iSfalfll JHBlil 1'IBRAHY OF THL UN IVERSITY Of ILLINOIS 977 2 InZ ilU HIST. SliRVW Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://archive.org/details/earlynavigationo84knob EARLY NAVIGATION ON THE ST. JOSEPH RIVER BY OTTO M. KNOBLOCK Indiana Historical Society Publications Volume 8 Number 4 INDIANAPOLIS PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY 1925 The Wm. Mitchell Printing Co. Greenfield, Indiana EARLY NAVIGATION ON THE ST. JOSEPH RIVER 1 Where the tall grasses nod at the close of the day, And the sycamore shadow is slanting away — Where the whip-poor-will chants from a far distant limb Just as if the whole business was all made for him. Oh ! It's now that my thoughts, flying back on the wings Of the rail and the die-away song that he sings, Brings the tears to my eyes that drip off into rhyme And I live once again in the old summer time ; For my soul it seems caught in old time's undertow And I'm floating away down the river St. Joe. Ben King, the gentle poet of the St. Joseph, certainly loved his favorite river. The river now known as the St. Joseph was first named "The river of the Miamis." Later it was named "St. Joseph's river of the Lakes," which was shortened first to St. Joseph's and then to St. Joseph. The present source of this river is in Hillsdale County, Michigan, flowing southwesterly into Indiana in Elkhart County, then turning northerly, leaving the state in St. Joseph County and entering Michigan in Berrien County, thence flowing northwesterly into Lake Michigan at the port of St. Joseph. Before the advent of the white men, this country was in- habited by roving bands of Indians who had no permanent abiding place but moved about in quest of game, going south x This address was delivered before the annual meeting of the In- diana Historical Society, and the Society of Indiana Pioneers at South Bend, Indiana, August 28, 1925. It is a revision of the original article written September 3, 1895, when authentic information was obtainable ; re-written December 6, 1921, with additional facts; both manuscripts are in the files of the Northern Indiana Historical Society, South Bend, Indiana. (185) 186 Early Navigation on the St. Joseph River in the fall and north with the returning spring. Detached parties of Indians, scouting for various purposes, were con- stantly passing between the Great Lakes and the country south on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The location of the principal portages, or carrying places, over which it was necessary to pass in order to make the journey by water, were well known to the Indians, and there is every evidence that the favorite route between Lake Michi- gan and the south, was by way of the St. Joseph and the Kankakee rivers in what is now northern Indiana, because the portage between them was passable at all times of the year. It passed over solid high ground, which was not true of the Fox River portage in Wisconsin nor the Chicago River portage in Illinois. The Indians were encumbered in their marches with camp equipage and supplies and voluntarily chose the route offering the least inconvenience, so we may consider the red man in his birch bark canoe as the pioneer in river transporta- tion on the St. Joseph. MICH id ATT. INDIANA. I,OCAT!ON OK ST JOSEPH KANKAKEE POKTAtiE. Map showing source of St. Joseph River in Southern Michigan; abrupt turn northerly at South Bend, Indiana, and thence to Lake Michigan; source of the Kankakee River near South Bend, and the St. Joseph- Kankakee portage. La Salle, with thirty men including Hennepin and Tonty, Early Navigation on tup: St. Joseph Rivek 1S7 passed up the river from Lake Michigan to the head of the Kankakee portage in 1679, carrying a quantity of material, part of which was to be used in the construction of a vessel which he contemplated building on the Mississippi River ; he was, therefore, the first white man who actually transported merchandise on the river. In later years, trading posts were established at the mouth of the river, now St. Joseph, Michigan, and at Niles, Michi- gan ; and the Indians, as well as French trappers, brought their furs in canoes from points up the river. A brisk traffic was carried on as early as 1700. From that period to 1831, there was no organized attempt made to carry other freight on the river, but as towns were building on its banks and mills going into operation, it was clear that the surplus products could be freighted down to Lake Michigan and carried to Chicago and other markets, and such merchandise as was not produced here could be brought up from the lake by the same means. In the year 1831, Peter Johnson, a carpenter in the village of South Bend, undertook