Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1912-11-15
Voyage on River Never Has Been
Duplicated.
Steamer Carrying Load Of Salt Ia
Nearly Stranded in Falling
Stream, but Cargo Was Sold
for SIT a Barrel.

Clinton, Mo-How a steamer once
navigated the waters of the Usage riy-
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, a carpenter. who was the boats
carpenter on the trip and for several
years after. Now the once navigable
Usage river Is prize sought by water
power men and promoters. and Kan
sas, instead of importing salt. il 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 1S56-57 by the owners. who
were residents Of Linn creek The
hull was lowed to st. Louis. where the
boat was finished. 1t was $50 feet
long, % feet wide and when loaded
to its capacity of 200 tons drew near
ly three feet of water. It was pro-
nounced the finest little boat afoat
In its day, with cabin capacity Of
seventy-ive 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 1t 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 were boating
days on the beautiful Usage river, and
as many as eleven boats have been
tied up at Warsaw. Mo-. at one time.
Before the war the freight and pas
senger service made a profit to the
owner OF the boat and 81 500 was not
an unusual amount for the round trip.
The Growing feat in navigation was in
taking a 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 81 Maj. Melton found
plenty of salt at St Louis in 1867.
which had come from Michigan down
the Mississippi He knew II he could
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 boat
was loaded to its capacity with salt
In barrels and sacks and the voyage
begun.
heavy rains for week at the head
waters Of the Usage in Kansas would
keep the river at high water mark:
and Crawford, the daring Usage river
pilot, said he would try for Suns Point.
or, failing. he could try for Bell View.
few miles below. Suns Point was
reached at 4 o'clock on the afternoon
of the following day. and the river was
bank full, but very narrow. 1t was
so full that the presence of the boat
forced the water out of its banks on
to the low land. In an hour the wa
ter began to fall, and all hands rolled
on the salt Everybody who would
work was hired to help. The unload
ing continued all night without inter
ruption until o'clock In the morn
ing.
It was then observed that the mar
row stream was not wide enough by
ten feet, to turn the boat around Ev-
cry available tool was put into use by
deck hands and the bank of the river
was dug down low enough to allow the
stern of the boat to back into It; and
by the aid of ropes and capstan the
turn was made. The unloading was
completed and at o'clock the race
for deep water began. The wood sup
ply was running low when q wood
yard was seen in the distance on the
bank, some thirty miles below Suns
Point. No time was lost in tying uI
and appropriating all the wood in the
yard, and the little steamer was or