A complete history of early steamboat navigation on the Upper Mississippi would abound with interesting narratives and incidents; but of these, unfortunately, there is no authentic record, and we can only speak in general terms of the various companies that successively controlled the trade and travel of the river, or were rivals for the patronage of the public. During the decade of the '30s, the Harrises, of Galena, ran several small boats from Galena to St. Louis, occasionally to Fort Snelling, or through the difficult current of the Wisconsin to Fort Winnebago, towing barges laden with supplies for the Wisconsin pineries. Capt. Scribe Harris' favorite boat from 1835 to 1838 was the Smelter. The captain greatly delighted in her speed, decorated her gaily with evergreens, and rounding to at landings, or meeting with other boats, fired a cannon from her prow to announce her imperial presence.
The Smelter and other boats run by the Harris family held the commerce of the river for many years. In 1846 the first daily line of steamers above St. Louis was established. These boats ran independently, but on stated days, from St. Louis to Galena and Dubuque. They were the Tempest, Capt. John J. Smith; War Eagle, Capt. Smith Harris; Prairie Bird, Capt. Niebe Wall; Monona, Capt. —— Bersie; St. Croix, Capt. ——; Fortune, Capt. Mark Atchinson. These boat owners, with others, subsequently formed a consolidated company.
In 1847 a company was formed for the navigation of the Mississippi above Galena. The first boat in the line, the Argo, commanded by Russell Blakeley, was placed upon the river in 1846. The boats in this line were the Argo, Dr. Franklin, Senator, Nominee, Ben Campbell, War Eagle, and the Galena.
In 1854 the Galena & Minnesota Packet Company was formed by a consolidation of various interests. The company consisted of the following stockholders: O. Smith, the Harrises, James Carter, H. Corwith, B. H. Campbell, D. B. Morehouse, H. M. Rice, H. L. Dousman, H. H. Sibley, and Russell Blakeley. The boats of the new company were the War Eagle, Galena, Dr. Franklin, Nominee, and the West Newton. In 1857 a new company was formed, and the Dubuque boats, the Itasca and Key City, were added to the line. This line continued until 1862, and the new boats, Dr. Franklin, No. 2, and the New St. Paul, wereadded. The Galena had been burned at Red Wing in the fall of 1857.
The following is a list of the earliest arrivals at St. Paul after the opening of navigation between the years 1843 and 1858: April 5, 1843, steamer Otter, Capt. Harris; April 6, 1844, steamer Otter, Capt. Harris; April 6, 1845, steamer Otter, Capt. Harris; March 31, 1846, steamer Lynx, Capt. Atchison; April 7, 1847, steamer Cora, Capt. Throckmorton; April 7, 1848, steamer Senator, Capt. Harris; April 9, 1849, steamer Highland Mary, Capt. Atchison; April 19, 1850, steamer Highland Mary, Capt. Atchison; April 4, 1851, steamer Nominee, Capt. Smith; April 16, 1852, steamer Nominee, Capt. Smith; April 11, 1853, steamer West Newton, Capt. Harris; April 8, 1854, steamer Nominee, Capt. Blakeley; April 17, 1855, steamer War Eagle, Capt. Harris; April 18, 1856, steamer Lady Franklin, Capt. Lucas; May 1, 1857, steamer Galena, Capt. Laughton; March 25, 1858, steamer Gray Eagle, Capt. Harris.
The following list includes boats not named in the packet and company lists with date of first appearance as far as can be ascertained:
VirginiaMay 20, 1823Rufus PutnamApril 5, 1825Mandan1825Neville——Indiana1825LawrenceMay 18, 1826VersaillesMay 12, 1832MissouriMay 5, 1836Frontier1836Palmyra1836Saint Peter's1836Rolla1838Sciota183-Eclipse183-Josephine183-Fulton183-Red River183-Black Rover——Burlington1838Ariel1839Gypsy1839Fayette1839Warrior1840Enterprise1840Volant1840Glancus1840Pennsylvania1840Knickerbocker1840Otter1841Highland Mary1849Gov. Ramsey (above the falls)185-Anthony Wayne185-Yankee185-Black Hawk185-Ben Accord185-Royal Arch185-Uncle Toby185-Indian Queen185-Di Vernon185-Osprey185-Lamartine185-Fannie Harris185-Asia185-Equator1860
The following made their appearance some time in the '40s: Cora, Lynx, Dr. Franklin, No. 2, and St. Anthony.
The Northern Line Company organized in 1857 and placed the following steamers upon the Mississippi, to run between St. Louis and St. Paul: The Canada, Capt. Ward; Pembina, Capt. Griffith; Denmark, Capt. Gray; Metropolitan, Capt. Rhodes; Lucy May, Capt. Jenks; Wm. L. Ewing, Capt. Green; Henry Clay, Capt. Campbell; Fred Lorenz, Capt. Parker; Northerner, Capt. Alvord; Minnesota Belle, Capt. Hill; Northern Light and York State, Capt. ——.
