The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-12-28
VOYAGE ON KAW
City Railway Pile Driver Boat
Is Here.
Made Trip from St. Marys in a
Week.
IT CAME BY WATER.
Load Was Lightened When
ROSsville Was Reached.
Will Be Used to Construct Rail-
way Bridge.

After stormy passage down the
Kaw, the Leavenworth Bridge COM
pany's battleship "Piledriver' cast
anchor Sunday afternoon just below
the Kansas avenue bridge, and was in
spected by the quarantine officers. She
was given a clean bill of health, and
the officers and crew came ashore at
once. They tell some thrilling stories
of the voyage from St. Marys.
Chief Engineer Young was in charge
of the vessel, with a crew of thirty
men under him. The "Piledriver'' left
st. Marys week ago today, December
81, under the most auspicious circum-
stances. 1t had just completed a job
of bridge building which was a credit
to its flag, and with full coal bunkers
and all the machinery in perfect order
set out gaily for the run to Topeka,
with bands playing and whistles
shrieking their salutes as the sturdy
craft sailed out through the dense
shipping at st. Marys harbor.
What happened after that can best
be told in the form of an interview
with one of the crew. He said this
morning:
bet. Where we made our mistake was
IN forgetting to put wheels under the
old scow before We started. We hadn't
got out of sight of ST. Marys before
the boat stuck her nose into a sandbar
as big as the desert of Sahara Well
we had half a mile of wire cable on
board, and We carried the end of the
cable down stream to the opposite
bank and stubbed it to a big tree
Then we hitched up to the engine on
the boat and wound up the cable. and
dragged the boat through the sand
across the bar. I'll be blamed if we
T0lr1xrr IL Ii
Panama canal.
That's the way it went for four
days Never was in such a fix in all
my life, and I've been in this business
Tor 80 years Wed get up in the morn
ing, work like thunder all day and
we'd camp at night in the same place
we did the night beforei Sometimes
We would get in the current, and float
for mile or so, and get up an awful
excitement among the people on the
banks, and just as we were ready to
file our challenge for the American cup,
we'd hear a chug and a swish, and
would come up high and dry on a sub
merged continent
Last Friday we got to Rossville. and
1t was Christmas. The boss saws,
Boys, this business is getting tiresome
Here we are hung up like a sock wait
ing for Santa Claus, and the chances
are that we won't get to Topeka in
time. for the opening of the baseball
season, unless we hurry. Wen have TO
get the scrap-iron and coal off this
yacht and go down stream under light
draft. And we spent Christmas with
the dear good people of Rossvflle get
ting the boat loose from the engine.
We took the bolts out that held 'em to-
gether, stubbed the engine to a tree,
and made it drag itself over across the
sandbars to the shore. Then we loaded
it onto a wagon, and started for To-
peka. We took off the 1000 pound
hammer and everything else except a
few derrick timbers, and hired some
more farmers to bring them to town.
Without anything to carry, the boat
came down stream in pretty good
shape, but the fellers that took the job
of hauling the stuff to town through
the sand got all that was coming to
them, 1 guess"
Thirty miles in seven days is not
very fast travelling. but the 'Piledriver''
does not claim to be in the Phil Sheri-
dan class. But the boat is here, and
the engine is being replaced on it to-
day. The thirty men in the work crew
are nearly all in town, and will be set
to work within a day or two. Most of
them came down from st. Marys on the
train. The navigation did not look
good to them.
AS soon as 50-foot derrick can be
constructed the battleship "Piledriver''
will commence the work of constructing
a bridge for the Topeka City Railway
company, just east of the Kansas ave
nue. bridge 1t Will be Single-track
structure, and will be used as the false
work for the permanent steel bridge to
be built later on. The contracts call for
the bridge to be completed by February
/, but the chances are that it will not
be done then.
Frank G. Kelly of the City Railway
company stated this morning that the
railway will pay no attention to the re-
quest of the city council to remove the
remains of the old street car bridge at
once while the water is low, and before
the ice begins to come down stream.
I'VE have no time to fool with those
old piles now" said Mr.. Kelly. THAT
is something which can wait. We are
anxious now to push the work on the
new bridge with all possible speed, and
we are not going to let anything inter-
fere with it. When we get our bridge
built, we will remove the remains of our
old bridge but not till then"
It is likely that this attitude of the
city railway may result in the city
council instructing the city engineer to
saw off the old piles which still stand
in the stream, and let them float down
stream The councilmen seem to fear
that if the old piles are allowed to re-
main where they are they will make
trouble.