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

Il
Most of the supplies for Fit. Ridgely
and the Sioux agencies as we'll as for
all up river towns had to be trans
ported this year in such barges.
The total steamboat arrivals from
the Minnesota at st. Paul in 1854 did
not exceed 80 and few of them came
from beyond the rapids. This, how
ever, does not include trips made by
the Monticello and the lola between the
rapids and points above.
The snow fall in the winter OF
1s54-5 was again rather meagre and,
consequently, the river continued low
during the spring of 1866, though not
as low as the prior season. The Globe,
new boat, belonging to Louis Robert,
with Nelson Robert as captain, was
the first steamer leaving st. Paul on
the 9Th of April. The Black Hawk,
the J. B. Gordon No. 2. the 81. S.
Allen and Monticello, with the barges
Russell and Master, promptly Joined
in the trade and a fair business was
done in April, but during the mid
summer months navigation was mostly
suspended because of low water. The
fall rains caused quite freshet and
there was brisk trade again for a
month or two. continuing as late as
the middle of November.
The Time and Tide, Berlin, Equator
and Reveille had now joined with the
other boats in the Minnesota trade.
Louis Robert having the contract this
year to deliver the Sioux annuities
took them up to the agency late in
October in the Globe, of which Edwin
Bell was now captain. When within
two miles of the landing the boat
stuck on rock, and the goods had to
be unloaded on the river bank. While
Captains Robert and Bell were gone to
carry the Indian money, amounting to
$780, 900 in gold to Ft. Ridgely, the
Indians, who were gathered in force to
divide the provisions, carelessly set
fire to the dry grass, which was
quickly communicated to the pile of
goods and most of them, including
fifty kegs of powder, destroyed.
| The names of boats engaged in the
Minnesota river trade this year and
the number of trips taken by each
from ST. Paul were as follows Globe,
ia; Black Hawk, 10; Berlin, 10; Time
and Tide, 8; q. S. Allen, %; ]. B.
Gordon No 3, %; Equator, 6; Re-
yeille, 3; Monticello, 1 Shenandoah, 1.
Total trips 119.
The first to enter had been the Globe
ON April Sth, and she was the last to
leave on the 10Th of November.
| An event of 1866 which tended tC
stimulate the commerce of the Mime
sofa for some years, was the removal
of over 1900 Winnebagoes from the
upper Mississippi to a reservation
near Mankato.
A good fall of snow during the win
ter of 1866 caused an abundant sup
ply of water in the river next spring.
The navigation of the Minnesota foI
the season of 1856 was opened on
April 10th by the Reveille, stern
wheel packet in command Of Captain
R. NJ Spencer. Four days later. the
Globe with Nelson Robert as captain,
departed from st. Paul for the same
river, and she was followed next day
by the Fl. S. Allen. The Reveille was
considered fast traveller, and as an
instance of her speed it is recorded
that on the second trip of this year
she left st. Paul at 2 p. N. on Thurs
day, April 18th with 132 passengers
and full load of freight and arrived
at Mankato by Saturday, and leaving
the latter place at a. m. next day
she reached st. Paul by s p. m. that
evening. after having made twenty
four landings on the way.
On the 9th of May, the Reveille
landed at Mankato company of set
tiers numbering two or three hundred,
known as the Mapleton Colony, and
the following Saturday, May 10th, the
81. T. Yeatman landed at South Bend
a company of Welsh settlers from
Ohio, numbering 121 souls The Yeat-
man was large stern wheel boat of
from 500 to 900 tons She was about
the largest boat that assembled the
Minnesota, and this was her first trip.
She continued in the trade only a few
weeks while the water was high. Her
captain was Samuel G.. Cabbell. Reg
ular trips were made this year by
several boats to Fl. Ridgely ard the
lower Sioux agency and some assembled
to the upper agency at the mouth of
the Yellow Medicine river
The time table of Louis Robert &
fine packet, the "Time and Tide, is
! sued for this season, shows the dis
lance from st. Paul to Yellow Medi-
cine to be 446 miles. To an old settler,
who actually travelled on Minnesota
steamboat in those early days, the idea
of time table may seem rather
amusing, for if there was anything
more uncertain as to it's coming and
going or less void of any idea of regu-
larity than steamboat, the old time
traveller never heard of it. Now
stopping in some forest glen for wood,
now tangled in the overhanging
boughs of tree with one or both
smoke stacks demolished, now fast for
hours on some sandbar and now tied
up to tree to repair the damage done
by some snag, while the passengers
sat on the bank telling stories, or went