Gibson County, Indiana - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 7 of those read), 1914

The Wabash And Erie Canal

The people of our state, learning that the state.s of New York, Penn.sylvania and Ohio were prosecuting internal improvements successfully, determined to try their hands at improving their own state, and in the early thirties went wild in trying to see how many expensive canals, railroads and plank roads they could locate and put under way of construction. Had the managers of our state done as did New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, that is, to push one or two of these projects along and complete it 1)efore starting others, they would also have succeeded. This was too sldw for our Hoosiers, however, so they must have ten or a dozen costl}- im]n"o\enients going at the same time. Many of these projected improvements were needed, and if they had been finished, would have been of great service to our people.

The act of Congress making the first land grants fur the construction of the canal was passed in 1827. The act of our state Legislature authorizing the commencement of the work was passed at the session of 1830-31. A second grant of lands for the continuation of the canal from the mouth of the Tippecanoe river to Terre Haute was ])assed b\- Congress in 1S31. .\ third grant of half of the unsold lands in the \'incennes land district for the continuation of the canal from Terre Haute to the Ohio river at livansville was made by Congress in 1845. The work on the canal was begun at I'ort Wayne in 1832, and finished from Toledo, Ohio, to Lafayette in 1841. and to Terre Haute in 1849, ^"<1 to Evansville in 1S52.

During the several years that so much work was in progress in Indiana. wages were high, and all kinds of produce, forage and provisions were l)ringing good prices, and the vast amount of money that was ])aid out for lalior and produce apparently made good times in all ])arts of the countrx- where this work was being done. But this was a iictitious appearance, for the people had run into extra.vagance, and engaged in too much speculation, for which promissory notes were given. The retail merchants contracted debts with the wholesale merchants, and had sold quantities of goods to their customers, who were wholly dependent on these works for money with which to pay for their purchases. The crash came in the year 1837, and there was a general suspension of every sort of business. The state financial ruin was very great, and thousands of men who were on the road to fortune could do nothing but stand idly by and see their fond hopes disappear. So wide was this disaster in the country liordering the undertakings of the state, that it was very distressing.

In 1838 there were so many more individuals involved in the ruin that it was very embarrassing to all of the people. At the meeting of the Legislature in 1838, Governor Wallace in his message said: "Never before - I speak advisedly - never before have you witnessed a period in (.nir local history which more urgently calls for the exercising of all the soundest and best attributes of grave and patriotic legislation than the present."

It became evident that the state could not finish all of these works. The Legislature of 1841 passed a law authorizing any private company to take charge of and complete any of the works except the Wabash and Erie canal. It was thought that by the aid of the government the state could finish the canal in the next few years. The state made several attempts in this direction without success. Ever\thing lay quiet until 1846, when Charles Butler, who represented the bondholders, offered to take the state's interest in the canal for one half of the debt and for the lands granted for its construction, and finish it, if the state would issue new certificates for the other half and pay interest at four per cent, per annum, the state reserving the right of redemption. The canal under this management was finished to Evansville in T852. The length of the canal in Indiana was three hundred and ninety-five miles, and in Ohio eighty-four miles, making its entire length four hundred and fifty-nine miles. This enormous work, which cost so many millions of dollars, only lasted a few }'ears, owing to the fact that it was paralleled the entire length by railroads. However, the canal caused a large emigration to the section of country through which it passed.

The canal crossed the Patoka river into Gibson county on an aqueduct at the old town of Dengola, and followed the lowlands of the Patoka river to Francisco, thence southwest through the highlands nf tlie Pigeon Summit that divides the watershed between the I'atoka river and the Pigeon creek country.

At Port Gibson, a town locatetl on the canal in Giljson county, a reservoir was located, which flooded as much as two thousand acres from five to twenty feet deep. This was the greatest lishing resort that was ever in Gibson county, as it was well stocked with fine lake fish. After the canal was abandoned the water was let out of the reservoir, and today some of the best farms in Gibson county are situated on these famous fishing grounds. The canal followed the lowlands of Pigeon creek imtil it passed into Warrick county, and thence to Evansville.

From Fort Wayne the canal followed the water le\'els of the Wabash and tributaries. The fall was so great in many jilaces that locks had to be put in, so that a new water level could be securetl. The locks were made c)f a length sufficient for the largest boats and about eighteen feet wide, made of heavy hewn timber. \'ery heavy double gates were made on each level.

