Part 90 (1/2)
Dear Sir:
I have been requested to state my views on the practicability and the importance of the navigability of the Cedar river, and will say that for the past ten years I have devoted more or less study to this subject from a historic standpoint, and will herewith give you my views. I believe that what you want more than anything else is whether or not the Cedar river has been navigated formerly, whether or not the rainfall is the same as it used to be, and whether or not there is at present a demand for the opening of this river as a water way for transportation purposes.
Historically speaking, traffic on the Cedar river was an epoch making period of this section of the country in the early pioneer days, and the prosperity of Cedar Rapids and other cities was due in a large measure to the river traffic which in those days made, at least, this city what it later became.
The first notice we have of a white man exploring what is known as the ”Red Cedar River” was by Col. George Davenport as early as 1831 when he established a trading post, at Rock Creek. The first steamboating on the Des Moines river was about in 1837, and from this time on the Des Moines, the Iowa and Red Cedar became the inland water ways by which grain was exported and freight was brought up from the cities on the Mississippi river. As early as 1839 the legislature of Iowa territory empowered a company to incorporate in the amount of $200,000.00 to build a slack water ca.n.a.l from the Cedar river to the Mississippi river by way of what is known as ”Rock Creek,” and while this project did not come to anything, it shows that the people of this early day believed in a public water way in order to come in contact with the towns along the river further up.
The Red Cedar river is about 248 miles long and is comparatively free from any rapids as far as Cedar Rapids, and hence was early looked upon as one of the most favored rivers for steam boat navigation. The Iowa river, into which the Cedar river empties, is about 240 miles in length and is not so favorable for navigation. One of the early settlers who first saw the use of this inland water way was Robert Ellis, who came to these parts in 1838 and who is still living, and who, as early as 1846, caused three flat boats to be built, each boat being about sixty feet in length, sixteen feet in width and only drew three feet of water when loaded. On these boats he loaded 4,000 bushels of wheat consigned to certain millers at Burlington; at Burlington he unloaded the wheat and loaded the same boats with a cargo of flour which was duly taken to New Orleans. From this time on much wheat, corn, bacon, and other articles were s.h.i.+pped from Cedar Rapids to Burlington, Keokuk, St. Louis, and other places on the Mississippi.
It is also true that Mr. Haman, one of the oldest druggists of this city, went to St. Louis for his first stock of drugs and these were brought back by water.
W. B. Mack, one of the early settlers, and one of the first wholesale grocers, secured a cargo of salt in Ohio, which was duly freighted to Cedar Rapids and caused a decline in the price of this commodity in the amount of $5.00 a barrel.
It is known that as early as 1839 keel boats had reached Ivanhoe, and quite a trade was carried on at certain seasons of the year. The first Mississippi steamer which came as far as our city limits was in the month of June, 1846, called ”The Maid of Iowa,” when a number of settlers came this way as land seekers and at a time when each pa.s.senger was offered a lot by the enterprising people of this city.
During the next ten years many large and many small steamers made the Cedar river towns as far as Cedar Rapids, and quite a trade had been established between St. Louis, Keokuk, Burlington, and other cities. One of the large Mississippi steamers of 200 tons burden was ”The Uncle Tobey,” which made her way up here among the brush and hanging willows in the spring of 1853, having on board a large cargo of freight.
To show how much importance the river was to the early settlers it might be well to state that in the fifties--in about 1857--a contract was entered into for the building of a steamer about 155 feet long, single deck, stern wheel, clinker built, to be arranged for freight and pa.s.senger traffic and to draw the least possible amount of water. The contract price of this steamer was $20,000.00, and it was launched in June, 1858, and was put into service, arriving at Cedar Rapids July 22, having arrived from Pittsburg in three weeks, stopping at all the cities along the way; this boat had on board about three hundred tons of freight, drew only three feet of water, and had on board nearly one hundred pa.s.sengers. This was, undoubtedly, the best built pa.s.senger and freight boat put on Iowa rivers at that time; during that season this boat made in all twelve trips. On the first trip down stream on July 29, of that year, the papers show that she was loaded down and had in tow a barge loaded with 1,138 sacks of oats, 736 sacks of wheat, some corn, and nearly 1,000 barrels of flour. On one of the trips in October up stream this boat had on board 45,000 feet of lumber; in the following summer this boat got into a collision with another steamer on the Mississippi, and on account of a lawsuit the boat was tied up by litigation.
For a number of years a profitable steamboat business was carried on in the spring of the year above the dam between Cedar Rapids, Vinton, Waterloo and other places. The early settlers all agree that navigation was possible in those days and profitable as well. It was just at this time when steamboating became certain and settled that the railroad entered Cedar Rapids in June, 1859, and from that time every enterprise which was started was in the line of railway extension as well as transportation.