Commodore W. F. Davidson commenced steamboating on the Upper Mississippi in 1856 with the Jacob Traber. In 1857 he added the Frank Steele, and included the Minnesota river in his field of operations. In 1859 he added the Æolian, Favorite and Winona. In 1860 he organized the La Crosse & Minnesota Packet Company, with the five above named steamers in the line. In 1862 the Keokuk and Northern Belle were added.
In 1864 the La Crosse & Minnesota and the Northern Line Packet companies were consolidated under the name of the Northwestern Union Packet Company, with the following steamers: The Moses McLellan, Ocean Wave, Itasca, Key City, Milwaukee City, Belle, War Eagle, Phil Sheridan, S. S. Merrill, Alex. Mitchell, City of St. Paul, Tom Jasper, Belle of La Crosse, City of Quincy, and John Kyle. This line controlled the general trade until 1874.
There were upon the river and its tributaries during the period named the following light draught boats: The Julia, Mollie Mohler, Cutter, Chippewa Falls, Mankato, Albany, Ariel, Stella Whipple, Isaac Gray, Morning Star, Antelope, Clara Hine, Geo. S. Weeks, Dexter, Damsel, Addie Johnson, Annie Johnson, G. H. Wilson, Flora, and Hudson.
The Northwestern Union Packet Company, more familiarly known as the "White Collar Line," from the white band painted around the upper part of the smokestacks, and the Keokuk Packet Company, sold their steamers to the Keokuk Northern Line Packet Company, which continued until 1882, when the St. Louis & St. Paul Packet Company was organized. Its boats were: The Minneapolis, Red Wing, Minnesota, Dubuque, RockIsland, Lake Superior, Muscatine, Clinton, Chas. Cheever, Dan Hine, Andy Johnson, Harry Johnson, Rob Roy, Lucy Bertram, Steven Bayard, War Eagle, Golden Eagle, Gem City, White Eagle, and Flying Eagle.
The steamer Palmyra was the first boat to disturb the solitude of the St. Croix. In June, 1838, it passed up the St. Croix lake and river as far as the Dalles. The steamer Ariel, the second boat, came as far as Marine in 1839. In the fall of 1843, the steamer Otter, Scribe Harris, commanding, landed at Stillwater. The steamer Otter was laden with irons and machinery for the first mill in Stillwater. Up to 1845 nearly every boat that ascended the Mississippi also ascended the St. Croix, but in later years, as larger boats were introduced, its navigation was restricted to smaller craft, and eventually to steamboats built for the special purpose of navigating the St. Croix. Quite a number of these were built at Osceola, Franconia and Taylor's Falls. The following is a list of boats navigating the St. Croix from the year 1852 to the present time: Humboldt, 1852; Enterprise, 1853; Pioneer, 1854; Osceola, 1854; H. S. Allen, 1857; Fanny Thornton, 1862; Viola, 1864; Dalles, 1866; Nellie Kent, 1867; G. B. Knapp, 1866; Minnie Will, 1867; Wyman X, 1868; Mark Bradley, 1869; Helen Mar, 1870; Maggie Reany, 1870; Jennie Hays, 1870; Cleon, 1870.
A number of raft steamers, built at South Stillwater and elsewhere, have plied the river within the last ten years. A number of barges were built at South Stillwater, Osceola and Taylor's Falls.
The passenger travel on the St. Croix has decreased since the completion of the railroad to Taylor's Falls and St. Croix Falls.
An interesting chapter of anecdotes and incidents might be compiled, illustrating the early steamboat life on the St. Croix. We find in "Bond's Minnesota" a notice of one of the first boats in the regular trade, which will throw some light on the subject of early travel on the river. It describes the Humboldt, which made its first appearance in 1852:
"In addition, some adventurous genius on a small scale, down about Oquaka, Illinois, last year conceived the good idea of procuring a steamboat suitable to perform the duties of a tri-weekly packet between Stillwater and Taylor's Falls, the extremepoint of steam navigation up the St. Croix. It is true he did not appear to have a very correct idea of the kind of craft the people really wanted and would well support in that trade, but such as he thought and planned he late last season, brought forth. * * Indeed, the little Humboldt is a great accommodation to the people of the St. Croix. She stops anywhere along the river, to do any and all kinds of business that may offer, and will give passengers a longer ride, so far astimeis concerned, for a dollar, than any other craft we ever traveled upon. She is also, to outward appearances, a temperance boat, and carries no cooking or table utensils. She stops at the 'Marine,' going and returning, to allow the people aboard to feed upon a good, substantial dinner; and the passengers are allowed, if they feel so disposed, to carry 'bars' in their side pockets and 'bricks' in their hats. A very accommodating craft is the Humboldt, and a convenience that is already set down on the St. Croix as one indispensable."
The Diamond Jo line of steamers was established in 1867. Jo Reynolds was president of the company and has served as such continuously to date. Under his general supervision the company has been quite successful. The business has required an average of six steamers yearly. In 1888 the line consists of the boats the Sidney, Pittsburgh and Mary Morton.
The St. Louis & St. Paul Packet Company, successors of the various old transportation companies, is in successful operation in 1888, employing three steamers. There are but few transient boats now on the river.