Shippers along the canal had the lowest shipping rates that have ever been in this section. In the late fifties my brother. James M. Cockrum, and I were in the pork packing and tobacco business and had our packing and shipping house at Dongola on the canal. Looking over one of our old shipping books, I find that we shipped from Dongola to Evansville tierces of lard, two hundred and fifty pounds, for ten cents each, Ijarrels of ])ork for eight and a third cents eacli, and h<jgsheads of tol>acco, sixteen to eighteen hundred pounds, for fifty cents each.

The canal boats were nearly all hea\-y freighters, Ijut there were two fine passengers boats which ran between Evansville and Terre Haute, named the "Prairie Queen" and the "Pride of the Wabash." These boats were finely finished and would carry about thirty-five passengers in their sleeping apartments, and that many more who furnished their own sleeping outfit. These passenger boats aimed to make one hundred miles each twenty- four hours, with four shifts of horses.

The same condition of things did not exist as when the state was su])- plying the fu.nds to carry on her man_\- impro\'ements. The money to build the canal from Terre Haute to Evansville came from the English liondholders. The works supplied employment for thousands of men and many hundreds of teams, and good wages were paid. This vast amount of help made a great demand for food stuffs, and good times was the result in all the country near these works. There are thousands of farms that were ]iaid for with funds obtained for labor and supplies on these works.

Tn connection with the history of the Wabash and Erie canal, I here give several incidents that happened during its construction through Gibson count}^

The contractors for the canal, as a class, were honorable men. In most cases they had one section of the work, and these sections, as a rule, were a mile long. Where the work was very heavy the sections were much shorter, in order that the work might be completed about the same time. The embankments were made by hauling the dirt in one-horse carts. The usual outfit for a crew of men, when the haul was not over two hundred yards, was four carts and four men to shovel the dirt into them. The work was so timed that the loaded cart was ready to pull out as soon as an empty one was ready to go to be loaded. Over forty men and carts there was a boss. The shovelers were nearly all Irishmen; there were very few Americans. Of the latter, most of them got out timbers for the culverts and bridges.

About a half gill of raw whiskey was given the men four times a day. Whiskey at that time was as free from law restrictions as water and everyone that wanted a "doggery," as they were called, could have it by building a little log shanty and purchasing a barrel of whiskey at twenty-five cents a gallon. These la^ laws resulted in many little drinking dens along the canal.

Stewart and Rockefellow had the section at Dongola and on both sides of the Patoka river, also the building of the aqueduct across the river. The William H. Stewart of the firm mentioned was the father of Dr. William H. Stewart, of Oakland City, Indiana. The above mentioned works were very busy ones, and many men were engaged on them. As soon as they got well imder way, a man named Bev Willis built a small ten-by-fifteen shanty boat on the I'atoka river. It was situated near where the present iron bridge spans the river at Dongola. Willis was from a good family, but was a wild fellow and in a short time had a den full of drunken sots. There was little attention paid to him until some of Stewart"s best men begun to neglect their work. Then Stewart went to see him, and gave him one week to get away with his boat and whiskey. Bev sold his whiskey to another doggery man some miles farther west on the works, tore his boat to pieces and went to California.

Soon after this a man named Spradley, from Warrick county, came to Dongola, hunting a place where he could Iniild a whiskey shanty. He boastingly said that he would teach the canalers that they would have to get busy before they drove him away. He had two barrels of whiskey hauled to this place where he Iniilt his doggery, and for a couple of days dispensed liquDF without interruption. Then Stewart took two or tliree of his bosses, with picks, and went to see the brave Warrick county man. V/hen the latter saw them coming he made it convenient to get away. Stewart and his men broke open the barrels and poured the whiskey on the ground. This ended the liquor traffic at Dongola.

The Know-Nothings

This was about the time that the first of tlie Know-Xothings was heard of in this section. Consequently there was not the Ijest of feeling existing between the Irish and the native Americans. Many comlxits resulted. Tlie Irish would get on a drinking spree and raise a fuss with the first /Vmerican they could find, calling him a "know-nothing," and if he resented the insult, ten or fifteen of the drunken brutes would attack him.

