CHAPTER IX. NAVIGATION.

PIONEER TRANSPORTATION—EARLY FERRIES AND RATES—FAMOUS RIVER BOATS—STEAMBOAT LINES TO ATCHISON—STEAMBOAT REGISTERS.

Slight reference has been made in the early narrative¹ of this history to pioneer transportation facilities, but the subject is one of so much importance and of such immense interest, that a chapter devoted² to it is the only way in which it can be adequately treated.

At the time Atchison county was settled, railroad transportation by steam was not a new thing, although it was in its primitive³ stages. Navigation of the inland waterways had reached rather a high state of development, and the matter of transportation then was just as essential to the purposes of civilization as in this day of the railroad and the automobile⁴, but it was many years before the steam railroads made the steamboat traffic of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers obsolete⁵. The tremendous subsidies⁶ granted by the Government in later years for railroad building, however, and the splendid opportunity for piling up wealth in the projection⁷ of new railroads and the operation of them, without Governmental restrictions⁸, together with the advantage of speedier transportation facilities, completely overshadowed the steamboat business, and as a result, our great inland waterway system has grown into practical disuse. Shortly after Atchison county was organized, and the city of Atchison laid out, agitation⁹ was started for railroad connections with the East. One of the first ordinances¹⁰ passed by the city council in 1858 provided for an election to submit a proposition to take $100,000.00 of stock in railroad. At that time the only means of communication to the outside world Atchison had was by steamboats to St. Louis. It was in October, 1855, that George M. Million, Lewis Burnes, D. D. Burnes, James N. Burnes and Calvin F. Burnes commenced the operation of a ferry across 152the Missouri river. Their dock on the Kansas side was at the foot of Atchison street. Their charter was secured from the legislature under the terms of which a bond of $1,000.00 was required to insure the faithful performance of their operations. Although there was no public utilities commission in Kansas in 1855, the legislature took upon itself the task of fixing the rates to be charged by the ferry owners, in order that the public would not be robbed. They were as follows:
Two-horse wagon¹¹, or wagon and one yoke¹² of oxen (loaded)     $1.00
Two-horse wagon, or wagon and one yoke of oxen (unloaded)     .75
One additional pair of horses or oxen     .25
Loose cattle or oxen, per head     .10
Sheep and hogs¹³, per head     .05
Man and horse     .25
Foot passengers     .10
One horse and buggy or other vehicle     .50
Two horse buggy or carriage     .75

The original promoters operated the ferry but a short time, and early in the following year, they disposed of their interests to Dr. William L. Challiss, and his brother, Luther C. Challiss, and Willis E. Gaylord, and the ferry, under Dr. Challiss, and subsequent owners, continued in operation until 1875, when the present bridge was built.

About the time the first ferry was established in Atchison, a number of Salt Lake freighters selected the town as a starting and outfitting¹⁴ point and from that time until 1866, Atchison was the eastern terminus of many of the leading overland mail and freighting routes. It was the natural location for communication with the West, as it was twelve miles further west in Kansas than any other point on the Missouri river. Freight and passengers were brought to the Atchison levee, at the foot of Commercial street, by a regular line of Packets plying¹⁵ between St. Louis and St. Joseph. It required eight days to make the round trip, and in the very early days, as many or four to six boats landed here in the busy season.

During the winter months traffic on the river was practically suspended, on account of the ice. These boats carried as many as 400 passengers, the 153fare from St. Louis to St. Joseph ranging from $10.00 to $15.00, which included meals and state rooms. The cooking was said to have been very fine, and the passengers always enjoyed the best that money could buy.

