Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-08-04


for the deepening of the channel.
| Boats then ran in the river as far
north as Fort Dodge until 1859 or
| 1860.
Mason's Paper Mill.
The establishment of the dams al
| lowed the building of other mills along
the river. One of these was paper
mill, which was erected at Bentons-
port by the ancestors of William E.
| Mason, late senator from Illinois.
Print paper was made there and was
used by the Courier and several 9TH
er papers of that day in the state.
| The mill was built of limestone and
still stands on the river bank at
Bentonsport. 1t has, however, been
converted into a Touring mill and is
now the property of ex-senator Mason
of Illinois. The Masons, by the way,
were pioneers of the Des Moines
valley and made their home at Ben.
| tonsport. where William E. Mason
and his brother, e. r. Mason, the
present clerk of the federal court at
Des Monies, were born and spent
their early life.
| The dam at Bonaparte, the second
| one to be erected there by the Meeks
was put in about this time by them un-
der the direction of the River Improve
ment association, and Isaiah Meek, the
contractor, who furnished timber and
stone from his own lands, received
$4,000 for the completed dam, which
then became the property of the gov
eminent The Meeks still retained
! their leasehold upon the ferry privi-
leges and the water power privilege
| for milo ahOvo tho dam
When the Railroad Came.
Then there was a change in the af-
| fairs of the Meels and change which
was destined to revolutionize the state
and modify its history. This was the
projection through the state, along the
| Des Moines river valley, of railroad.
! Its name was an ambitious one-the
| Keokuk, Fort Des Moines and Min
nesota railway and its surveyors came
to Bonaparte EARLY in the fifties.About
| 1856 Isaiah Meek took contract for
the construction of a mile of the road
| through Bonaparte, the contract price
being $500. This is the only bad
| piece of financiering that is charged to
the elder Meek and the story of it Is
| amusing.
The road was built and the first train
found its way into Bonaparte during
the year 1857. When Isaiah Meek came
to collect his $500 for the construc-
ton, the company. it is said, made an
agreement that the money was to be
paid in the form of freight rates and
transportation. However. although
| this was reluctantly agreed to by Mr..
Heck, before long the company chang
| ed its name and the new concern did
not recognize the contract made by it's
predecessor. This said Mr.. George,
in speaking of the incident, :" is the re-
| suit of the shortsightedness of the old
1 laws. Now contracts are made with
/ parties, their successors or assigns, but
in those days that was unheard of, "
and SO a black mark was chalked down
against Isaiah Meek.
1. A MasterfuI Stroke.
/ This failure in the financial arena
| however, was enough for Mr.. Meek
4 and soon afterwards he executed a
coup which not only stamped him as
| a good financier but established the
/ ground upon which the Meeks of the
present day, his sons, take their stand
against the sportsmen of all the state
Soon after the railroad made its de-
/ but it became important that it's COM
4 petitor, the steamboat lines should be
| put out of the way, and there was
where the lobbyists first began their
I work.
River Declared UnnavigabIe.
The legislature passed bill declar-
ing that the Des Moines river was no
longer navigable. When this was
done the money was no longer forth
coming to keep the dams in repair and
they blocked the way of the boats.
Steam boating then became lost art
| upon the Des Moines and the railroads
reigned supreme.
i This meant something to the Meeks,
/ and it is probable that Isaiah Meek
| blessed the day when the railroad
came to Bonaparte, regardless of the
| fact that he had lost cold $500 as
| the result. 1t was not long after the
| river had been abandoned SO far as
| the state was concerned that the legis.
| lature decided to order the sale of the
Bonaparte dam. 1t was sold at auc-
! ton and Isaiah Meek was one of the
two bidders. He made the first bid of
| 500, offering that sum for the struc--
| ture which he had a few years ago
built for $4,000 at the order of the
state. George Manning, relative of
Calvin Manning, who now lives in OF
tumwa, made the second bid. raising
that of Meek $100. Then the redoubt-
able Isaiah bid $500 and the papers
1 were signed in his favor. Not, how
1 ever, until he had been successful in
having the bid of Mr.. Manning declar-
ed illegal for some reason which has
now been forgotten and the price he
finally paid for the $4,000 dam was
/ 5000.
The Point at Issue.
To this point in the history of the
famous dam the sportsmen revert
when they wish to show that the
| Meeks have not held to their contract.
1t is the stand taken by the sportsmen
| that in the deed for the dam the pro,
vision was made that the purchasers
| should forever keep it in repair. This
would, evidently, mean that the locks
and gates should also be kept in order,
which would allow passage for fish
a practical fishway at certain times.
For time, it is said, the gates were
| kept in order, but later they were al
u tx,Ix. /.