In 1852 Columbia township was much larger than now. The west line was one mile west of Francisco. There was but one precinct for the whole township, and that was located on the farm owned by the late Capt. S. G. Barrett, now owned by the late James M. Steel's heirs. About noon on the election day in 1852 a man was seen running along the road from the west, and following him were a score of men. When the lone man had come within a hundred yards of the cr(iwd that was at the polls, he stopped and faced his pursuers. Two who were in the lead reached hin^ \\\ku he laid them both in the road with a club which he carried. Kd [Mijsley was at the election. He saw there was a host against one and. jumping out of his wagon, pulling ofif his coat as he ran, he joined the man who was defending himself so gallantly. He went into the Irish and knocked them right and left, soon putting the whole gang to flight. The lone man proved to be young Swallow, the father of Willis Swallow, of Oakland City. The Irish had come onto him near Francisco as he was coming to the election and began to abuse him, calling him a Know-Nothing. He did not take much of their abuse until he floored three or four of them. .\ crowd of them immediately set upon him and he had to run for his life. He had a good sized club and as the foremost of his pursuers would get close to him, he would stop and knock one or two of them down. In this way he had more than half of them with sore heads and bloody iioses.

Ragon's works were northwest of Oakland City abdut three miles, and included the section which cros.sed Keg creek and its l)ottoms. This was one of the heaviest works on the line. The fill across the Ixittoms was one hun- (7) dred feet wide and was from fifteen to eighteen feet to the bottom of the canal. Ten on one side the berm bank and on the other the towpath were made ; these Ijanks were six feet higher than the l^ottom of the canal. On these heavy works there was a large number of men, carts, and teams at work for nearly three years. At that time there were many ox teams used. They had a ^-ery large plow on these works which the writer has seen drawn by eight yoke of heavy oxen. Shanties for the people and rough stables for the horses and oxen were scattered so thickly that it looked like a string town for many miles along the canal. One living today cannot realize the immense amount of work required to build the canal. It required the removal of more dirt than it would to build a dozen railroads. There were a hundred boarding shanties, large and small, from what was known as the Patoka Summit, a mile or two above Hosmer, Tike county, to the Pigeon Summit, about two miles Ijelow Francisco, Gibson county. Some of these shanties were eighty feet long and would have bunks for as many as fifty boarders. Smaller houses were constructed to accommodate four and six boarders. Nearly all of these people who lived near the works were Irish. They had no trouble getting all the whiske}' they required, and such carrying on as they had has never been seen before or since in this part of Indiana.

There was a large blacksmith shop near the site of the present residence of Samuel Aydelott. A. J. Malone, the father of Rice Malone, lived some miles southwest of that shop, but had come in to have a single-tree mended. He was starting home when he was attacked In- a band of drunken Irishrnen. Malone used his single-tree for a club and knocked se\'enteen of them down with it. Finally one fellow slipped up behind and knocked Malone down with a ]:)ick handle. The drunken brutes then beat him until they thought he was dead. Some of his friends found him and took him to his home, where he lay for many weeks. When he came to his right mind, his friends obtained a description of the men who had attacked him, several of whom Malone knew by name. A posse of twenty men went with their guns to the boarding shanties and compelled the men to pass out of the door between double lines of men who were trying to find the guilty ones. However, some one had given a tip and, with the exception of three, all who had been in the cowardly scrap had fled. These three were hurt so badly that they could not get away. One of them was killed afterwards by John Loyd for bragging of how he beat the American. The other two disappeared mysteriously afterward, and it is believed they were captured and disposed of by Americans.

The people living; along and working- cm the canal had very little re.sjard for sanitary rules and in most cases lived as tilthy lives as animals. This subjected them to many diseases. The cholera raged up and down the line one whole summer and until late in the fall, and I doubt if less than one thousand people died on the works between Patoka and Pigeon Summits. The stricken would die within three or four hours. On the old Potter farm now owned by Sylvester Cantrell, three miles northwest of Oakland City, so many people were sick and dead that the canal people hired a cooper named Whitelock from Francisco to make boxes for coffins. After he had nailed up his sixtieth Ixjx. he said, "I ha\'e nailed the cholera up, and no more will die." He was dead himself within two hours afterward, and nailed up in one of his own boxes. There was a general stampede from the works. Cold weather came, and work was resumed. There were three dead Irishmen found in a blacksmith shop which stood on the ground occupied b}' the residence of A. I. Upton, two miles north of Oakland City.

