Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1911-12-16
CALDWELL WRITES OF STEAMBOATING
ON DES MONIES RIVER IN THE LONG AGO

Green streets. l also remember the
Badger State catastrophe by reason OF
a circumstance that nearly proved dis.
astrous to me. Doc. Warden had
among the stuff taken from the boat
q big lot Of percussion caps that were
supposed to be damaged by being
water soaked. George Brandenburg
and I sawed lot of stove wood for
Doc. who paid us in big lot Of the caps
In boxes. I emptied all of mine in my
right hand trousers pocket and fire.
quently thrust my hand down and
grabbed it full and let them dribble
out between my fingers. The second
day, in the afternoon l was thus dis
porting when there came crash and
/ was thrown about twelve feet away
by the explosion of those caps. was
picked up and carried to Doc. War
den's store, In the rear of which he
had his dispensary. He was engaged
some two hours in picking out Of my
flesh the scores of fragments of cop
per that had been blown into it by the
explosion. think it was in the spring
OF 1857 that returned from my first
tramp as a jour. from New Orleans
where had gone on one of the spring
hegiras OF the floating palaces loaded
with corn and other cereals, comman-
ded by Capt: Thomas CONN. had
heard that printers were just coming
money sticking type on the New Or
leans dailies. When we arrived there
found that yellow fever was scourging
the city and that printers had hed
northward. I was too scared to apply
for situation and got out Of the dole
full town as soon as / could. The
wages I received as roustabout on the
corn palace were 25 cents day and
grub. It took that pile of ducats to
pay my passage on a steamer to st.
Louis. From that city to Keokuk
worked my way on one of the steam.
boats doing heavy hand writing (Which
was the polite way of designating re-
ing barrels and such deck hand
duties.) At Keokuk I was completely
strapped and awful home-sick. wan
dered up town through drizzling rain
and was compelled to stop in hall
way on the walls of which was an ar
ray of posters advertising most every
thing, one of which caught my eye, an
that the Caleb Cape would
start for Des. Moines that very even
Ing. Having had some experience I
did not hesitate to hasten to the wharf
and apply for position Of deck-hand.
| got it. Great heavens, didn't l know
and don't now know that steamboats,
navigated the Des Moines river when
| leaped about sixteen feet from the
1eck Of that. boat onto land about
where now stands the Milwaukee
lepot! L guess yes. didn't even stop
'or settlement of wages. The liveliest
of that tortuous trip was
he rotten rancid butter that was served
% US on our tin plates. There was
always sufficient grub-but such grub!
Why, when l landed on Ottumwa soil
ny hickory shirt back was knocking
IN It's bosom-that was the nearest
starving time I ever experienced, but
never forgot and never will forget
hat steamboats, navigated the Des
Moines river, some seasons as long as
wo months OF the early spring, start
ng up stream in the floating ice and
whipping the muddy water from the
mouth OF the river to your now capital
.ity, the flight usually commencing
llong in early March and continuing
through that and the following month.
It was rare chance that any boat
ook in the month of May. WAX