the construction of the first keel boat, which was the pioneer of a large fleet of such boats. He purchased a quantity of lumber at Niles with which to build a house, and to transport it to South Bend, he bought of a French trader at Niles, a pirogue, or large canoe which had been used for carrying furs. He poled it up to South Bend, discharged the cargo, and conceived the idea of lengthening and broadening it, so as to give it more carrying capacity. He split it lengthwise and made it 40 feet long and 6 feet wide, with running boards along the sides 12 inches wide with cleats nailed on crosswise. The running boards projected out- side the gunwale, so supported on brackets as to leave the body of the boat free for cargo. The shipyard was at the foot of Washington Street. The boat was named the Fair- play and was captained on its first trip to St. Joseph by Johnson, and on subsequent trips by Madore Cratee and a crew of four men. The Fairplay, while actually the first 188 Early Navigation on the St. Joseph River freight boat, was not a representative of the keel-boat family as afterwards developed, being nothing more than a large, clumsy canoe. The next year, 1832, Johnson built the first real, large- capacity keel boat. To Lee P. Johnson, his son, who was six- teen years old at that time, and who died October 6, 1896, at the age of eighty years, I am indebted for a description of its building and launching. Peter Johnson's carpenter shop was located at what is now 116 West Washington Street, between Michigan and Main Streets ; in the street directly in front of the shop, the keel was laid. Utilizing the street for a shipyard was evidently considered no obstruction to traffic which was confined to an occasional horse or ox-drawn wagon, and as there were no curb-lines and the sidewalks were undefined, the work really did not bother any one, and permission of the town authorities was neither asked nor required. The keel was 80 feet long, with stem and stern posts and bent knees, something like those used in canal boats. Two-inch oak planks were used to cover the frame work, the planks running- lengthwise ; and those at the bow and stern were steamed and bent to conform to the model, so as to make the boat pointed, or approximately so, at both ends. The stern was not actually pointed but was somewhat contracted. The keel proper pro- jected two inches below the bottom and was also of oak. The planking was firmly nailed on to the knees and stem and stern posts, the work being done while the boat was lying upside down. When finished, the seams were calked and the entire bottom pitched. The difficulty that now presented itself was to get it into the river, about one thousand feet straight east. It must be remembered that Washington Street at that time ( 1832) bore not the slightest resemblance to the street of our day. While the real bank of the river was a straight north and south line through town, the land on the west side was low and swampy, except for a narrow strip of sand that marked the edge of the river and conformed to what is now its west bank. The bluff, or edge of the high bank, did not Early Navigation on the St. Joseph River 189 follow the bank of the river, hut extended in a circle, leaving the edge of the river near where the dam now is and running obliquely in a gradual retreat from the river, and crossing Washington Street about at Mill Street which is the first alley east of Michigan Street ; from here it extended north, parallel with Michigan Street, until it met the river at La Salle Avenue. The edge of this bluff was well defined and quite steep, and there were no roads running east and west over it because the land lying between the bluff and the river — now occupied by the west race and buildings thereon — was low and swampy and covered with a heavy growth of willows. It was seldom that any one descended the bluff and waded through the swamp, for when they wished to reach the river they went around the swamp. At each of these points were old Indian trails, and one could reach the river from uptown without getting into the mud. Johnson deemed it advisable to attempt to drag the boat from the carpenter shop directly to the river, rather than carry it around either end of the swamp ; it was necessary, therefore, to prepare a roadway from the edge of the bluff across the swamp to the bank of the river. He first leveled down the sharp edge of the bluff so that the boat could slide over without much danger of breaking. He then cut down a large number of the willow trees in the swamp and laid them crosswise, and on them piled brush and trunks of trees until he had formed a sort of corduroy road or causeway from