Patrick Manning had the heavy works just west of Dongola. where the canal crosses the Hurricane creek. Mr. Manning was a just man, and had a family of grown-up boys and girls. Young Pat Manning was a strong, resolute fellow of twenty years of age. On Christmas morning in 185.2 he came to our house for a load of ha\-, and prevailed upon my father to let me go home with him, as they were to ha\-e a Christmas dinner that day. After we reached his home I assisted him in unloading the hay. W'e were near a small shanty occu])ied l)y an Irishman and his wife. These two were drinking stews, and soon began to quarrel. In a few moments the door ilew open and the woman came out of the shanty and fell on the frozen ground as if .shot from a catapult. Young Manning jumped from the wagon and ran up to where the man was standing, and knocked him down. Whereupon the woman picked up a shovel and struck Manning on the side of the head, with the warning, ".\gain, Mr. Manning, you will learn to keej) out of our little pleasantries." Pat rulibed his head and said he would not aid her again if the husband killed her.

On Manning's works, his trusted man and bookkeeper went unde^ the name of Pat McTurbon. This man had been with Manning for two years on works farther north liefore coming down to Gibson county. McTurbon was a civil engineer and could take an estimate of the work done and to bf done. Mr. Ball, the chief engineer of the canal, said that McTurbon was so much more competent than any other man on the works that he ofTered him a new position under himself, with a good salary. McTurbon refused, how-

A small, spare man came to the works and applied for a job, saying that he was not very strong, but could do light work as well as anyone. There was a large number of men on the works. The jigger boss had become such a drunkard that Mr. ]\Ianning proposed to the new man that he might have the place, which was accepted, and he went to work very industriously. Soon another man applied for work, and who claimed to be from Canada. He went to work as a shoveler. These men had been there several weeks, when one morning neither of them appeared, and McTurbon was also missing. His shanty was locked on the outside with a padlock, just as he always left it when he went to work or to his meals. There was a peculiar noise in the shant}', as if someone were breathing very hard. Manning had the staple drawn and on the floor lay the jigger boss and the Canadian, with a straight-jacket securely laced around each of them, and their legs tied to a heavy stake which was driven into the ground to make a water shelf on. In each of their mouths was a regular burglar's gag. McTurbon was gone, with his fine set of instruments and his best clothing. He left a note on top of his time book, addressed to Manning, and read as follows:

"Under circumstances over which I have no control, I am compelled to leave your service, which I sincerely regret. Your accounts and time are correct up to yesterday evening. You will, on the floor of my domicile, find two guests of mine that I part from with satisfaction.

After the two imprisoned men had regained consciousness, which they did not do for several hours, they related their story. They were detectives from the Scotland Yards, Loudon, and had been hunting all over the country for .the last six years to find McTurl)on, whose right name was John Cecil. He had robbed a wealthy English nobleman of more than five hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry, nearly all in diamonds. These detectives had followed the line of public works all over England and America, for they knew that he was a finished engineer and thought that he would go to work at his profession. The two detectives were not certain that McTurbon was the man, as he had so changed himself, but they believed that he was, and they determined to try to get him into his room when he was asleep, as he never left it onl}- when he went to his meals or made estimates for Manning, and then the door wa.s always locked. The shanty which JMcTurbon occupied was built on the slope of a hill a short distance west of Hurricane creek, on land now owned by Charles Shurig, of Oakland City. Under the north side of the shanty was a large log, so as to make the floor level. This made quite an opening under the floor near the log. The detective discovered that wide planks had been used for flooring, and that by loosening one of them they could easil\- get inside. This they succeeded in doing while McTurbon was at supper. The night they attempted to make a search for the diamonds was a very dark one. McTurbon had found that plank was loosened. He accordingly prepared himself and was on watch for them. About midnight one of the detectives slipped under the floor cautiousl\- and pushed the loosened plank to his partner. They soon had a hole large enough for a man to pass through. The jigger boss went first, and upon stepping into the room was knocked senseless with a blow from a sandbag. McTurbon lowered his victim to the floor, and put his head down to the hole and whispered to the other man to come on, which he did, and was treated with the same sandbag blow. These men were seriously hurt and it was ten days before they were able to leave.