In addition to passengers, these boats carried from 500 to 600 tons of freight, and the rates were as high as $2.50 per cwt. on merchandise that would not cost to exceed fifteen cents per cwt. in these days. The crew consisted of 80 to 100 men, and the value of these boats was estimated to be about $45,000.00 each. The river then, as now, was filled with sandbars and it required the greatest experience to pilot a boat safely to its destination, and as a result, experienced pilots would command monthly salaries ranging from $250.00 to $500.00. Each boat carried two pilots. A. B. Symns, for many years a successful wholesale¹⁶ grocery merchant in Atchison, E. K. Blair, the miller¹⁷, and George W. Bowman, who also subsequently engaged in the grocery business, were employees on several of the steamboats that landed at Atchison. Stories of gambling¹⁸ and revelries, by day and by night, are not uncommon¹⁹, and it is said it was not an unusual sight to see as many as ten games of poker²⁰ going on in the main cabins on every trip, in which real money and not mere²¹ chips were used. Among the famous boats on the river in the early days were the “Hesperian,” which burned near Atchison in 1859; the “Converse,” “Kate Kinney,” “Fort Aubrey,” “Morning Star,” “John D. Perry,” “Sioux City,” “Omaha,” “Carrier,” and the “James H. Lucas,” which made the record run from St. Louis to St. Joseph, encompassing²² the trip in fifty-nine hours and twenty-two minutes, were among the well known boats that docked at the Atchison levee from time to time. The leading wharfmaster of the steamboat days was Mike Finney, who was the father of Atchison’s present mayor (1915). James H. Garside succeeded him and remained in the position until steamboat days had passed. Had the Missouri river been the beneficiary of the bounty²⁴ of the Government, as the railroads were in that day, it would still be a splendid auxiliary²⁵ of our transportation system. The Missouri river, so far as Atchison is concerned, is in the same condition it was in when Mark Twain made an early trip on it from St. Louis to St. Joseph. In “Roughing It,” he said:

“We were six days going from St. Louis to St. Joseph, a trip that was so dull and sleepy and eventless, that it has left no more impression on my memory than if its duration had been six minutes instead of that many days. No record is left in my mind now concerning it, but a confused jumble²⁶ of savage²⁷ looking snags, which we deliberately²⁸ walked over with one wheel or the other; and of reefs which we butted²⁹ and butted and then retired³⁰ from, and 154climbed over in some softer place; and of sand bars which we roosted on occasionally and rested, and then got our crutches³¹ and sparred over. In fact the boat might as well have gone to St. Joseph by land, for she was walking most of the time anyhow—climbing over reefs and clambering over snags, patiently and laboriously³² all day long. The captain said she was a bully³³ boat, and all she wanted was more “shear” and a bigger wheel. I thought she wanted a pair of stilts³⁴, but I had the sagacity not to say so.”
STEAMBOAT LINES TO ATCHISON—1856.

From Squatter³⁵ Sovereign.
     
March 11, 1856.
     
    “A. B. Chambers³⁶,” James Gormley, Master; D. Jamison, Clerk.
    “F. X. Aubrey,” Ambrose Reeder, Captain; Ben V. Glime, Clerk.
    “Polar Star,” E. F. Dix, Master; H. M. Glossom, Clerk.
    “New Lucy,” Wm. Conley, Master.
    “James H. Lucas,” Andrew Wineland, Commander.
March 18, 1856.
     
    “Star of the West,” E. F. Dix, Master.
March 25, 1856.
     
    “J. M. Convers,” Geo. W. Bowman, Captain; G. A. Reicheneker, Clerk.
April 29, 1856.
     
    “Martha Jewett,” D. H. Silver, Captain; W. McCreight, Clerk.
    “Sultan,” John H. McCloy, Master; D. C. Sheble, Clerk.
    “Edinburg,” Dan Able, Master.
May 27, 1856.
     
    “Morning Star,” Wm. Brierly, Master.
June 24, 1856.
     
    “Emigrant,” Hugh L. White, Master; H. R. McDonald, Clerk.

STEAMBOAT REGISTER.
Reported for the Champion by M. C. Finney, Steamboat Agent.
 
 
BOUND UP.
 
E. M. Ryland, Blunt     Monday, 8th.
Peerless, Bissell     Wednesday, 10th.
155John H. Dickey, Abel     Saturday, 13th.
H. H. Russell, Kenny     Sunday, 14th.
Hesperian, Kerchival     Sunday, 14th.
F. X. Aubry, Glime     Wednesday, 17th.
Platte Valley, Postill     Wednesday, 17th.
Wm. Campbell, Dale     Thursday, 18th.
White Cloud, O’Neil     Friday, 19th.
Spread Eagle, Lagrage     Friday, 19th.
Emma,     Friday, 19th.
 