the base of the bluff across the swamp to the river. When every- thing was ready, Johnson sent runners out into the country asking the settlers to come into town on a prearranged day and assist in the launching. When the day arrived, a large number of citizens were on hand. The first job was to turn the boat over on her keel, and as it was very heavy, the united help of everyone present was required. When the boat was ready to drag to the river, rollers were put under it, ropes attached, and all hands bent to the task. As many as could took hold of the sides of the boat, and the rest pulled at the 190 Early Navigation on the St. Joseph River ropes ; when the boat was finally started she was not allowed to come to rest until they reached the bluff. The sliding of the boat over the bluff was a very particular job, as there was danger of breaking its back, or, in marine parlance, "hogging" it. With great labor the boat was finally dragged across the swamp to the edge of the river and slipped into the water. Madore Cratee, who was to be the captain, sprang into the boat and broke a bottle of spirits over its bow, at the same time announcing that the name of the new boat was to be the Antelope. The launching occurred exactly at the foot of Washington Street and the sloping down of the edge of the bluff, and preparation of a roadway for the launching of the Antelope was the first attempt made to grade what is now East Wash- ington Street. In the same year, 1832, Johnson built another keel boat similar to the Antelope which he named the Comet. He built it close to the edge of the river where the water works reservoir is, having learned by experience that it was too much labor to launch the boats when built on high ground. From 1833 to 1840, Captain Boyd, of Mishawaka, built four or five keel boats, somewhat smaller than those built by Johnson, that were known by the name of "Red Dogs" to dis- tinguish them from the larger keel boats. They were not named, but known by number. In 1833, the fleet running between Three Rivers and the lake consisted of ten or eleven keel boats, some of which were 80 feet long by 7 feet wide and capable of carrying 350 barrels of flour. In 1842, Alexis Coquillard, who was running a flour mill, engaged a canal boat builder living at Fort Wayne to come to South Bend and build a boat designed for carrying flour to the lake. This boat, named the South Bend, was not a success, being too heavy and drawing too much water, so that it was next to impossible to float it over the riffles and bars in the river. It made a trip down to the lake and back, but Early Navigation on the St. Joseph River 191 the experience on that trip was so discouraging that its use was discontinued. Coquillard was noted for doing such things on a large scale, and, had the river been deeper, his plan for a boat of considerable capacity would have been both feasible and remunerative. The job of pole boatman was no sinecure, for it is hard to imagine more exhausting labor. Going down stream with the current, there was little to do aside from keeping the boat in the channel, but the up trip was a killer. The usual comple- ment was seven to nine men, the captain, who acted as steers- man, and six to eight men to pole. On the up trip, the men took their places at the bow, say four on each side, standing close together on the running boards and facing down stream. At the command from the captain, the two rearmost men plunged their poles downward into the water and set them firmly on the bottom, then, leaning forward with their shoul- ders against the top of the pole, started to walk down stream, pushing hard all the time until they lay almost horizontal. This started the boat up stream. As soon as they progressed a little way, the Number 2 men set their poles and pushed, then the Number 3 men followed suit, and the Number 4 men in turn. When the Number 1 men neared the stern, the Number 4 men ceased pushing, and, withdrawing their poles, ran forward to the bow and set their poles ; as soon as they had good hold, the other men ran back for new positions. In this way the headway of the boat was kept up. On boats having very wide running boards, or an extra inboard run- way, the men would use it on the way back to the bow, travelling in a circle, thus leaving all the men but one to do continuous effec- tive poling work, but as it was necessary for the returning men to lift their poles clear of the water and to carry them back instead of simply dragging them back through the water there was a question as to the utility of the plan. The work was ex- ceedingly laborious and only the most hardy men could stand it. They had callouses on their shoulders