The Southern Railroad

Under the internal improvement craze of the early thirties a project was put on foot to build a railroad from New Alban_\-, Indiana, to ?\It. Carmel, Illinois, to connect with the Illinois & St. Louis railroad, then being surveyed. Surveyors were put to work on the New Albany road and the location for the line was made. There was but little work done on this survey in Indiana. On the Illinois division work was i)egun in 1837, and about twenty miles was graded east and west of Albion, Illinois. The general hard times all over the country caused a suspension of the work, leaving a large amount of debts against the company. Later on, Iw an act of the Illinois Legislature, the road was sold to the highest bidder and was bought in liy General Pickering for a nominal sum. There was nothing done with the road until 1 87 1, when that route was adopted and the graded roadbed was bought back from Pickering. Under the general laws of our state, the New .\lbany & St. Louis Air Line was organized Februarx' 24, 1869. On the ist of July, 1870, the name was changed to Louisville, New Albany & St. Louis .\ir Line Railway Company. The survey which was adopted and on which the roadbed was built was near the old survey made in 1837. In a clump of trees

Standing in Oakland City, when the new survey was made, the engineers found the bench mark of the okl survey not more than tift_\' feet from where the road now runs. The Illinois division was organized April 14, 1869, by a special act of the Illinois Legislature, under the name of the St. Louis, Mt Carmel & New Albany Railroad Company. The Indiana and Illinois divisions were consolidated July 24, 1872, under the name of the Louisville, New Albany & St. Louis Railroad Company. Both divisions were subsec|uently sold under foreclosure proceedings. The Indiana division was reorganized in February, 1877, under the name of the Louisville, New Albany & St. Louis Air Line Railroad Company, and the Illinois division was reorganized in January, 1878, under the name of the St. Louis & Mt. Carmel Railroad Company In August, 1878, these two companies were again consolidated under the name of the Louisville, New Albany & St. Louis Railroad Company. The road later on consolidated with the Evansville, Rockport & Eastern Railway Company, and changed its name to the Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis Railroad Company. This change of name came about because the railroad company had purchased a line of railroad from Huntingljurg, Cannelton, Rockport and Evansville. The consolidated railroad compan\- carried a large bonded debt of more than twenty million dollars, and had defaulted in paying the interest. This resulted in the road being placed in the hands of a receiver, who managed the business for several years. The bondholders of the first mortgage bonds became weary doing without interest or dividend, and brought foreclosure proceedings. The court ordered that the road he sold to the best advantage for the creditors. The property was purchased by a committee of bondholders of the Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis Railway Company. The company was reorganized under the latter name.

About this time a road was built from Lincoln City to Cannelton liy a company called the Huntingburg, Tell City & Cannelton Railroad Company. In 1889 new interests acquired both these companies and they were then consolidated with the Illinois & St. Louis Railroad and Coal Company, the Venice & Carondelet Railway Company and the Belleville, Centralia & Eastern Railroad Company, under the name of the Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis Consolidated Railroad Company. In 1894 this road went into the hands of a receiver. In November, 1900, it was sold to the Southern Railway Company.

The Southern Railroad crosses Gibson county from east to west, near the center of the county. There are twenty-five miles of track in the county. The road is in first-class condition, being thoroughly ballasted and laid with

Fa'Ansx'Ille & Terre Ii.M'Te Railroad

The original charter for the l'".\ans\ille & Terre Haute Railroad was granted in 1849 t'> the l-A'ansville iS: Illinois Railroad Company, aiming to run from Evans\ ille to Olney, Illinois, via J^rinceton and Alt. (."armel, there to connect with the Ohio cV Mississippi railroad. In accordance with the notices publisheil in the I'rinceton and ^A-ans^-ille ])a])ers, the conijiany was organized in the city of Evansville on August 16, 1S49. Samuel Hall, of Princeton, was the president. It was through his able management, assisted by other competent men, that the work was pushed forward. Aloney was not plentiful and was hard to get. but the subscription of EA-an.sville for one hundred thousand dollars and of A'anderburg county for a like amount, with the .subscriptions of a number of ca]}italists, put the company in shape to go forward with the construction work, l^dany times the company was hard up for bonds to ])a_\- the contractors, and the officers and directors would pledge their- own private fortunes ami raise the money to go on with the work-

The road was completed to I'rinceton in 1852. I well remember the great gathering of people assembled on the ground where James W. Lewis's residence now stands, watching for the train which was to come at eleven o'clock. I yet remember that the little engine, when it did come, was covered with flags. ~S\r. Hall, the president of the road, stood on the tender and made a speech. Not one in a hundred of these people had ever seen a railroad engine and I was one of that number.

