Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-08-25
The Big MUDDY
ACCOUNT OF INTERESTING TRIP.
UP THE MISSOURI so YEARS
AGO.

A trip on the Missouri river fifty /
years ago was one of the most in
teresting of American experiences,
remarked Thomas Johnson Of Macon,
Mo-, reporter of the Kansas City
Ctar. 81 came from st. Louis to
Brunswick on the William Campbell,
magnificent sidewhee1er, which
with its tremendous load of freight
and nearly 1000 passengers drew
about i've feet of water, The voy-
age was full of incident. At ST.
Louis as far as the eye could reach
were steamboats, with tall feathered
stacks. some arriving, some leaving
| and most of them receiving cargoes.
The levee was black with trucks,
drays, cabs and passengers.
tsThat was in the spring of 1857
and large part of the passenger
list comprised pro-slavery men and
/ ire soilers''- olitionists going to
Kansas to vote at the next election
for their respective political faiths.
They would get into some warm dis
eussions in their attempts to settle
the matter before the election.
i We met boats almost every hour
of the day. The river was the great
artery of trade and all the towns
mentioned were important shipping
points On the wharves formidable
stacks of freight were always await
ing the first boat that came Whit,
was bound for the destination to
which the goods were marked.
"Not only did the boat stop at the
towns, but it would answer halls
from various points along the river
where the landing was good. We
were four days getting to Bruins
wick, although the boat ran ali
might. One great source of delay.
was the frequent stoppage to- WOOD
up timber was plentiful in some
sections and lots of the farmers ran
wood piles to supply fuel. 2-Ss
1.-THE river was low and the leads
men were kept on duty nearly all
night. You could hear their uncan-
ny calls, mark twain!'' quarter less
twain etc, every time you woke up.
something like a wall. 1t wasn't
loud, but given in the queer drawl
of the rivermen was wonderfully
clear. g
/ One night 1 remember the leads
! mans cries were a little sharper
4 than usual, and then suddenly the
] boat banged into big piece of the
state of Missouri and stopped. It had
run on a sandbar in spit of the two
! keen eyed men in the pilot house
i They spared all night with the
i great poles on the forward deck be-
fore the William Campbell was
i afioat again. "a y
But the pilots knew the river
that is they knew how 1t was the
last time they were down it--but
] the shifting sands sometimes fooled
| them by building up bar where
there had been easy water a fort
night before They studied the rip
pies on the river as intentIy as a
schoolboy does his geography only
q great deal more 50.
In view OF the Immense trafic on
1 the Missouri then it seems increii-
4 BILE that that important stream
should ever have been abandoned.
They nayigated It IN 1857 all right
and I understand the channel was
mot near as good then as It is now.
With some Industrious engineering
work In the next few years IT seems
to me il could@be made thoroughly
safe, and American ambition it Just
as certain to develop good pilots
again when the need comes, It's the
Only way to travel and enjoy what
ftravel ought 10 mean