where the poles rested that would make a hodcarrier blush. Lee P. Johnson, son of Peter Johnson, the first South Bend 192 Early Navigation on the St. Joseph River boat builder, was fifteen years old in 1831, and distinctly remembered the launching of the three boats built by his father. He went down to the lake in the fall of that year as passenger on the Fairplay. The incidents of the trip were told to me by him in 1895, at which time I made careful notes for future reference. The trip was still fresh in Mr. John- son's mind, although it had occurred sixty-four years before, and he described his emotions when Lake Michigan opened to his view and he saw the lake boats, schooners and sloops, which would seem small enough affairs now, but which then seemed to be monsters in size and importance. He was too young to have to work his passage back and passed his time swimming, or sleeping under the shade of the higher portions of the cargo, but as the river twisted, the boat pointed suc- cessively to every point of the compass and to keep out of the sun long was impossible. Young Johnson was very anxious to emulate the example of the polemen, so at one place where the current was not strong, his father told him to take one of the poles and go to work. Johnson took the pole and stepped onto the running board, set the pole on the bottom and endeavored to fall on to it with his shoulder as he saw the other men do, but failed to make connections with the pole and plunged into the water. One of the polemen grasped him by the coat collar as he floated past and jerked him out. After that Johnson was satisfied to act as passenger. The poling of keel boats did not continue long, for when steamboats came into use in 1833, they towed the boats up the river in strings of four or five, so that the labors of the boat- men were lightened. One of the keel boats which was built by Lyman A. Barnard, of Niles, in 1832, and capable of carrying fifteen tons of freight, was rigged with a mast and sails and made several trips across the lake to Chicago. Keel boating has its perils : in the summer of 1859, a "Red Dog" keel boat belonging to Captain Boyd, of Mishawaka, came down the river, and passing into the head of the west Early Navigation on the St. Joseph River 193 race near the dam at South Bend, encountered a hawser stretched across below the head gates. The hawser, which was used for a hand rope to draw boats across the race, was but a few feet above the water, and a man named Trimble, who was steering, did not observe the obstruction until the boat had begun to pass under it. He was unable to avoid the tightly stretched hawser, which caught and held him against a part of the cargo in such manner that his back was broken and he died immediately. Shipping statistics show that in 1832, merchandise to the extent of 10,000 barrels was landed at the mouth of the river, then called "Newburyport" (now St. Joseph), for shipment up the river. The following is a complete list of keel boats distinguished by name, that were engaged in the carrying trade on the river from the commencement of the traffic in 1831 until their use was gradually discontinued : Fairplay, Antelope, Comet, White Pigeon, Mason, Ottawa, Three Brothers, Swallow, Red Bird, Odd Fellow, Buena Vista, Rover, Racer, Dolphin, Diamond, Empire, Gem, Ruby, Goshen, Cass, and South Bend. This list does not include Captain Boyd's boats, which were known by numbers. Altogether, there were twenty-five regu- lar keel boats from the beginning till the end of this period. The St. Joseph Intelligencer and the South Bend North- western Pioneer, of the years 1831 and 1832, record the arrival and departure of practically all the above-named boats. The South Bend Northwestern Pioneer, under date of January 14, 1832, but a few months before the advent of the first steamboat on the lower end of the river, discussed the subject of steamboats as follows : That the navigation of the St. Joseph River by steam boats is a subject of vast importance to the whole of the country watered by its tributary streams must be acceded to by everyone who has paid any at- tention to the almost magical effect of their introduction on the Missis- sippi, Ohio and their tributaries, and I believe it is practicable to navigate the St. Joseph with steamboats, even in its present natural state, for several months of the year, yet we may not hope that it can be success- fully and efficiently prosecuted until its obstructions are removed. 