 
BOUND DOWN.
 
E. M. Ryland, Blunt     Tuesday, 9th.
Peerless, Bissell     Friday, 12th.
John H. Dickey, Abel     Sunday, 14th.
W. H. Russell, Kenney     Monday, 15th.
Hesperian, Kerchival     Tuesday, 16th.
F. X. Aubry, Glime     Wednesday, 17th.
Wm. Campbell, Dale     Friday, 19th.
White Cloud, O’Neil     Saturday, 20th.
 
(From Freedom’s Champion, Atchison, March 20, 1858.)
 
 
BOUND UP.
 
Spread Eagle, Lagrage     Friday, 19th.
Emma, Yore     Friday, 19th.
Silver Heels, Nanson     Saturday, 20th.
Morning Star, Burk     Sunday, 21st.
Polar Star, McMullin     Monday, 22d.
Twilight³⁷, Shaw     Monday, 22d.
St. Mary, Devenny     Tuesday, 23d.
Carrier, Postal³⁸     Wednesday, 24th.
Sovereign, Hutchinson     Wednesday, 24th.
Omaha, Wineland     Thursday, 25th.
F. X. Aubry, Glime     Thursday, 25th.
Minnehaha, Baker³⁹     Thursday, 25th.
John H. Dickey, Abel     Friday, 26th.
White Cloud, O’Neil     Saturday, 27th.
156Florence, Throckmorton     Saturday, 27th.
Polar Star, McMullin     Sunday, 28th.
Hesperian, Lee     Sunday, 28th.
Star of the West, Ollman     Monday, 29th.
South Western, Dehaven     Monday, 29th.
John Warner, Paterson     Monday, 29th.
Sioux City, Baker     Monday, 29th.
War Eagle, White     Tuesday, 30th.
Ben Lewis, Brierly     Tuesday, 30th.
Thomas E. Tutt, Dozier⁴⁰     Tuesday, 30th.
J. D. Perry, Davis     Wednesday, 31st.
Watossa, Richoneker     Wednesday, 31st.
Alonzo Child, Holland     Wednesday, 31st.
Wm. Campbell, Dale     Wednesday, 31st.
Kate Howard, Nonson     Wednesday, 31st.
Sky Lark⁴¹, Johnson     Thursday, April 1.
E. M. Ryland, Blunt     Thursday, 1st.
Silver Heels, Nanson     Friday, 2d.
John H. Dickey, Abel     Friday, 2d.
F. A. Ogden     Friday, 2d.

Every boat on the above list except eight have passed down again, making in all, sixty landings at our wharf²³, in the short space of thirteen days.

(From Freedom’s Champion, Atchison, April 3, 1858.)
ST. LOUIS & ATCHISON union LINE.

One of the following Splendid Steamers Will leave
ATCHISON FOR ST. LOUIS DAILY.
Sunday Boats,     Peerless and Silver Heels,     Alternately.
Monday Boats,     Hesperian and Morning Star,     Alternately.
Tuesday Boats,     South Webster and A. B. Chambers,     Alternately.
Wednesday Boats,     Ben Lewis and Twilight,     Alternately.
Thursday Boats,     Sovereign.      
Friday Boats,     Kate Howard and Minnehaha,     Alternately.
      For Freight or passage apply to      
      G. W. BOWMAN, Agent, Atchison.
N. B. Tickets sold through to all the Eastern and Southern Cities.      

157OFFICE on the Levee.

(From Freedom’s Champion, Atchison, March 27, 1858.)

Squatter Sovereign, Atchison, Dec. 5, 1857:
     
    Omaha, Andrew Wineland, Master; J. J. Wilcox, clerk.
Freedom’s Champion, Atchison, April 3, 1858:
     
    Ben Lewis, T. H. Brierly, Master; W. G. Barkley, clerk.
Freedom’s Champion, March 12, 1859:
     
    Alonzo Child, D. DeHaven, Master; Stanley Ryland, clerk; H. P. Short, clerk.