There were many amusing incidents which happened while the first trains were running on the new line. I'rom Fort Branch comes one of the best. An old lady named Sullivan lived near the railroad track just a little way from Fort Branch. She had quite a lisp in her voice. The trains went by her door every day. She was of inquisitive disposition, and she determined that she would make the train stop so that she could look it over. Preparing herself with a large sheet, she went on to the track and as the train came within sight she waved tiie sheet, cau.'jing the engine t<i stop. The engineer ran forward to learn the cause of the trouble, and asked .Mrs. Sullivan the reason for stopping them. She said. "Oh. nothing. I juth wanted to thee what the cuthed thing looked like."

In 1852 it was decided to build the road to \'incennes. Terre Haute and Crawfordsville. The name of the road was changed to the I'A'ansxille &

Crawfordsville Railroad Company. A survey was made to Crawfordsville via Vincennes and Terre Haute, and the road was completed to Rockville, sixteen miles north of Terre Haute. In March, 1877, the name of the road was changed to the Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad. The construction of the Mt. Vernon division from Fort Branch, thirty-seven miles in length, was completed in 1882. Montgomery township gave twenty-five thousand dollars to aid the extension. The Evansville & Terre Haute road, or Chicago & Eastern Illinois, as it has recently become through absorption, runs through a fine farming country. The Mt. Vernon branch runs through territory which cannot be excelled for agricultural purposes ; the land along the branch and much of the main line is worth from one hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars per acre. The road has always been a conservative one and well patronized. The Frisco system now owns this valuable property and run their "cannon-ball" trains over it to all parts of the South. The principal stations in Gibson county are Princeton, Owensville, Fort Branch, Hazelton. Patoka and Hanbstadt.

Indianapolis & Evansville Railroad

The Indianapolis & Evansville Railroad was brought into existence in 1854. It was then known as the Evansville, Indianapolis & Cleveland Straight I>ine Railroad. At the organization of the company in 1854 Hon. Oliver H. Smith, of Indianapolis, was chosen president, and Willard Carpenter, of Evansville, was chosen vice-president and general manager. During the year of 1855-6 nearly all of the grading was done from Evansville to Washington, Indiana, and the roadbed would have been ready for the iron as soon as it could have been gotten. There were no iron or steel rails made in this country at that time, and our people had to depend upon England for the rails. Mr. Carpenter went to England with his pockets full of bonds, expecting no trouble in securing the rails. Being worth more than a half million dollars himself, he could supply any shortage in the bonds.

At that time John Ingle was president of the Evansville & Terre Haute road. Looking on the Straight Line road as a rival, he flooded the iron markets of England with damaging statements of Mr. Carpenter and his road. When the latter arrived in England he found that he could not turn a wheel and he returned home a defeated and disappointed man. The work was all stopped and the roadbed was abandoned for more than twenty-five vears. There was a large amount of land subscribetl and deeded to the company to help build the road. Many people had done much more than they should have done; some of them even lost their own farms. There was no attempt to revive the work until 1882, when an adventurer by the name of Hervey, with nothing but a silk jiat and a box of cigars, came along and found the old roadbed. He hunted up some of the bondholders, and, with fair promises, got control of the property. He put a mortgage on it, bought the iron, finished the grading and bridging, and completed the road from Evansville to \\'orthington, Indiana. Since that time a branch from Worthington to Terre Haute has been l:)uilt. The road now has running schedule from Worthington to Indianapolis over the Indianapolis & \'incennes railroad. The principal stations in Gibson county are Oakland Cit\- and Sommerville. This railroad now belongs to the Frisco system.