194 Early Navigation on the St. Joseph River The first steamboat was called the Newburyport and, in 1832, under the command of Captain White, made a trip as far up the river from St. Joseph as Berrien Springs, where she ran aground and was brought back to St. Joseph in a damaged condition. The idea was abandoned for that year, but in the following year, 1833, Deacon and McCaleb, of St. Joseph, built the Matilda Barney, a flat-bottomed stern-wheeler. Joseph Fisbay was the ship carpenter and P. B. Andrews built the engine. David Wilson was captain and Leveret Plum, engineer. The Matilda made her appearance in South Bend early in the summer of 1833 and was heartily welcomed by the citizens. Lee P. Johnson related to the writer in 1895 an incident in connection with the arrival of the Matilda on her first trip. At that time (1833) Johnson was working as a printer in the office of the Northwestern Pioneer, a newspaper issued by John D. and Joseph H. Defrees, at a printing office on Vistula Avenue, South Bend (now number 115 Lincoln Way East). On the day of the arrival of the Matilda Barney, Johnson was in the office with Anthony Defrees and John M. Landon, typesetters, when the steamer's whistle was heard as she made her way up the river four or five miles below the town. At the sound of the whistle, the boys dropped their work and rushed out of the office on a run for the river bank, taking a direct cut in the direction of the foot of Market Street (now Colfax Avenue), jumping over the edge of the bluff and rushing down hill directly into and through the swamp lying below the bluff. They were in such a hurry and under such excitement that they did not follow around the edge of the bluff on high land, but plunged into the willows and floundered through the best they could. They paid no attention to the mud, so intent were they on gaining the bank of the river. Of course the steamer was not in sight, and they ran on down the west bank of the river. As John- son said, had the steamer not come into view, they would have run to Niles. When they rounded the point at McCartney's Early Navigation on the St. Joseph River 195 Creek, two miles below town, they saw the Matilda headed up stream, the whistle sounding almost continuously. The boys were terribly excited and immediately laid plans for boarding the boat. At that point the current swept toward the west bank to avoid a shallow place on the east side of the river, and the boys figured that the steamer would come quite close to the west bank where a huge basswood tree leaned quite a distance over the river. The boys started to climb the tree and run out on a horizontal limb, hoping to be able to drop on the steamer's deck when she passed under. The first man up the tree was Landon, who, in his excitement, lost his hold and fell into ten feet of water. Johnson and Defrees were obliged to help him land, and in the meantime the steamer swept past. The boys ran up the bank to intercept the boat at the next riffle, but it was impossible for them to gain a footing on her and they had to content themselves with racing on land. By this time the entire population had gathered on the shore and everyone was wild with excitement. The steamer did not stop until she ran her nose upon the sand at the foot of Washing- ton Street. A few days before the Matilda left St. Joseph, word was sent to Peter Johnson, who at that time was proprietor of the Michigan Hotel, which stood on the southwest corner of Michigan and Washington Streets (where the Frumas Central Drug store now is), that about one hundred people would come aboard her, and he was ordered to prepare dinner. When the boat landed all hands adjourned to Johnson's Hotel where a bountiful dinner was ready. The steamer left St. Joseph with a large contingent of citizens and picked up many persons at Berrien Springs and Niles, all anxious to participate in the pleasures of the first steamer trip up the river. No freight was carried on the trial trip, but on subsequent trips, which were quite regularly made, she was well loaded with mer- chandise, and towed from two to five keel boats as well. She was a success from the start and would have made money for her owners had she been allowed a monopoly of the river business. 