The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-05-18

crew for a few moments had to work
vigorously with the oars to get us
out Of trouble.
just as the engine got started
again we hit a snag with the screw
and broke the shaft. But we got
ashore alright and found a sleeping
place about two miles away over a
bluff.
MeyIing's Accident.
The other serious accident occurred
at Keosauqua where Mr.. Meyling
narrowly escaped being drowned. We
We're measuring the width of the old
lock at Kecsauqua and Mr.. .Meyling
got out on the ruins of the old lock
wall to hold the end of the steel tape.
He stepped on large rock which was
apparently firm and the rock tilted
and plunged him into the river, in very
deep water.
AS he went down, the rock which
weighed three or four hundred pounds
fell upon him and for moment it
looked pretty serious. Mr.. Young,
who was in the front end Of the boat
seized him however and kept him
from being pulled down by the weight
i OF the rock. Nothing resulted but a
| thorough wetting.
Des Moines is Swift.
Continuing Major Meigs said: THE
current of the Des MONIES is swift,
SO swift that there is no pleasure in
rowing it and except at Ottuwma
where they have fine pool above the
dam and a beautiful boat house with a
flourishing launch club, we saw but
three gasoline launches on the whole
river.
Secured Pilots.
The people along the banks navi-
| gate the river SO little that we could
get but little information about the
channel We occasionally got local
pilot to ride with US short distance
and some Of these got us into difficult
| ty.
"One of the pilots we got and who
was really OF great assistance to us
was the genial publisher of the OF
tumwa Courier, James Powell. This
gentleman rode with us from Ottumwa
to Eldon, a distance OF sixteen miles,
and as he was an old time hunter and
oarsman, he knew all about the stream
as far as Eldon.
"The testimony of tne old steamboat
men whose recollections run back as
far as the SOS and whom we found in
numbers at most of the large towns
shows that in the early days, there
was a very brisk use of the stream by
steamboats,.
AT Keosauqua and other places
they said it was not uncommon to see
as many as five steamboats, at the
landing at one time. On one occasion,
they testified. that eleven boats would
remain for three days above the dam
unable to get through the lock on ac-
count of high winds.
The boats were of good size and
were from $50 to 200 tons capacity.
Some were SO large that they had to
have their guards reduced to get
through the lock.
1.-The locks were about two hundred
feet long by forty-two feet wide. The
dams were of hewn oak timbers and
cribs filled with stone.
Rise OF River.
1--WE were lucky in having consid-
cradle rise after we left Des Moines,
which greatly aided our expedition.
There are few places where any
gauges are kept but the best informa-
ton we could get from Ottumwa down
was that the river was about three
feet above low water stage.
THE upper river is very serpentine
and flows through bottom lands, two
miles from bluff to bluff and highly
cultivated. The banks are cutting and
| tie current is swift. Everywhere the
! bottom is rock in fiat lodges.
AT Ottmuwa the character of the
river is compressed between bluffs,
often not more than quarter of a
/ mile apart. 1t flows over rocky floor