Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1921-04-27
mtth thf 33ntnht 35tnttpprH
(By Judge Wilmott)

branched into the mercantile business
and opened up store in the Mallett
building, afterward removing to
store room in the Wisconsin House
vacated by J. w. Seaton. This bust
ness venture was a losing game to
him and he lost the greater portion
of his money. He disposed of the
and Co. and about 1890 or 81 he re-
and Co. and about 1890 or 81 he re-
moved to Portland, Oregon where he
died few years ago.
Memories of old days are recalled,
when many large steam boats piled
the Mississippi river between st.
Louis and ST. Paul. 1t was no I'M
common sight to see two or three
large packets, besides tugs and tow
boats daily passing up and down the
river, and frequently landing at Po-
tosi.. The first regular line of steam
ers was known as the Galena and
Minnesota packet line plying between
st. Louis and st. Paul. 1t contained
in the early days such fine steamers
as the Gray Eagle, The War Eagle,
Key City, Northern Light, Itasca,
Minnesota and Muscatine. The Gray
Eagle sank when striking a pier of
the Rock Island bridge. This was
the first bridge that spanned the
Mississippi river. The draw span
was placed in a peculiar position
and at times accidents were unavoid
able. A river voyage in the old days
was a pleasurable affair with COM
Portable berths, unsurpassed meals,
dancing at night, poker games and
bars well stocked with whiskey,
wine and cigars of We olden times,
and last, but not least, the antics
and songs and dancing of the negro
roustabouts all combined made
things pleasant for the traveller. In
later days the Galena and Minnesota
packet line was succeeded by the
Davidson or White Collar line, and
a rival line known as the Northern
or Red Collar line. The Collars as
they were called were painted in
broad bands around and near the
tops of the smoke stacks to denote
the boats from a distance of the rival
lines. Competition between the two
lines for passenger and freight traf-
fic at times was very spirited, freight
was carried at low rates, and in some
instances passengers were given free
berths and meals, and a money con-
sideration on the side to embark on
one or the other of the boats of the
rival lines. In addition to the hand
some boats heretofore mentioned, the
palatial steamers Alex Mitchell, SIS.
Merrill, Lacrosse and Quincy were
added to the White Collar line and
Phil Sheridan, Winona, Red Wing
and Dubuque to the Red Collar line.
There were other elegant steamers
in each line, the names of which are
forgotten Another Steamboat line
that did an immense business III
river traffic was known as the Dia-
mOnd Joe line, owned principally by
Joseph Reynolds of Chicago. He got
the name of Diamond Joe for con-
stantly wearing a diamond pin. The
boats that he controlled were the
Diamond Joe, the Mary Morton, Pitts
burg, ST. Paul and Sidney. Thus it
can be seen that there was life on the
old river in the days gone by. 1t
was not an unusual thing then, to
see large RATS of lumber and logs
floating down the river containing as
much as two or more million feet of
lumber and manned by twenty to
thirty raftsmen to guide their course.
was done by steamboats, equipped for
road on each side of the river paral-
leling the river between the most
important landings caused the river
traffic to lose it's prestige and the
business of the river packets was
less and less as the years went on,
and finally the business ceased en-
tirely, and the old familiar steam
boat whistle is numbered among the
things that were in the balmy days
of the upper Mississippi. The only
large and handsome boats on the
river now are palatial excursion
steamers that carry excursion parties
from different points up and down
the river for two or three months in
the year.
In 1857 Potosi was plastered
with large flaming posters an
nouncing that Spaulding and Rogers
minstrel troupe would be at the Po-
tosi landing July 18th. The boat
was a large and beautiful craft and
had a seating capacity of one thous-
and people, and the minstrel troupe
was than one of the best travelling.
The handsome appearance of the
Floating Palace and it's rich furnish
ing were beautiful to look at. The
show was a first class one, and drew
an immense crowd from the village
and interior towns. Every seat be-
ing taken. The writer, then a young
lad, under the guidance of an elder
brother attended the show. The boat
made landing at every important
point on the Mississippi and large
tributaries between New Orleans and
St. Paul.