Several attempts have been made to navigate the river during the winter months by means of ice boats, but the efforts have uniformly failed. Of these attempts we mention the two most notable:
Noman Wiard, an inventor of some celebrity, made an ice boat in 1856 and placed it on the river at Prairie du Chien, intending to run between that point and St. Paul. It was elaborately planned and elegantly finished, and resembled somewhat a palace car mounted on steel runners. It failed on account of the roughness of the ice, never making a single trip. It, however, proved somewhat remunerative as a show, and was for some time on exhibition within an inclosure at Prairie du Chien.
Martin Mower, of Osceola, Minnesota, invented a boat to runon the ice between Stillwater and Taylor's Falls, in the winter of 1868-9. It made several trips, carrying passengers and freight. The rough ice prevented regular trips and the project was abandoned.
James W. Mullen, of Taylor's Falls, spent much of his early and middle life on the river, and cherishes many pleasant recollections of the early days. We have been favored with a few of these, which will give the reader a vivid idea of the scenes depicted:
"A. D. 1816 found me a cabin boy on the War Eagle at the St. Louis levee, with sign board up for Stillwater and Fort Snelling. The levee was a wonder to behold. It was thronged with teams, policemen keeping them in rank. Piles of freight were awaiting shipment. Steamboats for three-quarters of a mile along the levee were discharging and receiving freight; passengers were rushing frantically to and fro; bells were ringing, and boats leaving for the Cumberland, Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois rivers; and New Orleans, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Keokuk, Galena, Stillwater, and Fort Snelling.
"It was a delightful June day on which we pulled out from this busy scene and commenced our voyage to the far off north land, then known as Wisconsin Territory. Capt. Smith Harris gave the last tap of the bell; the lines were loosened; the wheels of the War Eagle revolved slowly at first, and we were soon on the broad bosom of the Mississippi, heading northward in the wake and black smoke of the steamers Ocean Wave, Tobacco Plant and Western Belle. The Luella, the Alton packet, followed us closely, racing with us. All was enjoyment. We pass the steamers Osprey and Di Vernon. At Nauvoo we note the magnificent Mormon temple on the high ground, and also long files of Mormons going westward. We pass many fine farms, much beautiful scenery, and many growing towns, among them Rock Island and Davenport, the latter the home of Antoine Le Clair, a half-breed Indian trader and heavyweight, tipping the beam at three hundred and fifty pounds avoirdupois. He lives there in sumptuous splendor from his profits made in trade. The villages, or tepees, of Sac and Fox Indians are seen along the shores; their bark canoes glide silently over the waters. Further on we ascend for seven miles the sluggish and narrow channel of Feverriver, and find ourselves at Galena, the home of the Harrises, river captains.
"We find at the levee here the steamers Falcon and St. Croix, laden with lead for St. Louis. Back through Fever river to the Mississippi and past Dubuque, an active, rising town; past Cassville, the expected but disappointed capital city of Wisconsin Territory, a lovely location, its castellated hills frowning above it and its fine three story brick hotel and other buildings; past Prairie du Chien and Fort Crawford, with soldiers drilling on the green. Here Amable Moreau, a French Upper Mississippi pilot, came on board. Squads of Indians were hanging around begging for whisky and tobacco. Resuming our way, stemming the current of the river we pass other scenes, other birch canoes gliding over the waves, other tepees and Indian villages along the shore. At La Crosse we find a few whites and lots of Indians on an unimproved prairie, with a background of high bluffs. We pass Trempeleau and then Winona prairie, on which we find an old Indian village, dating back to unknown time. Opposite the mouth of the Chippewa river we pass Nelson's Landing with its two log warehouses and mackinaw boats loading for the Chippewa river. We pass into lovely Lake Pepin, Maiden's Rock or Lover's Leap rising into a battlement on the right, and the famous Point-no-Point on the left. Out of the beautiful lake again into the river, between low, forest covered islands, till we pass Barn Bluff or Mount La Grange, a bold, abrupt and isolated hill just below Red Wing. We passed more Indian tepees, villages and burying grounds,—not that, for the dead bodies of the Indians were not buried but fastened upon scaffolds and the limbs of trees, according to Sioux custom. At the mouth of St. Croix river we pass Prescott Landing, where lives the old pioneer trader Philander Prescott. Across the St. Croix, opposite Prescott Landing, is Point Douglas. Some miles above Point Douglas we pass Little Crow village, a missionary station, where young Indian boys ran down to the landing and greeted us with such yells as have not rung through these wilds, perhaps, for ages past.
"We find St. Paul to be a small village. There are a few houses on a high, almost perpendicular bluff, overlooking the river. At the base of the bluff on the river shore stands a warehouse with the sign 'Choteau & Valle.' We are soon at Mendotaand Fort Snelling. A squad of soldiers guard the freight over night. We have ample time in the morning to visit the post before starting down the river, and the following morning finds the prow of the War Eagle resting against the Stillwater landing. Here Capt. Harris greets his friends and is warmly welcomed. So far, Stillwater seemed the most active and enterprising village on the whole route. Joe Brown's town, Dakota, lies a short distance above at the head of the lake. Capt. Harris on his return towed a raft comprising ten acres of logs. Big Joe was one of the pilots on the raft."
