Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-10-24
Ill FATED BOATS
Wrecking of Two Former Well
Known Upper Mississippi
Steamers.
STORY TOLD BY OLD PILoT
Gray Eagle Sinks at Rock Island
Bridge and War Eagle at
KeOkuk.

The older residents of Rock Island
remember the handsome steamers
Gray Eagle and War Eagle which
were once familiar figures in these
waters. An old river man relates in
teresting stories of the wrecks of
these former well-known steamers.
Speaking to a reporter in a nearby
river town, he said:
"Neyer heard about the wreck of
the Gray Eagle. did you? Old Bill
White was captain of her, same Bill
as lived at Pilot Knob and saw the
Mississippi every day of his life.
There's a rapids just above the bridge
at Rock Island, where the government
has an arsenal now. and all the boats
laid up rather than try the rapids run
at night. The Eagle was loaded clean
up to the hurricane deck and Bill was
heading across the upper rapids.
When she got down towards the
bridge, there where the water is al
WAYS boilin' and churnin'. and ST. Pc
ter couldn't tell which way the cur
rents run, the skipper showed signs
of nervousness. The old girl bobbed
round like cork and it seemed like
IOG EuOAiGI was iIliliiiS AhN NdPb'
Bill was in the pilot house and | was
at the wheel. Bill got so nervous he
finally insisted on taking her through
the draw himself. He got the wheel
and headed her for the outside draw
on run. She was headed right,
that's certain. but with the bridge
two lengths away the current caught
her and just lifted her out of the wa
ter like. There wasn't any use trying
to control her. She just took a head
er. and how she did hit that pier, head
on! Crash! You could have heard it
at Port Byron. She was split from
stem to stern. Sank in 10 minutes.
No lives lost. but Il good cargo of
freight went to the catfish.
All Were Fated.
Il think now when | look back that
all the Eagles were fated to go to
wreck against bridge. There was
the old War Eagle 1t was along in
the early SOS that she hit the Keo-
kuk bridge, and it was no SLOUGH of a
wreck. 1t was the season the Gem
City cut the river wide open and the
last season of Commodore Davidson's
steamboatin' But he hasn't anything
to do with this story. 1t was the War
Eagles last trip and everybody was
feeling good. The water was spread
out everywhere and the old girl had
the load of her life. $50 tons of pota-
toes billed for St. Louis, passenger
list of 200, and standing back at the
rear guard were Il lot of the finest
stations | ever saw. She came through
the water even with the locks. There's
always dead water between the lower
lock and the bridge, and the eddy un-
der the shore pier was awful. When
we got to the lower lock we started
to drop through head first. We were
doing well boxing her along and had
got abreast of the long pier when her
head caught. the eddy on the shore
pier. BY the time we get her head
out of the eddy her stern was sticking
over in the pier.
Twisted Around.
The rapids began pushing her
down and we started twisting her,
that is, coming ahead on the star
board wheel and backing her on the
larboard. The pilot gave her the
gong and She was dashed hard down,
and the pilot lit his pipe and waited.
There she was, going out of the rap
ids, fairly bursting her boilers fight
ing to straighten herself up. But you
might as well have tried to stop a
cyclone as to breast that water. She
made circle in the current, slow at
first. and then whirling. and the rap
ids had won. The old girl went clear
out two spans away from the draw
and then she struck. And how she did