Big Four Railboad

Within the last three years there has l)een a branch line l)uilt from the \'incennes & Cairo Big Four railroad that crosses the Wabash river aljout ten miles south of Mt. Carmel, thence through Wabash and Montgomery township, Gibson county, and on to Evansville. The road has about eight miles of track in this county. There is a new town located on the line, near what is kno\\n as Skeleton Blufif, four miles we?t of Owensxille, named Johnson.

Evansville & Princeton Traction

The & Princeton Traction Line is the first of the kind between the two cities. It was finished January i. 1903. Ed. J. Baldwin, of Princeton, was the prime mover in the promotion, and the late Joseph Heston was president at the time of its completion. The road has since been extended north to Patoka. After running a time, the line was bought 1)y the ilurdock-AIarshall-Durbin company or syndicate. It is now owned 1)y the Evansville Public Utilities Company.

The Southern Railroad Shops

The Southern railroad shops now existing in the city of Princeton are unquestionably the greatest factor in the commercial development and civic growth of the city. After the fire of 1893 there was question of the town ever building up, but the shops saved the day. and Princeton started upon the upward path.

the shops. The plan was first made pubHc in the Clarion of November 13, 1890, when it was announced that the Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis Consolidated Railroad Company, having then a mileage of ox'er three hundred miles, intended to begin somewhere the building of general main machine and repair shops on a large scale, the building to take place in 1891. Several towns and cities became active bidders for these shops, and for some time the question of location was in doubt. There is no doubt that in the eyes of the railroad officials, including D. J. Mackey, the president and manager of what later became the Chicago & Eastern Illinois and the Southern, Princeton was the fa\-ored city. The shops then existed at Huntingburg.

President Mackey forwarded a letter to Harry Kurtz, a citizen of Princeton and railroad promoter, stating that the shops would be built in Princeton for a donation of forty acres of land and right of way for the extension, and two per cent, of aid, which would produce sixt}'-six thousand dollars.

"Upon condition that the Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis Consolidated Railroad Company .-hall cunstruct, ecpiip, maintain, occupy and use to the full capacity of its road as its general main machine and repair shops, round house, car shops, paint shops, blacksmith shop and office of and general division point at or within three thousand yards of the court house in the city of Princeton, in the county of Gibson, in the state of Indiana :

"Sixth. The office building shall be at least eighty feet by thirty-five feet, or if buildings are shaped different from the abo\'e described they must be built and occupied as great in extent in aggregate in area and number as these described aforesaid. Each and all of said shops shall be constructed of brick or brick and stone; the construction of said shops shaU be begun on or before the first day of June, 189 1, and completed and ecpiipped and occupied and be used to the full capacity of the road on or before December,

1S94, and tor ninety-nine years and perpetually thereafter. Should the said railroad company or their snccesstirs and a.ssigns fail at an\- time after January, 1894, to use said shops to the full capacity of their road for any consecutive period of one year, then in that event the amount so Mited and donated by said township (Patoka) shall revert to the tax payers of said township and be paid over by said railroad company, their successors or assigns, to the treasurer of Gibson county, Indiana, for the benefit or use of the tax payers of said Patoka township, and the buildings shall rexert to the parties or company who donated the ground upon which they are erected.

"Should the aforesaid buildings be destroyed by iire, lightning or any other cause, they shall be rebuilt immediately and as fast as possible by said railroad company, and when rebuilt shall be equipped, used and occupied to the full capacity of, and by said railroad company, as before provided.

"It is further agreed while this donation shall be collected according to law, that no part of the same shall be paid over to the railroad company until all of the aforesaid shops are built, equipped, occupied and used to the full capacity of the said railroad, as the general machine and repair shops of said railroad company, and a certified copy of the acceptance and ratification of this contract by the directors and the majority of the stock holders of the Louisville, Evans\ille & St. Louis Consolidated Railroad Company is tendered to the auditor of Gibson county, Indiana, for filing as a part of the record of the board of county commissioners of Gibson county, Indiana."

This proposition was published in the Princeton Clarion and the xoters of Patoka township given a chance to form their opinions as to the matter.

