Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1912-10-30
Voyage on River Never Has Been
Duplicated.
Steamer Carrying a Load Of Salt 10
Nearly Stranded In Failing
Stream, but Cargo Was Sold
for S11 = Barrel.
J -.sll..9s1 9 "a. - q q q

Clinton, Mo.-How a steamer once
nRvigated the waters Of the Usage riv'
er, delivered a cargo of salt at Suns
Point, Kan, and made a good profit on
the deal is told here by Richard Flu
qua, carpenter. who was the boats
carpenter on the trip and for several
years after Now the once navigable
Usage river is a prize sought by water
power men and promoters, and Kan
sas, INSTEAD of importing salt, is ex-
porting 1t.
The steamer that accomplished what
no other boat has ever done, the nav
igation Of the Usage river, was itself
named the Usage. The hull was laid
and launched at Linn creek In the win
ter of 1861 by the owners. who
were residents of Linn creek The
hull was towed to st. Louis, where the
boat was finished 1t was 1870 feet
long, % feet wide and when loaded
to its capacity of 200 tons drew near
ly three feet of water 1t was pro
nounced the finest little boat afoat
in its day, with a cabin capacity Of
seventy-five passengers, double en-
gines, double boilers and side wheels,
1t was sold to Capt Lambert of New
York, an old sailor and experienced
boatman, who later traded it to Maj.
r. H. Melton of Warsaw, Mo, for Ben
ton county land, the consideration be-
ing $4,000
Maj. Melton placed Elijah Melton,
his brother, in charge as clerk and the
Usage made regular trips for eight
months in the year from st. Louis up
the Usage river often as far as Pap
insville in Bates county, Missouri, but
more frequently going to Osceola, st.
Clair county. Those we're boating
days on the beautiful Usage river, and
as many as eleven boats have been
tied up at Warsaw, Mo. at one time.
Before tho war the freight and pas
senger service made a profit to the
owner of the boat and $500 was not
an unusual amount for the round trip.
The Growing feat in navigation was in
taking cargo of 200 tons of salt
to Suns Point, in Bourbon county, Kan,
The civil war had destroyed the
boating service on the Usage river and
salt was so scarce that pound would
sell at times for ST. Maj. Melton found
plenty of salt at st. Louis in 1867
which had come from Michigan down
the Mississippi He knew If he coulc
get it to the western counties Of Mis-
souri, the people would pay a hand
some profit for it. With George Craw
ford, an Usage river pilot, the boa
was loaded to its capacity with sal
In barrels and sacks and the voyage
begun.
AT Osceola the news came tina
heavy rains for a week at the heaC
waters of the Usage in Kansas woult
keep the river at high water mark
and Crawford, the daring Usage rive
pilot said he would try for Suns Point
or. failing, he could try for Bell View
a few miles below. Suns Point wa
reached at 4 o'clock on the Afternoon
of the following day, and the river wa
bank full, but very narrow. It wa
so full that the presence of the boa
forced the water out of its banks o.
to the low land In an hour the wa
ter began to fall, and all hands role
off the salt. Everybody who woul
work was hired to help. The UNLOAD
ing continued all night without inter
ruption until 4 o'clock in the morn
ing.
1t was then observed that the ma
row stream was not wide enough b
ten feet, to turn the boat around e.
cry available tool was put into use b
deck hands and the bank of the rive
was dug down low enough to allow tn
stern of the boat to back into 1t; an
by the aid of ropes and capstan tn
turn was made. The unloading wa
completed and at o'clock the rae
for deep water began. The wood su
ply was running low when a voc
y yard was seen in the distance on II
a bank, some thirty miles below Sur
Point. No time was lost in tying I
and appropriating all the wood in Il
yard. and the little steamer was c