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THE
LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF
CAPT. STEPHEN B. HANKS,
LONG RAFT VOYAGE, RED WING TO ST. LOUIS
July 2, 1921
The next morning we started on our way
and reached the head of Lake Pepin in the evening and began
preparations for the tedious trip through it, using the same
operations as in Lake St. Croix. At what is now Red Wing,
some five miles above the head of the lake, we passed a large
Indian village of the Sioux tribe. They were of a mean and
treacherous nature and as they swarmed aboard the raft it
required our constant watching to prevent their carrying off
everything movable. A man named Doe conducted a mission there
and, like the majority of those self sacrificing men, he
seemed to have an influence for good over the savages.
In the morning w started dropping the
anchor and pulling in the line with our two rafts coupled
together. We were compelled to stop at the first sand point
as the up stream wind proved too much for us. We lay under a
high bluff the upper part of which was a perpendicular cliff,
with an easy slope to the east of the cliff. Some of the boys
went up the slope and when they reached the rocks found some
caves that proved to be the winter quarters of snakes that
were evidently just coming out and before they realized they
were almost surrounded by the reptiles of which they killed a
great number, if we could believe their story. We called the
place Rattlesnake bluff, which name it still bears. Next
morning we started with what is known to river men as Point No
Point as our objective. This is as its name indicates, no
point at all but a round headland on the right bank jutting
out into the lake and looking at a distance like a sharp
point. It did not seem so very far away, but as we followed
the shore line, which is circular, it proved to be a long
distance and when we reached it the wind compelled us to
remain there two or three days. At this place there lived an
old soldier named Wells, who was a veteran in the regular arm
and went there after his discharge at Ft. Snelling at the
close of the Black Hawk war some years before. He had an
Indian wife and was living on what was set aside by the
Government as a half breed reservation a tract some
twenty-four miles square. I went to his house and made his
acquaintance, which was renewed in later years. While here
some of the crew went hunting and fishing with him and there I
got my first taste of brook trout.
Our next run was to Central Point,
where Lake City is now located, having in the meantime to go
well out into the lake to get around a low sandy point known
as La sol. With no further trouble or delay we reached the
foot of Lake Pepin, separated our rafts and resumed our trip.
Below what is now Wabasha and between grand Encampment and the
mouth of Beef slough the river is divided into several
channels by so called Twin Islands.” We took what we thought
was the main channel, judging simply by the eye that the
widest ought to be the right one, but it proved to be wrong
and we were soon in trouble. The river was falling and this
increased our difficulty. The first raft got fast and as the
other came by it pulled part of the first off in the remainder
of the day in getting the balance of our first raft loose. We
succeeded without serious difficulty and next day reached what
is now Winona, then Wabashaw prairie and a wilderness. This
was Chief Wabashaws’s village and again the Indians swarmed
all over us threatening almost to carry away the raft itself.
Next day we went along nicely until we
stuck fast on Trempealeau island and when we got off and
squared around it was too late to go further. Next day we ran
down to Coon slough, passing another Indian village on the
location of the present city of La Crosse, Knowing there was a
bad piece of river ahead we divided each raft into two parts
and fortunately got through without any trouble and put our
rafts together again after we got through Coon slough. We ran
Bad Axe bend with our whole rafts and at evening brought up at
Crooked slough where we again divided into rafts. This piece
of river for four or five miles is much like Coon slough but
the water is not so swift and a raft is much easier handled.
Getting ourselves together again, after
running Crooked Slough, we found a nice river for some
distance even down to the high bluffs on the Iowa shore.
These we followed a few miles, then drifted to the east and in
a short time landed at Prairie du Chien. Here we remained a
short time and stocked up on supplies as this was the first
place since we left the mill at St. Croix where we could get
white man’s grub. There were a number of trading posts en
route but there was not much in them that we could use. This
was the place where we had in supplies last fall when starting
on our long trip with the stock
The day after leaving Prairie du Chien
we ran to fifteen Mile Point, now known as Buena Vista, a very
good day’s run. The Wisconsin river was high which gave us a
good stage of water in the Mississippi. Next day we made a
fine run and tied up at Nine Mile Island, below Dubuque. The
following day we ran to what is known as Dark slough, some six
miles below the present village of Sabula, and the close of
the next day found us safely landed at le Claire, Iowa, where
we began preparation for the perilous trip over the upper
Rapids. Here I will mention that as we passed Albany I went
ashore for a few moments to see the folks. The first to see
and recognize me was the old dog, he being on the bank as I
jumped ashore. I never received a more genuine and hearty
welcome in my life. He was overjoyed and jumped and capered
and whined in the most extravagant fashion to express his
doggish happiness at my return.
Next morning which was the tenth one
after leaving the foot of Lake Pepin, we engaged rapids pilot
suitor and his son and split one of our rafts, putting both
crews on the two piece and made the trip over safely in about
a half a day. We landed at Rock Island, crossed the river at
Davenport ferry, walked back to Le Claire, eighteen miles, in
the afternoon and took the second raft over safely the next
forenoon and tied up at Moorehouse’s Landing that night, a
place some ten miles below the present village of Buffalo,
Iowa. Next night we tied up a Point Louisa and the net day
was the 4th of July as I distinctly remember that
the day was being celebrated as we passed New Boston. That
night we landed about a mile and a half below Burlington, then
a small village, with no hint of the present city.
On the evening of July 5th
we tied up at Montrose and prepared to make the run over the
lower, or Des Moines as they are also called, rapids. This
piece of rapid water is twelve miles in length but the fall is
not as great as at the upper rapids. We took our rapids
pilots next morning went over safely and landed for the night
at Tulley’s landing a little above the present town of Canton,
Mo.
The next day Lone Tree bar, at
Cottonwood island, about half way between La Grange and Quincy
claimed our attention for a time, but the delay was not very
long and that night we tied up at Saverton, some ten miles
below Hannibal, next day’s run took us to about two miles
above Hamburg at the mouth of Suy slough. The next day’s
journey brought us to the junction of the Illinois river with
the Mississippi. Next day we reached Hap Hollow, not over
half a day’s run as at Eagle Island, in what is called the “S”
The name being sufficient to indicate the crookedness of the
channel, we stuck one raft and it took us a couple of days to
get in shape again and as we were near Alton, get ready for
the final run of the rafts in small pieces into St. Louis.
The next day after we had the rafts prepared for the final run
we took one raft in two pieces, a full raft crew on each
piece, into St. Louis will out mishap and the following day we
delivered the other raft in the same manner, landing both
rafts at the old market, just below Steamboat levee and the
Wiggins ferry. |
