, Tiger and our oil
friend the Jeanette Roberts were en-
gagged in the Minnesota trade thi