The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-09-18

r. OAOS7EHI Y.
Buck Reiner Grocery Co.
We temporarily rented vacant log
cabin which was situated on or near
the corner Of Second and Bank streets
1t was surrounded by brush and small
scrubby trees, with narrow path
leading to it. The cabin had before
been occupied by halfbreed French
man and his family.
1t was an old settlers cabin, sure
enough. 1t was constructed of round,
rough logs, notched together at the
corners, and suppose was about
eighteen feet square, with a hewed
puncheon floor, small six light win
dow, glass 8x10 inches, a rough door
with wooden latch and wooden
hinges-a large chimney taking up a
large portion of one end of the cabin,
built out of flat rock picked up on
the river shore, and hearth the same
material and the chimney topped out
with flat sticks like barrel slaves
and plastered over with sticky clay
to prevent burning. The roof was COW
cred with rough clap boards, held in
place with heavy poles pinned on top
no nails, The cabin swarmed with
what were then called wharf rats,
at night ran over our beds, and ate up
our family stores. My mother used
all precautions to cover up her po-
tatoes. flour and other eatables, but
do what she would, they would gnaw
through barrels and boxes and cut
through like mill saw and destroy
our provisions; and not satisfied with
our eatables, would attack the sleep
ing family and nearly all Of us were
bitten by the varmints. l, myself
was bitten on one OF my eyelids by
these rats and was blind in one eye
for couple of weeks, as their bite is
quite poisonous.
Build Dwelling House.
My father in a few weeks, built a
three room dwelling, away out there
in the woods on the corner of Fourth
and Johnson streets and as soon as
it was enclosed and floors laid, we
moved in and bid goodbye to our
temporary cabin home. My father
fenced up the two blocks between
Fourth and Fifth streets and Main
and Exchange streets, and had the |
timber cut off and cleared for pasture |
and garden purposes. This property |
is now in the heart OF the city and as ,
valuable as any property In the city.
l suppose the town of Keokuk con-
tanned then, all told, one hundred ,
souls There was then wharf boat !
for the packets to land, where they .
furnished the boats with meats, milk.
vegetables and also furnished the emf.
grants and deck passengers prepared /
food, such as bologna sausages, dried
beef, canned goods and other eat
cabins, compactly built, from Blon-
deau nearly to Main street along the /
levee, called Rat Row, filed up with
saloons, bars and other little shops.
These buildings in an early day, had
been used by the Northwest Fur Co.,
as a trading post. There was also a
two-story log and frame hotel with
quite number of rooms, called the
Rapids hotel. 1t occupied the present
location of the Decker Manufacturing
Above, along the levee
was an ice house, meat shop, saloon
and a ten pin alley. At this time there
was not a single dry goods or grocery
store in Keokuk, and all our citizens
were compelled to purchase their
family supplies at FIT. Edwards WAR
saw, Illinois, four miles south. We
had a nice steam boat line to st. I
Louis, then composed or the steamers
Resale, Annowowe (First) Boreas,
Die Vernon, all side wheelers with
single engines, and the old Boreas
made such a screeching noise with l.
her escaping steam that she could be
heard for many miles on still nights.
But the early packets made fast and
regular time between st. Louis and
set an excellent table, car
ried fine string and brass bands, COM
posed of the cabin crew generally
and it was a pleasant trip to
travel on these early packets. AS
soon as the supper tables would be
cleared, the dancing commenced. i.
Independent Boat Lines. !,
We had many other Independent t.
boats that ran between st. Louis,
Ialena and st. Paul, and many other
steamers made trips from Pittsburgh
and Cincinnati, and on the upper riv-
sr they nearly all lowed barges. and
SO in low water. All boats
had to unload going up stream at Keo-
kuk in low water and send their
freight over the rapids in flat boats,
which would be lowed along thet