Previous to the organization of the boom company, in 1857, the logs were floated down the St. Croix and caught in side booms by individual owners, and owners of lake booms would raft them indiscriminately, regardless of log marks, but with the mark side up for the convenience of scaling. The scaling was done by some responsible party in the interest of the various owners, and balances were settled by exchanges, or if not balanced by cash or by note, to be paid out of the profits of the next year's logs. Instances of fraud seldom occurred. When Minnesota became a territory this system was superseded by another method of handling, assorting or delivering. The legislature established surveyor general districts, of which the St. Croix valley was designated as the First. The surveyors general were elected in a joint convention of the two houses of the legislature, and the candidacy for this office, together with questions of salary, became a leading feature in the politics of the district.
The surveyors general of the First district have been, Robert Harsy, Samuel Winship, Charles J. Gardiner, Ivory McKusick, James D. McComb, Z. Wilder Chase, John S. Proctor, and Al. Hospice. The law defining the duties of the surveyors general has been awarded from time to time, and the system of scaling improved till it has reached its present form, in which it meets with very general approval. In 1867 a law was passed giving to the governor the power of appointing surveyors general.
The boom company was organized by the territorial legislature, Feb. 7, 1851, with a capital stock of $10,000, with privileges of increase to $25,000. The incorporators were Orange Walker and George B. Judd, of Marine; John McKusick, Socrates Nelson and Levi Churchill, of Stillwater; Daniel Mears and William Kent, of Osceola; and W. H. C. Folsom, of Taylor's Falls. Fred R. Bartlett was the first secretary, but was superseded by David B. Loomis.
The first boom was built near an island lying opposite and above Osceola. The surveyor general had his office at Stillwater, an arrangement that gave great satisfaction, but as the boom was not advantageously located, the channel of the river above being too narrow for the annually increasing production of logs, the company, in 1856, obtained a new charter with power to construct booms from the head of Lake St. Croix to Taylor's Falls. The capital stock was increased to $25,000 with the privilege of increasing it to $50,000. It was subsequently increased to $100,000. The incorporators of the new company were Martin Mower, W. H. C. Folsom, Isaac Staples, Christopher Carli and Samuel Burkelo.
The company placed a second boom a mile and a half above Stillwater. The increase of their business compelled them from time to time to build side booms and shear booms to prevent the logs from lodging against the banks or passing bayous or secondary channels, and also to keep the primary channel free from obstructions to navigation. They built firm and expensive piers, drove piling and made canals for the use of steamboats when the main channel was wanted for booming purposes.
Notwithstanding all this care, navigation was frequently obstructed by the accumulation of logs. Litigation ensued, and heavy expenses were incurred in defending the rights of the company or paying damages. These controversies were not unattended with ill feeling. Public meetings were frequently held and denunciating resolutions adopted. In one case, when navigation had been interrupted for fifty-seven days, the damages were estimated at $146,525. Some controversies also arose as to jurisdiction. St. Croix river being the boundary line between two states, the Wisconsin authorities claimed concurrent jurisdiction. The boom company was organized under Minnesota law and its members were residents of Minnesota. The surveyor general of the First district claimed entire jurisdiction and scaled the logs irrespective of the state in which they were cut. The action of the surveyor general had been accepted both by the original owners and purchasers of the logs.
In January, 1885, Gov. Hubbard, of Minnesota, appointed A. L. Hospes surveyor general, and the appointment creating some dissatisfaction, a lumberman's board of exchange was organized, and Judson McKusick was appointed as private scaler. He proceeded, under the direction of the exchange, to scale logs that had already been scaled by Hospes. When the members of the exchange proceeded to take possession of their logs and run them out into the lake, Hospes commenced a series of injunction cases to prevent them from so doing. The exchange brought suit against Hospes in Wisconsin courts to prevent him from scaling logs owned by the exchange. The exchange also declared that McKusick was a deputy of the general surveyor of the Fourth district, Wisconsin. Pending these suits, Hospes commenced aquo warrantoproceeding in the Minnesota supreme court to have the articles of incorporation of the exchange annulled, but was defeated on the ground that the exchange could employ a private scaler at will, but held that such scaler could not interfere with the claims of Hospes, he being recognized as surveyor general. In July of the same year the claims of the conflicting parties were settled by the parties themselves, outside the courts, and the question of conflicting jurisdiction has therefore never been legally determined. It is true that some courts have passed upon the question, and appeals have been taken to higher courts. The decision of Judge Nelson of the supreme court has been given, a decision that the surveyor general of the First district of Minnesota has a right to scale all logs in his district, yet by his own decision Wisconsin has equal rights under concurrent jurisdiction. Should both state authorities under their surveyors general claim jurisdiction at the same time, concurrent jurisdiction would lead to a double taxation upon log owners. It seems, however, to be an admitted principle that when suits between the same parties, in relation to the same matter, are pending at the same time in different courts of jurisdiction, a judgment in the one may act as a bar to further proceedings in the other. The question ought to be more definitely and satisfactorily settled.
