The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-06-13

solid lime rock of the rivers bottom +
dropped twenty-four feet to the navi-
gable depths that lie below Keokuk |
and the confluence of the Des Moines
river itself.
AS the big packet boats of the lower
Mississippi reached farther and far
Their up from New Orleans to the limit
of navigation at st. Paul, 1000 miles
away, the difficulties and dangers of
the rapids increased. Coming down
the rapids in high water, even, boats
felt for the channel and wound in and
out and across, with the lead line
dropping at every boats length. In
low water the big paddle wheel steam
ers from the lower reaches of the
river came up against the current to
Keokuk to tie up, unload cargoes into
barges. and have the lighter stern
wheelers tow them up the rapids to
the larger vessels waiting to receive
these transshipments for northern
points on the river.
These were the palmy days for
Keokuk,' said j. F. Daugherty, resi-
/ dent of Keokuk since 1912, and once
captain of his own boat In the river
trade. I've seen thousand steam
| boats tied up at the Keokuk docks
4 and lined down the river, tied up to
/ trees, waiting for barges to transship
over the rapids. Those were the days
VIXEN a business site In Keokuk was
worth more than a business site of
the same size on State street i'll Chi
cago
keokuk Then the Live City.
In those days every boat carried its
double crew of men, one for cutting
the wood from the banks for firing the
boats engines. These boats were OF
the first class, ranging from 500 to
1000 tons burden. and the stuff that
came UP here from the Ohio river
from St. Louis, and New Orleans. GOV
cred about everything that the civil
cation of those days demanded VI
the river. But 1t had to be lightered
: over the rapids and in those days the
. old river men invented much of theil
; picturesque vocabulary right here a
: the foot of the Des Moines rapids.
There were double lines of boat:
: in passenger service running between
t Keokuk and st. Louis and to Cincil
: natl. A boat would leave Keokul
5 about 400 o'clock in the Afternoon
e and be in st. Louis the next morning
b In those days Keokuk was the iiv
h city on this stretch of the river.
f was filled with river men, who talke
e spent the best years of their live
C navigating It, But the panic of 1857 hi
r the river business and with the deca6
ence of the river boats the population
0 of Keokuk has been almost at sta1d
t still
e But with the Des Moines rapids ou
h of the way it seems to me that raj
:, way competition can't hold off RI
. newal of steamboat activities"
}. On the other hand, William Logal
vice president of the original Keoku
# and Hamilton Water Power compan.
g and president of the State Centr;
It Savings bank of Keckuk, feels thu
IS the river steamer is buried factor
e commerce. He points to the fact thu
e In 1880 a total OF 1889 tons of me
"a chandise passed through the draw I
N the Keokuk bridge, as compared wit
only 7,77s tons in 1909; 2,197, 400 bus
er els of grain, compared with the 2,5f
G. bushels in 1909; and 193,000,000 fe
Id of lumber, compared to 100000 fe
last year.
IL Rapids Worst Phases Above keoku
is These decreases. too, in spite of Il
W fact that in the early '70s the Unite
It, States government, through its engin
as ers took a strangIe hold on the d
n Moines rapids on the Iowa side. II
Id worst phases of the rapids exist on
es eight miles above Keokuk and to owe
come them the government built eig
miles of canal and installed thr
!. locks in that length of 1t.
a With the power dam, however, t
er old canal and the three locks will
DIS covered by about twenty feet of wat
as and put out of commission, togeth
80 Win tue annual Copb VI npo"t F1"''
las for operation
ate To compensate for the ruined can
I'm TIE builders OF the dam will put in
in single lock at Keokuk measure
It's 95x400 feet, and will furnish the pc
avi- er TO operate it all without cost
wer the government and with COVE
pro- ment engineer on the ground supery
Ing the work This will shorten
lton time of passage for boats probably
$ III per cent, while the power will COZ
ting free from the water power plant
rma- all time
Their Also the builders Of the dam m,
the take upon themselves the construct
the of dry dock accommodating ri,
river boats, either for building or repai
vel In all the of the work OF building
great dam, engineers of the governm,
9Th war department will supervise
Des construction TO the end that no POI
cared BILE interference may be prevented
and river navigation. They will see to
o the preservation of this greatest wal
as TO way on the continent tho builder