196 Early Navigation ok the St. Joseph River In the next year, 1834, the steamer Davy Crockett was brought up the lake from Presque Isle, and began running on the river in competition with the Matilda Barney. The appear- ance of the two boats on the river was an event of much im- portance. A spirit of rivalry led their owners to take tows and carry passengers at cheaper rates than if there had been no competition. One Nathan Young, of Berrien Springs, a poet and a wag, wrote, in 1834, the following verses, describing the ''un- pleasantness" between the boats and referring to the trip on which the Matilda Barney was so unfortunate as to run on a snag and break her wheel and had to be towed to St. Joseph by the Crockett. As both had stern wheels, she could only be towed by lashing her alongside, and the boats proceeded down the river in a close embrace. The "poem" is as follows : Now Davy Crockett came to town, all dressed up like a dandy, From Presque Isle, he has come around, to spark Matilda Barney. Now Davy he approaching her, with her began to blarney, Your company's not wanted here, replied Matilda Barney. Oh, how can you treat me so, my dearest Miss Matilda, Since you have got no other beau, and I love you so dearly. You appear to be a nice young man, replied Matilda Barney, You are also an obliging friend, more than I could wish to have you. At length Matilda she grew lame, and Davy made toward her, She soon consented for him to see her safe to the mouth of the river. It was hand in hand, they both locked arms, and down they came together, Delighted with each other's charms, like a sister and a brother. The Pocahontas was the next steamer, followed by the Indiana, the Algona, and the Niles. The Niles was built by William B. Beeson, of Niles, and was commanded by Captain Darius Jennings. In 1849, she was bought by the Michigan Central Railroad Company and run between Constantine and Niles. The following, as far as can be learned, is a complete list of freight steamcraft running on the St. Joseph River from 1832 to the present time: Newbury port, Matilda Barney, Davy Crockett, Pocahontas, Algona, Indiana, Mishawaka, John F. Porter, Michigan, Niles, Niles Jr., St. Joseph, Union City, Early Navigation on the St. Joseph River 197 Pilot, Magnolia, King Brothers, Kakota, Schuyler Colfax, May Graham, Constantino, Albany, Diamond, and Kalamazoo. All the above-named boats were intended primarily for carrying freight but took on such passengers as desired to use them. After the lock at South Bend was closed, four pleasure steamboats were built at South Bend for passenger traffic between that city and Mishawaka and for popular "moon- light" excursions. These boats were named the Condon, J. C. Knoblock (later re-named Vandalia), Ben Hamilton and Tourist. The /. C. Knoblock, the most pretentious boat ever run on the river, was built in 1882 and had a capacity of 800 to 1,000 passengers. It ran for several seasons over the four- mile stretch of river and afforded. much pleasure to the thou- sands who patronized it. The other three boats were small, and in this day of internal combustion engines, would be called launches. The last river boat to operate in the freight and passenger service was the May Graham running between St. Joseph and Berrien Springs. She will be remembered by hundreds of citizens. Captain Fikes commanded her, and his wife served a very satisfactory dinner for the passengers. The Graham was withdrawn in 1908, and after lying quietly at St. Joseph for three years, was, in 1911, taken up on the Grand River, Michigan, and run from Grand Haven to within ten miles of Grand Rapids. Before the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad was built through South Bend all the merchandise for our merchants was received by way of the river ; until 1852, a heavy traffic was carried on. Horatio Chapin, who located in South Bend in 1831 and commenced business in a hewn log cabin on St. Joseph Street, once received a large con- signment of goods by steamer on a Saturday afternoon. The goods were immediately piled out on the bank of the river, but no teams were to be had to haul them up to the store that after- noon. The next morning there were plenty of teams on hand, but no man nor beast could work for Mr. Chapin on a Sunday, so the goods lay there, exposed to the weather and with no one to look after them, until Monday morning. There were at that 198 Early Navigation on the St. Joseph River time no warehouses or shelters of any kind to protect merchan- dise from the elements. The incoming freight consisted of merchandise for our stores or the property of emigrants locating here. One of the staples from down the river was crackers, which, from 1840 to 1870, were made in Niles in large quantities, in fact this section of the country was supplied with Niles crackers, as that was the name by which all small crackers were known. The outgoing freight was grain, pork, flour, hides, furs, whiskey, pig iron, and iron castings. Within twenty miles of South Bend, up and down the river, there were eight dis- tilleries and ten flour mills. From Mishawaka, where there were two blast furnaces and a forge, large quantities of pig iron and iron castings were shipped. The landing place in South Bend before the dam, was built at Chapin's warehouse, just south of the La Salle