1 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

2 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

3 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

4 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

5 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

6 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

10 ordinances   

n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These points of view, however, had not been generally accepted in building ordinances. 然而，这些观点仍未普遍地为其他的建筑条例而接受。 来自辞典例句
• Great are Your mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your ordinances. 诗119:156耶和华阿、你的慈悲本为大．求你照你的典章将我救活。 来自互联网

11 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

12 yoke   

n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶

参考例句：

• An ass and an ox,fastened to the same yoke,were drawing a wagon.驴子和公牛一起套在轭上拉车。
• The defeated army passed under the yoke.败军在轭门下通过。

13 hogs   

n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人

参考例句：

• 'sounds like -- like hogs grunting. “像——像是猪发出的声音。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• I hate the way he hogs down his food. 我讨厌他那副狼吞虎咽的吃相。 来自辞典例句

14 outfitting   

v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The outfitting installation activities carried out on the building berth or dock. 舾装在船台上或船钨内完成。 来自互联网
• There is so much outfitting work. Do you subcontract some of them? 有这么多的舾装工作要做，你们将工程分包出去吗？ 来自互联网

15 plying   

v.使用（工具）( ply的现在分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意

参考例句：

• All manner of hawkers and street sellers were plying their trade. 形形色色的沿街小贩都在做着自己的买卖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was rather Mrs. Wang who led the conversation, plying Miss Liu with questions. 倒是汪太太谈锋甚健，向刘小姐问长问短。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

16 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

17 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

18 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

19 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

20 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

21 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

22 encompassing   

v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• Being too large and all-encompassing is a common defect among state-owned enterprises. 过分追求大而全，是国企的一大通病。 来自互联网
• Our services are: all-encompassing, love justice and high quality. 我们的服务目标是：全方位、真情义、高质量。 来自互联网

23 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。

24 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

25 auxiliary   

adj.辅助的，备用的

参考例句：

• I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
• The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。

26 jumble   

vt.使混乱，混杂；n.混乱；杂乱的一堆

参考例句：

• Even the furniture remained the same jumble that it had always been.甚至家具还是象过去一样杂乱无章。
• The things in the drawer were all in a jumble.抽屉里的东西很杂乱。

27 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

28 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

29 butted   

对接的

参考例句：

• Two goats butted each other. 两只山羊用角顶架。
• He butted against a tree in the dark. 他黑暗中撞上了一棵树。

30 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

31 crutches   

n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑

参考例句：

• After the accident I spent six months on crutches . 事故后我用了六个月的腋杖。
• When he broke his leg he had to walk on crutches. 他腿摔断了以后，不得不靠拐杖走路。

32 laboriously   

adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地

参考例句：

• She is tracing laboriously now. 她正在费力地写。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is laboriously copying out an old manuscript. 她正在费劲地抄出一份旧的手稿。 来自辞典例句

33 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

34 stilts   

n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷

参考例句：

• a circus performer on stilts 马戏团里踩高跷的演员
• The bamboo huts here are all built on stilts. 这里的竹楼都是架空的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

35 squatter   

n.擅自占地者

参考例句：

• The squatter settlements originally came into being through illegal land invasions. 违章建筑区最初是通过非法的土地占有而形成的。
• Squatter control is maintained by regular patrols and hut-to-hut checks. 当局定期逐户视察所有寮屋，以收管制之效。

36 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

37 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

38 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

39 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

40 dozier   

adj.想睡的( dozy的比较级 )；令人困倦的；愚笨的；迟钝的

参考例句：

• Dozier has been a CBS News correspondent reporting from Iraq for the past three years. Dozier过去三年一直担任CBS驻伊拉克的特派记者。 来自互联网
• A study of the influence of environment on the crack profile was reported by Dozier. 道滋尔报导了环境对裂纹轮廓影响的研究。 来自辞典例句

41 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。