Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-09-23
PASSING OF CAPTAIN CLARK

y.
a typical Englishman: wore long hair
hanging down his back, wnlcn maze
vivid impression upon my youlnIu4
mind. The first time l saw him ne was
living back. his hair hoEeIne II the
water. while he steered a canoe an
Indian was padding.
Life during 1927. 1925 and 1929 was
vexed by many obstacles. The nrst
of these three years l spent In sight
of Davenport, with occasional trips
across the river. / remember well
when there was no white family on
the Iowa side. The next year, 1873,
trade opened with the Indians across
the river. a buck came over ana
wanted to sell pony. My father
went TO the Iowa side, taking NE with
him. and bought the pony
DO you ask how the Indian deltV-
cred the pony to the Illinois side? He
took a rawhide lasso, tied it around
the pony's neck, and the Indian pad
died across the river, taking his time
10 do so. and the pony swan where he
could not walk. The spot Of starting
was about the foot of Brady street,
landing about where Eighteenth street
is at Rock Island.
MOVED TO ANDALUsIA.
Later my fathers family came and
built a hewn log house at the creek,
at the west end of Andalusia, in the
fall of 1882. The logs used now form
the west half of Henry Springmeier's
residence at Buffalo, having been trans
ported on ice 1--WE really had ice in
those days, when the old river was
unspoiled by the hands of mem.
AT the time my father built, his
was the only house between that of
Joshua Vandruff, on Vandruff's island,
at the foot of Black Hawks Watch
Tower, and Erastus Dennison, at the
Upper Yellow Banks now New Bos-
ton, distant about 80 to So miles from
each other.
My father. Captain B. W. Clark, en-
tered. l think, 100 acres, part being
the present town, and placed it under
fence and pillow. After looking the
ground all over he established Clark
ferry which became the most noted
ferry above st. Louis, nearly all of
the first settlers of Scott, Muscatine.
Cedar and Linn counties crossing into
Black Hawks purchase here.
You will see that Monmouth is 40
miles due south and Dubuque 10 miles
due north. with no cross lots, and the
ferry was below the mouth of Rock
river. thus saving crossing Rock river
and sloughs to reach Black Hawks
purchase.
Father could have claimed where
Davenport now is, below what is now
Harrison street. the LeClaire reserva-
ton being above that. But why go
there? Our country was more beauti-
full. better timber. with coal in sight
in many of the creeks.
We did our fencing with split rails
for many years, no pine lumber being
run down the river until many years
later; no wire fencing. Thus our tim
Der was in demand.
Buffalo would have been the county
seat of Scott county had it not been
for the triCkery of the territorial leg
islature in subdividing Des Moines
throwing Buffalo only three
miles from the Muscatine county line.
My father, after removing TO Black
purchase in 1888, continued to
run the ferry, and about 1888 sold to
Colonel Stevenson, w. S. Hamilton,
and Mr.. Whiteside of Galena. Ill. his
entire landed interest excepting the
fraction lying in front of Andalusia,
and two lots lying where Frank Eby
II think built his store, across the
street and east of your city hall, and
the ferry franchise, for $4,000.
WHERE WEBSTER CONES IN.
These men, with others, bought
part of the interest of Jonah Case and
J. w. Spencer and laid out the town
of Stephenson. afterwards Rock Island
They also laid out the town of Rock
port. which ran east up to the Buffum
creek, west nearly one-half mile be-
low the sulphur springs, south over
the hills at least a mile from the river
They had it plated in a most gor-
geOus and attractive manner. They
took the map TO Washington City,
where they sold many thousands of
dollars worth of town lots to Daniel
Webster. Henry Clark, j. c. Calhoun,
General George W. Jones, and others,
port died a natural death, and after an
sleep of many years,
was sold for taxes. bought by Napo-
leon Bonaparte Buford, laid out in
town lots and named Andalusia. The
younger people perhaps do not know
who the above named gentleman is,
but old citizens remember him as
citizen Of Rock Island.
Colonel Stephenson, Messrs Hamil-
ton and Whiteside joined with George
Davenport and laid over a very large
town site. where the town of Sears
now is. and called it Rock Island City, !
but this was neither a financial sue
cess nor a swindle for lack Of pur- |
chaseTs OF lots.
Before selling his lots at Andalusia /
my father gave sufficient ground for (
he cemetery in which the first burial /
vas, that OF Giles Gabbert, son of /
Daniel Gabbert, whom my father had /
living there TO run the ferry.
RESJnENrE vADrrn