The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-05-31
RhUE REUALL5
FORMER DAYS
Steamers c. w. Hin and Ro.se Pass
ed by keokuk in Thrill
Ing Race to
Quincy.
WAS MP AND TUCK
Ros.e Had a Head start But the G,
w. Hin Cut Down the Lead by
the Time Quincy Was
Reached.


when captains cheered on by their
passengers and szews, pressed their
men and boats for miles and miles In
! exciting races is not yet past, was
demonstrated during the last few
! days. when the Bosse, government
boat, and the G. W Hill. the Wisherd
excursion steamer, ran nip and tuck
| from Fl. Madison to Quincy. Leay-
! ing Fit Madison Monday evening. with
{ "a niger roosting on the safety
i valve. and the knowledge that the
g. W Hill would be in its wake, with
| the intention of overhauling il If pos
sibie. the Bosse, bound to do or die,
ran the distance with ali men doing
double trick duty and pulling as they
never pulled before.
The G. ". Hill is a fast boat and
when anchor was weighed and the
big packet was given the pressure. she
4 began eating up the distance between
/ her and the Bosse at her best speed.
1 The crew and captain of the Bose
were well aware of the Hills speed
: making abilities. however. and had
, made hay while the sun shone.
: The start they gained had been con-
) siderable and the distance to Keokuk
had been well night covered when
) the doubled lookout on the G. w.
Hill exultantly spread the news that
they had caught the Bosses smoke.
From then on until they reached
, Keokuk, probably no race on the Mis-
! sissippi was ever more exciting. al
j though the Bose tied up few min
, utes before the Hill swung to anchor
Did Not End Here.
Il When Keokuk was reached though.
the race was not finished and the best
part of it remained to be run. Al
though the captains of the boats, in
the race at hand did not leap over
). the rail and swear before all things
, holy, as in days of yore that they
! would have the blood of the other
commander, each was determined to
win the race. The roustabouts had nc
; such scruples as the captains, how
, ever, and would have mixed 1t at the
} first opportunity. The work here was
, rushed to the limit, both boats striv-
first. T,N Bose was the first TO get
, everything in shipshape and left keo-
kuk under full steam.
: When the G. ". Hill united and
: pointed its nose down the river the
( Bosse was some seven miles upon the
( way. And here 1t was tina the crew
4 determined to catch the Bose or blow
49, -; -
! niger was roosting on the escape
i valve and holding on in grim earnest
: and the big boat fairly ate up the
5 miles as she tore through the water
in pursuit of the Bosse The portion
4 of the race between keokuk and
: Quincy was the most exciting of the
! course and by the time that Quincy
= was in speculative distance the Thing
: had become matter of life and death,
Rounding the bend a mile above the
! big river bridge above Quincy the
e Bosse was leading the G. W Hill by
about quarter of mile and putting
on q squirt managed to keep her lead
until the draw bridge was reached
) passing through some one thousand
/ yards ahead of the Hill.
1t has been many years since one
!. of the old river races has been wit,
messed. especially one that was run
/ between two boats that only had a
few passengers. Some OF the races
OF former days. still remain In the
minds of the old river men as notable
achievements in the history OF the
= river. The race between the Bosse
and Hill is probably the first one tc
7 be run In this portion of the river FOL
! some time
l.
n