[Ill.u.s.tration: PARK VIEWS IN CEDAR RAPIDS]
As to the rain fall, it seems that there has not been much difference between the rains of sixty years ago and now. I collected the following from the _Annals of Iowa_, Volume 5, page 401, being the rain fall from 1848 to 1855.
In 1848, 26 inches; 1849, 49 inches; 1850, 49 inches; 1851, 71 inches; 1852, 49 inches; 1853, 45 inches; 1854, 23 inches; 1855, 28 inches.
From this the average rain fall of Iowa, I believe, is estimated at about 33 inches. It would appear from 1858 the rain fall was below the average, while during the years up to 1858 the rain fall was above the average. From the newspapers that I have consulted in regard to the rain fall during these years it seemed that there were a good many floods during the summer months so that the steamboating was good until about November, when the boats were taken down south for winter traffic on the southern rivers. As to the rain fall, I have further investigated among the old settlers, and from reports which were kept, it seems that there is not very much difference in the rain fall now and fifty years ago; however, there is this difference, which all agree on, that the channel of the river was more narrow and that the river was deeper and free from mud and sand, which has now acc.u.mulated due to the tilling of the soil.
The river banks were lined with trees which protected the water from the rays of the sun, and the sloughs were filled with water all summer on account of the high gra.s.s, and these gra.s.ses and sloughs supplied the river with water more so then than now, as more of it evaporated on account of the tilling of soil and on account of the cutting of the gra.s.s than formerly. All the water which fell in those days found its way into the river, which is not true after the ground became cultivated to any extent, and it may be true that only one-fourth of the water which falls now finds its way into the river.
Another question may arise ”is it practical?” This is a question not easily answered. It is certain that it can not be done through private enterprise; if it shall succeed at all it must be through state or government aid in part, at least. There is no question but what it will be useful, but whether or not the expenses would be too great to undertake such an enterprise--that remains a debatable question. There is water enough in the river, especially by putting in a dam at Moscow and by straightening the channel a little, so that there will be enough water for the number of months during the year to haul much of our heavy freight, and, if necessary, these products could be stored further along the river until such a time as it was deemed advisable to sell and dispose of the same. Heavy freight requires slow transit and a cheap rate, and such can as well go by water as by rail. For this reason it would be possible to s.h.i.+p by water, grain, cereals, as well as cattle, and there would be a great saving to the farmers of this part of Iowa.
A conservative estimate of freight paid in Cedar Rapids during the past year is no less than $2,500,000.00, all of which is paid to five railroads which have connecting lines in this city. It is also estimated, and I have been told on good authority, that during October, 1908, the tonnage receipts in this city were as follows for the Rock Island railroad:
Live stock 4,638,800 pounds Coal 14,659,303 pounds Brick 383,900 pounds Stone 1,603,200 pounds
These are only a few of the larger items and there are a great many more of nearly equal importance with those cited above. There has also been s.h.i.+pped out in farm and dairy products for the year ending 1908 from
Linn county 1,980,218 pounds Cedar county 733,708 pounds Benton county 451,297 pounds Black Hawk county 1,032,444 pounds Buchanan county 1,980,218 pounds
These are a few of the items from the counties which are tributory to this river.
For the year 1907 I will mention the yield of a few cereals in counties adjoining the Cedar river, to-wit:
Buchanan county 1,942,750 bushels corn 1,011,000 bushels oats Benton county 3,686,100 bushels corn 1,842,800 bushels oats Linn county 3,851,500 bushels corn 1,166,160 bushels oats Johnson county 3,415,170 bushels corn 1,231,100 bushels oats Cedar county 3,211,230 bushels corn 804,500 bushels oats
Say nothing of hay, potatoes, barley, wheat, rye and other products.
Such a water course would also offer inducement to manufacturing concerns for the manufacture of cereals, etc., which are s.h.i.+pped out in carload lots daily, as well as grain which is cleaned here and sent out to other cities.
This will give you somewhat of an idea, not only of the value and productiveness of Iowa soil, but to show the chances of such a water way by which freight products could be handled at a much lower rate than at present, as we have here the same freight rate as they have at Council Bluffs, and by this means we would get the Mississippi rate, which is much less. Such a water way would open up the heart of the corn and oats belt of Iowa and make it possible to get the water rate on large s.h.i.+pments of freight. If the government is now urging a water way enterprise, surely the Cedar river should not be overlooked, for it is a large body of water, with a rich adjoining territory, and by government promotion could be made the carrier of all our products which, as above set out, means millions in bushels annually.