It may not be amiss to explain somewhat in detail the system of marking adopted by the lumbermen. Owners of logs mustbe able to identify their property or lose the reward of their labor. A system of marking each log has, therefore, become a feature of the lumbering business, and has been in existence ever since lumbering has been prosecuted. When the business was confined to a limited number of firms it was an easy matter, and one of mutual arrangement, to select the property. But firms change; from a score the number of lumber firms increased to hundreds. A record of ownership of log marks is necessary, and a law has been enacted protecting the ownership of a mark as thoroughly as a trade mark is protected. This system of marks in the process of time has become a language in itself deep and intricate to the average mind, but as plain as the alphabet to every man having to do with the manufacture of logs. It is the aim of every lumberman originating a mark to make it simple, containing as many straight lines as possible, so that it can be put on the log speedily. These marks are cut on the logs, through the bark and a few inches into the body of the timber, soon after the tree is felled, by a skilled axeman who is charged with the duty. The cut is made deeper than the bark so it will be preserved after the bark comes off. The mark is made upon the side of the log.
This system of marks is a language in itself. Every prominent firm has a particular character, which, in a general way, is indicative of his ownership or interest in the log. This mark may be varied by additional or supplementary characters, indicating who cut the log, on whose land it was cut, or under what particular contract it was put into the stream. Some idea of the extent and variety of these marks can be formed from the statement that there is recorded in the St. Croix district—only a small portion of the entire lumber region of the Northwest—over 1,700 different and distinct characters. Many of these are quaint and interesting, and the whole etymology curious in the extreme.
In the books in the surveyor general's office these marks and figures are the only characters used except in the recording of the marks themselves and of instruments and agreements. The identity of mark and its association of ownership necessarily calls into play the utmost familiarity. To one not thoroughly familiar with the method the books are about as intelligible as the figures on the side of a Chinese tea chest to the averageAmerican. Once a man becomes thoroughly familiar with the marks on a river where lumbering is so extensively carried on as on the St. Croix, he becomes invaluable in the surveyor general's office, or in the booms, identified in some capacity with the scaling process. The fact that some particular character runs through the varied marks of all the leading firms is a key to the readiest understanding, just as the twenty-six characters in the alphabet are necessarily understood before one can read readily or intelligently.
When the logs reach the booms the marks serve as a guide in their distribution by the scaler, whose business it is to measure the logs, call out the number of feet in each log to the tallyman, who records it in a book kept for the purpose, the record, together with the mark attached, to be forwarded to the surveyor general's office, there to be posted and footed. A small army of men is engaged in bringing logs to the gap, a narrow passage admitting scarcely more than one log at a time.
A catch mark is a mark representing the original mark and is so placed as to appear always upon the upper side when the log floats at rest. Once through the gap, experienced men gather the logs, as they are floated downward by the current, into brills. These are subsequently gathered together in rafts, laid, as a rule, with the logs headed in the direction of the current. Rafts may be transported to any distance southward by the current of the stream, and through the waters of the lake, and not infrequently the whole distance by tow boats.
The earliest statistics in the following table are from persons operating, and the later from record books. We have given the figures in round numbers. The table includes logs cut and floated down the St. Croix river and tributaries:
Year.Feet.1837-38300,0001838-39700,0001839-401,500,0001840-412,500,0001841-423,000,0001842-433,500,0001843-448,500,0001844-4514,000,0001845-4625,500,0001846-4726,000,0001847-4837,000,0001848-4950,000,0001849-5075,000,0001850-5187,000,0001851-5290,000,0001852-53110,000,0001853-54125,000,0001854-55165,000,0001855-56187,000,0001856-57200,000,0001857-58135,000,0001858-59156,000,0001859-60175,000,0001860-61160,000,0001861-62175,000,0001862-63150,000,0001863-64140,000,0001864-65144,000,0001865-66137,000,0001866-67174,000,0001867-68183,000,0001868-69194,000,0001869-70209,000,0001870-71170,000,0001871-72224,000,0001872-73108,000,0001873-74188,000,0001874-75178,000,0001875-76197,000,0001876-77183,000,0001877-78225,000,0001878-79242,000,0001879-80230,000,0001880-81247,000,0001881-82295,000,0001882-83302,000,0001883-84230,000,0001884-85235,000,0001885-86285,000,0001886-87350,000,0001887-88370,000,000
The Namakagon Totogatic Dam Company obtained a charter in 1869 from the Wisconsin legislature empowering them to construct two dams for sheering logs, one to be at the outlet of Namakagon lake, the other on Totogatic river, a stream tributary to Namakagon river, entering that stream about eight miles above its junction with the St. Croix. In 1870, by legislative act, the charter was amended by permission to erect sixteen dams, to be built severally on the waters of the Upper St. Croix, Moose, Eau Claire, Namakagon, Totogatic, Yellow, and Clam rivers. The name was changed to the "St. Croix Dam Company," and the capital stock was fixed at $50,000. The incorporators were A. M. Chase, Joel Nason, Henry D. Barron, Wm. Kent, and S. B. Dresser. A. M. Chase was the first president. The company had permission under the charter to hold the water during the seasons when it was not necessary to navigation on the St. Croix. These dams were usually shut down to gather a head during the months of March and April, with the exception of the dams on the Namakagon and Eau Claire, which have the privilege of gathering and retaining a head of water during any part of the year. The head of water above these dams varied from seven to ten feet, and the average cost of construction was $4,000. The tolls per 1,000 feet at these dams were as follows: Namakagonand Clam, 25 and 20 cents; at Totogatic, 20 and 15 cents; St. Croix, 20 and 15 cents; other dams, 3 to 10 cents.
