The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-11-28


Perry. owners. and the former captain
of the little steamer Excelt. which was
the first to reach Fort Riley. During
the spring and summer the Excelt made
government freight. The first cargo
was 100 barrels of flour and the trip
was made in two days from Weston
The latter lading was composed OF ma
terials for the fort The last return
trip from Fort Riley was made in "a
hours. On one of the trips up, the lit
tie Excelt assembled the Smoky Hill for
about 40 miles.
About shutdown on the evening of
Nav 90 1855, the townspeople of Law
renee, who had congregated in large
numbers on the. levee (Which was
natural landing in the vicinity OF the
old wire mild were delighted beyond
measure to see the Emma Harmon
steam gracefully up to the landing ana
deposit a number of passengers ana
considera BILE freight.
The Emma Harmon was the hrst
steamer to make a landing at Law
renee and Topeka She was a stern
wheeler, propelled by two engines OF
1870 horsepower each and was command
ed by Capt. J. M. Wing. She was pouno
for Fort Riley, but ventured no farther
than Topeka which place she reached
six days after her departure from Law
renee After this somewhat d1Scourag-
ing experiment Captain Wing decldeo
not to extend his trips beyond Law
renee.
About noon on the next day (May I'd
the Financier No. 2 arrived at Law
renee bound for Fort Riley. On the
Journey up the river she was detained
by sandbars between Douglas ana Ie-
cumseh. but finally reached Topeka.
Here she received some of the freight
consigned with the Emma Harmon ana
continued on UP toward the fort. Al
the lower end of the leVee at PaWnee
she stranded After discharging her
CHI
The officers of the post and their Ia
dies made up a party and took an e&-
cursion up the Republican river as tar
as Clay Center.
2 likewise became discouraged with
the extreme difficulty of naV1gatng
the Kaw and we have no record OF MS
venturing upon it again
May 81 seems to have been a gaia
dav in Kaw river history, for 1T was
on this day, too, that the Hartford ar
rived from Cincinnati with freight ana
from Junction City The
news that the material for the con-
struction for Fort Riley had been
by boat together with the
fact that for two or three years there
had been an abundance of water IN
the Kaw, gave rise to oene1 IN
of the stream and greatly
interested the boatmen of western
waters. A colonization company was
being formed at Cincinnati to estap-
lish town near the head waters or
the Kaw and on April 81, 1855, the
colony left on the steamboat Hartford
bound for central Kansas via the
Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri and Kan
sas rivers. At St Louis the company
about so. Suspecting the
steamer to be an abolition boat, the
at st. Louis detained her
several days The services of pilot
were secured by the payment of the |
extrava CANT price of $3.50 and the |
tourney towards Kansas City recon- |
menced Cholera broke out upon the
steamer and want and misery reduced
the number of immigrants. Arriving |
at Kansas City another delay of a |
week was encountered by reason OF
the low stage of water on the Kaw. |
At Lecompton the steamer got aground |
and had to wait for rain to set |
her afloat again There were no fur |
Their delays. however, until the boat !
passed the mouth OF the Big Blue |
about a half mile when on June l |
she went aground again. 1t was found |
necessary to land passengers and |
freight. The wearied colonists decid- |
ed to put up the ten ready made |
houses which they had brought along |
with them Three of their number, |
John Pipher, Andrew J. Mead and H. |
the site of Junction City and laid out |
the town of Manhattan, the name pre- |
viously agreed upon for the town to |
be established During their absence |
however there had been a conference |
with representatives of the Boston as |
ISOLATION which a few months pre- |
viously had located a town called |
Boston at the confluence of the Blue