Avenue bridge on the west side of the river, at what was then known as the old red warehouse, at the foot of Colfax Avenue. As early as 1832, efforts were made to induce the federal government to improve the river and its harbor at St. Joseph. Mass meetings were held in 1832 at St. Joseph, Berrien Springs, and Niles, at which petitions were prepared and sent to Congress asking aid, but none was forthcoming. Again, in the year 1845, the traffic on the river having reached large proportions and the stage of water gradually lowering, attempts were made to procure aid from the federal gov- ernment for making the river navigable at all seasons, and by larger boats, but without avail. The Indiana legislature, at its annual sessions in 1845 and 1846, passed resolutions urging upon Congress the claims of the St. Joseph for an appropriation for its improvement. To these appeals, no response was made. A River and Har- bor Convention was called at Chicago and held July 6, 1847. A number of delegates were appointed by the citizens of St. Joseph County, representing the interests of the St. Joseph River, but no favorable results were ever reached. Early Navigation on the St. Joseph River 199 To show the importance of the river, a local writer of 1847 says: We have here a river coursing through two States, and passing through, and in the vicinity of, an agricultural body of land without a superior in the West. For one hundred and seventy-five miles by the river distance, namely from Union City to St. Joseph, steamboats can navigate its waters and have done so, a length of steamboat navigation greater even than the Hudson. Four steamboats now ply upon it, and no one, we believe, has counted its commerce. In the spring and fall one can hardly look upon this beautiful stream without seeing a boat of some character deeply laden, sailing toward its mouth. The manufacturers of iron, wood, wool, leather and other articles, which line its shores and the banks of its tributaries, and whose number is every year increasing with fast accelerating rapidity, together with eighty run of stone for the grinding of flour, already at work or being put in operation the present season, throws upon its waters an amount of exports which would surprise those who have not closely scanned the statistics of this fertile valley. , In 1844, the South Bend Manufacturing Company, the principal stockholders in which were A. R. and J. H. Harper, built the dam at South Bend, and, in order not to obstruct the river, which by law was navigable as far as Three Rivers, Michigan, put in a lock on the west side of the river at the foot of Washington Street, a short distance north of where the water works reservoir now is. The lock opened into the west race. The construction of the gates being faulty, a great deal of water leaked through them, which fact, together with the shallowness of the lock, made it necessary to drag the heavier boats through. Frequently the steamboat captain would sound his whistle to collect citizens enough to pull the boat through with ropes. It was not a situation conducive to a growth of traffic. Because of the agitation for federal aid in dredging the river, a party of government engineers made a careful survey of the river from Elkhart to the mouth in 1879. The report was adverse to making the stream navigable, and as railroads had usurped the carrying trade to a large measure, the river was given over to power production. The lock in the South Bend dam gradually fell into disuse, the gates at either end rotted away and were replaced by bulk- 200 Early Navigation on the St. Joseph River heads and banked with earth. When the city water works was built, the lock was utilized as a tail race for the water from the wheels. Later a trunk was laid along its bottom to carry the tail water from the wheels, and it was partly filled up. In February, 1894, it was completely filled, and every vestige removed. With the departure of the May Graham it is probable that the last remnant of hope as to the feasibility of ascending the river in steam-driven craft passed away, and that never more will the wooded shores and the green hills echo with the sound of a steam siren. The stream seems destined to become as peaceful as that gentle poet, Ben King, saw it, when he wrote lovingly : Where the bumble bee sips when the clover is red, And the zephyrs come ladened with peachblow perfume, Where the thistledown pauses in search of the rose And the myrtle and woodbine and wild ivy grows ; Where the catbird pipes up and it sounds most divine Off there in the branches of some lonely pine ; Oh, give me the spot that I once used to know By the side of the placid old river St. Joe.