A. M. Chase was the original mover in organizing the corporation and forwarding its interests. He was foreman in selecting sites and building the various dams. He was also owner and general agent until within the last few years, when he transferred his interests to other parties. The charter expires in 1893.
The dam on Clam river, built at a cost of $10,000, was, in 1886, blown up by dynamite and destroyed by Robert Davidson, who claimed that the flowage interfered with his meadow lands.
The progress of civilization involving the building of railways, the transformation of the wilderness into cultivated fields, the growth of villages and cities, the increased facilities for manufacturing and the bringing the forest domain under law, has created such changes in the business of lumbering as to justify the insertion of a chapter relating to the life and surroundings of the early lumberman. Let us go back to the year 1845. The country, save a few sparse settlements on the navigable streams, is as yet an unbroken wilderness, and tenanted only by wild beasts and roving Indians. There are vast regions, densely wooded, in which the sound of the woodman's axe has never been heard, lying about the headwaters of the Chippewa, St. Croix and other streams. These pineries can only be reached by stemming the currents of the minor streams in bateaux or birch bark canoes, or by traversing the country on foot or with teams. Parties operating must purchase their outfit, consisting of teams, supplies of flour, pork, etc., in Illinois or Missouri. Sometimes they drive their teams through unsettled country, without roads, swimming and fording streams, clearing away obstructions, and camping where night overtakes them. Sometimes they ship their supplies by steamer to Stillwater or St. Croix Falls. When landed at Stillwater the supplies are packed upon flatboats and poled to Taylor's Falls, where they are to be portaged to the head of the rapids, a distance of six miles, and transferred to bateaux. The portage is a difficult one. The goods are to be hoisted up over the rocks of the Dalles and placed upon sleds calculated to run upon the bare ground. Consideringthe inequalities of the surface from the Dalles to the head of the rapids, the portage is an immensely difficult one. They are then taken to their place of destination, the bateaux returning to the Falls for successive loads, the whole transfer requiring considerable time. Sometimes, if late in the season, part or whole of the fleet of bateaux may be caught in the ice, in which case a bushed road must be made, and the supplies transported by teams and men.
Arriving on the ground, the operators blaze trees on lines surrounding the region which they wish to work during the winter. These claims are generally respected by others. The first work to be done is making a camp, building stables, clearing streams of obstructions, and making roads. Incidentally the Indians, certain to be visitors at the camps, are to be propitiated with presents of flour, pork and tobacco. These pacified and out of the way, the lumberman may say with Alexander Selkirk—
"I am monarch of all I survey;My right there is none to dispute."
"I am monarch of all I survey;My right there is none to dispute."
Trespassing is unknown. The lumberman is not conscious that he himself is a trespasser on the domain of Uncle Sam. Nor is he. Has he not the best title in the world? Who is there to dispute it? No government agent ever troubles him, or questions his right to fell the royal trees and dispose of them as he may choose. He is earning by his strong right arm his title to the trees. He endures much, accomplishes much and is the advance courier of civilization. He spends long months away from the common haunts of men. He is cut off from the mails and from home pleasure. He lives an industrious life. Cold is the day when the stroke of his axe is not heard. The snow deepens around him, the temperature sinks lower and lower, till it would not discredit Labrador; still he toils on unceasingly, and at night builds high his blazing fire, wraps himself up in his buffalo robe and blankets, and sleeps through the night the sleep of the tired and the just. Meanwhile his appetite is marvelous. The cooking (done by one of the crew) maybe of the rudest, and the provisions none of the daintiest, but exercise and the cold gives a relish to the food not often found in the fashionable restaurants. The members of the crew have each allotted duties. To one is intrusted the cooking department, to another the position ofteamster, to another that of sled tender; some are choppers, some are swampers, some are sawyers. The records of the camp are kept by the foreman or some person detailed for that purpose.
The winter over, the teams are returned to the settlements. The log driving crew succeeds the choppers and other workers. The logs, having been hauled upon the ice of the driving streams, with the melting of snow are afloat on the swollen streams, and the drivers commence their work, following the logs in their downward course to the mills or booms, dislodging them when they are driven upon shore, and breaking jams when they occur. This work is difficult and attended by considerable exposure, as the driver is often obliged to go into the stream. It therefore commands higher wages than other work. The drivers are without tents, but a wangan, or small flat boat, containing bedding, provisions and a cooking kit, is floated down the stream so as to be convenient at night. The wangan is managed by the cook alone, and his work, when he ties up for the night, is to take ashore the bedding, cooking material, etc., build a fire and provide a meal for the hungry crew. His cooking utensils are of the rudest kind, consisting of a tin reflector and a few iron pots and pans. The savory repast is scarce finished before the arrival of the crew, cold, wet, tired, and hungry. They are not particular about a table with its furniture, but are satisfied to eat from a tin plate, sitting or lying on the ground. Hunger satisfied, they spend their evenings by the blazing fire, drying their clothing, jesting, story telling, or recalling the events of the day, or scanning the open or clouded sky for indications of weather changes. When the sky is clear they trace the constellations, locate the principal stars and planets, or follow the devious windings of the milky way. Some of them have studied astronomy, and some have learned from others, and all are intent, though without books or teachers, on learning the wisdom that Nature teaches, and some are found who have learned to look "from Nature up to Nature's God."
Occasionally some rougher specimen mars the order and pleasantness of this wild-wood converse by an oath or coarse remark, heard, perhaps, but unheeded by the more serious and thoughtful. Such men are found everywhere, in the streets, saloons, and even in the wilderness, men who pollute the air in which they move with profanity and obscenity. These are not the menwho succeed and build up great fortunes; these are not the true conquerors of the wilderness. The sober, thoughtful man is the man who succeeds. It is not necessary that he have the learning acquired from books, or a smattering of science from the schools. He may acquire great knowledge by close study of men, and observation of the phenomena of nature, and so make himself a peer of the book worm and scholar of the library and schools.
The acquaintances formed in these camp scenes and toils often result in life long friendships, and the scenes of camp, river and forest become cherished reminiscences to the actors, who are as fond of recalling them as veteran soldiers are of recounting the hairbreadth escapes and stirring incidents of campaign life.
The drive ends with the delivery of the logs at the booms and mills, the men are paid off and devote themselves for the remainder of the summer to other work.
The St. Croix lumberman, after the lapse of nearly fifty years, is still a picturesque figure, clad, as he is, in coarse, strong woolen garments, these of brilliant red, yellow, blue and green, or in some cases as variegated as Joseph's coat of many colors. He is usually a man of stalwart frame, which is set off to advantage by his close fitting garments. His circumstances are, however, widely different from his old time predecessor.
The rough, hard work of the wilderness, including the building of dams, the construction of reservoirs and roads, and the improvement of the streams, has been accomplished chiefly by his predecessors. He is abundantly supplied with food, produced almost in the neighborhood of the scenes of his winter's work. He travels by rail almost to his destination or drives blooded teams over comparatively good roads, where his predecessors tediously blazed the way and cleared it of underbrush. His camp accommodations are far superior. He is housed in comfortable cabins, warmed with large stoves and heaters, whereas the cabin of the lumberman of 1845 had a fire built on the ground in the centre of the room. The modern camp is well furnished with tables and other conveniences. The cook has a separate room furnished with a cooking stove and modern appliances for cooking. He has his assistant, known as the "cookee" or second cook. The table is spread with a variety of food, and delicaciesthat would have astounded the lumberman of 1845. Each operator is limited to his own special work. His bounds are set and he can go no further, except at the risk of the loss of his labor.
The work goes on with clock-like precision and is comparatively easy. Everything is done on a larger scale and more economically. The crews are larger and the life is not near so solitary. The various crews employed for the spring drive combine and thereby greatly increase their efficiency. They are supplied with better and covered boats. The cook in the drive has in addition to his "cookee" a wangan man to assist in managing the boat. The drives are larger and yet more easily handled, the conveniences are greater and the expenses less. The men are more independent, and owing to the number employed, and the nearness of settlements and villages, more sociable, and possibly more hilarious and less thoughtful. We shall nevertheless find among them men of character, thoughtful, industrious and earnest men, who would have shone in the associations of the earlier camps and who will doubtless in the future be ranked among the successful and capable men, worthy successors of the veterans now leaving the stage of action.
Conjecture as to the future of the lumbering industry, and consequently as to the character of the men engaged in it, would be idle. Who can tell what a day or another fifty years may bring forth? The pine woods will not last always; already the camps are being pushed further and further to the north and west, and whereever the denuded pine lands are arable the farmer is making his home. The lumbering industry is also passing into the hands of corporations, and with their extensive means and the armies of men employed by them the forests are disappearing more rapidly than ever. It is possible that the present generation of lumbermen may be the last in the valley of the St. Croix, and that before another fifty years have passed the last of the number may have shouldered his axe or peavy and passed "over the divide."
The St. Croix river in its passage through the Dalles is compressed into a comparatively narrow channel, by which means the logs driven down the stream are crowded closely together, so closely as to sometimes become firmly wedged or jammed together. The jam generally occurs at a point known as AngleRock, a huge promontory of massive trap rock extending into the middle of the channel from the Minnesota side, and opposite to the St. Croix landing. The river makes a bend around this rock nearly at a right angle with the channel above. At this point jams are, under certain conditions, almost inevitable. Sometimes they are of small dimensions and are easily broken. Sometimes the logs gather in such quantity and become so tightly wedged that it is a labor of weeks to break them.
The first jam worthy of note occurred in 1865, during the prevalence of high water. It is, in fact, only during high water that jams can occur, the current being at such time swift and strong, and the logs apt to accumulate in greater number than in the regular drives, from the fact that logs that have been stranded in former seasons or at low water are floated off, and the river is thus filled with logs from bank to bank. These are crowded into the narrow channel of the Dalles faster than they can be discharged, and a jam results. An obstruction once formed, the logs continuing to come in from above fill the channel. The tide of logs arrested, crowd downward until they rest upon the bottom of the river, and are heaped upward sometimes to a height of twenty or thirty feet above the surface. The river thus checked in its course rises, wedging the logs more closely and heaping them higher.
In the jam of 1865 the river channel was filled nearly to the St. Croix dam, a distance of a mile and a quarter above Angle Rock. This being the first of the great jams excited unusual attention. Excursionists came up daily in the boats to look upon it. It was indeed a wonderful sight. The logs were heaped together in the wildest confusion, and wedged in at all angles. Men and horses were employed to break the jam, which at that time, owing to the inexperience of the workers, was no light task. Themodus operandiof jam breaking is to remove logs from the lower part of the jam till some log which serves as a key to the jam is reached. This being removed the logs above commence moving, and, if the haul be a long one, in a short time the movement is extended to the head of the jam. Perhaps the logs are so heaped above that no water is visible. It matters not; the tremendous current beneath sweeps downward, carrying the logs along, and the spectator beholds a wonderful scene, a river of logs, the current swiftest in the centre of the stream, the logsrolling, tumbling, crashing, grinding, sometimes snapped in sunder like pipestems. The jam breakers are in the wildest excitement, cheering and hurrahing, and some may be seen out in the current of logs, jumping from one to another, or making their escape to the shore. Others on the lower part of the jam at the moment of breaking are carried down the river. Though apparently a scene of great danger, comparatively few accidents occur. The workers are cool, experienced men with steady nerves and stalwart arms, a race of men not surpassed for muscular development.
In 1877 another jam took place nearly as large as that of 1865. This jam came near destroying the beautiful bridge that spanned the river at the head of the Dalles. Many of the logs carried high in air by the pressure of the logs below struck the bridge, and at times its destruction seemed inevitable. This bridge has since been replaced by an iron structure, much higher than the first, but even this occasionally received a blow from some log carried along by the current at a "present arms."
In 1883 another jam of considerable dimensions occurred, but it was removed with less labor and expense than its predecessors, and steamboats anchored below were used to aid in breaking it. It cost from $5,000 to $10,000 to break these jams.
By far the greatest of the jams occurred in June, 1886. The water was high, the current strong and the river above so full of logs that a log driver might have crossed upon them. This abundance was owing to other causes than those mentioned in the account of the jam of 1865. The dams at Snake, Kettle and other rivers had been simultaneously opened, and the logs in these streams all set free at once in the current of the St. Croix. On they came in long procession with but little obstruction till they reached Angle Rock, where they were suddenly arrested, and, owing to the force of the current, wedged more tightly and heaped higher than on any previous occasion, and the river channel was filled with logs to a point two miles above the St. Croix falls formerly known as the dam. To break this jam, two steamers, two engines, several teams of horses and over two hundred men were employed, and during the six weeks that occurred before it was broken, thousands of visitors came by rail and steamboat to look upon it. This jam was estimated to hold during its continuance 150,000,000 feet of logs.
The first census of the Northwest Territory, taken in 1790, does not show the population of the region now known as Wisconsin. The census of 1800 gave the following figures: Ohio, 45,363; Indiana Territory, 5,641; Green Bay, 50; Prairie du Chien, 65. According to the census of 1880, the original Northwest Territory contained a population of 12,989,571, or more than one-quarter of the population of the United States. The population of Crawford county in 1820 was 492; in 1830, 692; in 1834, 810; in 1836, 1,220; in 1838, 850; in 1841, 1,503; in 1847, 1,409.
In 1836, when Wisconsin Territory was organized, the population of the Territory was, 11,883. The whole number of votes cast at the election in 1836 was 2,462. The population, according to the census taken at the close of every five years, was as follows: In 1840, 30,945; in 1845, 155,275; in 1850, 305,301; in 1855, 552,109; in 1860, 775,881; in 1865, 868,325; in 1870, 1,054,670; in 1875, 1,236,729; in 1880, 1,315,480; in 1885, 1,563,423.
The official compilation of the census of Wisconsin gives the following details: Total population, 1,563,423; white, males, 806,342; females, 748,810; negroes, in full, 5,576; Indians, 2,695. The nativities are divided as follows: United States, 1,064,943; Germany, 265,756; Scandinavia, 90,057; Ireland, 36,371; Great Britain, 32,731; British America, 21,887; Bohemia, 15,838; Holland, 7,357; France, 3,963; all other countries, 20,030; subject to military duty, 286,289; soldiers of the late war, 29,686.