On Saturday, November 22, 1890, transportation was provided for three persons from each school district in Patoka township to W^ashington, Daviess county, Indiana, to examine for themsel\-es the Baltimore & Ohio slvips there, and to go among the citizens and farmers of that vicinity for the purpose of learning whether the voting of a sixty-six thousand dollar tax, payable in four installments, April, 1892, November, 1892, April, 1893, and November, 1893, was advisable or not. The farmers of each school tlistrict appointed the men to go. Four hundred boarded the special train that day and went to. ^^'ashington. The dissenters were in the minority when the train returned, and these were mostly ones who had partaken too freely of the "old red eye."

The board of county commissioners ordered an election to I)e held in Patoka township on Tuesday, January 13, 1891, by legal \oters, to determine the question of appropriating the desired n.ioney in aiding the railrcjad in changing the line of its road and also in the way of making improvements and adding division and repair shops. At this election there were nine hundred and fifty-nine votes in favor of the tax, and four hundred and ten not in favor, making the majority in favor of the shops five hundred and forty-nine. The four hundred and ten voters opposed just about represented the number in the township against the improvements. These men held opposition meetings where orators were imported for the purpose of stirring up the people to their side, but the efforts proved futile. The majority of the people saw the benefit of the shops.

The appropriation was made and the shops built. Meanwhile a land company known as the Princeton Land Company was formed to buy a large tract of ground and donate from this tract the forty acres needed by the railroad company, and to plat the remainder into town lots and sell them, thereby making profit on the investment. Thomas R. Paxton was president of this companv, John H. Miller was secretary, and Harry Kurtz was the promoter.

At this date, 1914, the shops are still growing, and have come to be one of the greatest industries in the county of Gibson. From three hundred to five hundred men find emplo}-ment here, and the monthly pay roll amounts to over thirty-five thousand dollars. The shops are located in the southern part of the city, and transportation is provided by automobile from the downtown district. The shops are equipped with the newest and best machinery, and the slogan of the place is "efficiency and dispatch." The most modern safety appliances are used to prevent accidents, but when these do occur, as they are bound to do, immediate attention is gi\en to the victim. The round house has a capacity of eighteen engines, that is, comfortable working capacity.

In closing this short exposition of the Southern shops it is only fitting to pay a small tribute to the man who was responsible, perhaps more than any other, in securing this improvement for the city of Princeton. This was Henry (Harry) Kurtz. He gave up a lucrative position, also his own money, so that he might aid the cause of a better Princeton. He labored hard, he sacrificed, and all without pay. Nothing more could higher perpetuate the memory of this patriot. The Southern shops are in fact a monument to Harry Kurtz.

Hazelton Railroad Wreck

One of the worst wrecks in the history of southern Indiana occurred on the Evansville & Terre Haute road, now the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, at three o'clock, Wednesday morning, March 10, 1897. Fast train No. 5, south bound, was wrecked at the high embankment forming the southern approach to the White river bridge about two miles north of the town r/f Hazelton. Back water from White river had flooded that portion of the country up to within a few feet of the track and the water depth measured about twenty feet. The high embankment was consequently weakened and gave way under the weight of the heavy train. When the train approached the fatal bridge it was running at a speed of twenty-five miles an hour. The engineer obeyed orders and slowed his engine as he drew near the bridge, but was still running at a good rate of speed when the embankment was reached one hundred and fifty yards from the bridge proper. Then came the catastrophe, sudden and appalling, and unavoidable as much as tragic.

Without warning the track gave in and literally slid out from under the engine. The water rushed through the opened levee, and the aperture was widened rapidly by the force. The engine turned over into the ditch ten feet east of the track, landing broadside in five feet of water. The l^aggage car followed and plunged headfirst into the washout. The smoker came next and was telescoped by the baggage car: the top being cut ofi^ down to the lc\el of the windows. The ladies' coach and sleeper remained on the track and none of the occupants were injured in the least.

The death roll was numbered from the occupants of the sulimerged coach and baggage car. This ill-fated coach broke loose from the couijlings and floated down stream, where it finally sank. Only one or two bodies were ever recovered from this car, and the nnmber of men therein is now but a matter of conjecture. A large number, possibly a dozen, lives were lost, it is certain, among them being Conductor George A. Sears, whose arm was seen protruding from one of the windows as the coach sank. Not until April 29th, more than six weeks after the wreck, did one body come to light, and that was a traveling man from Fort Wayne named W. H. Lange. Professional divers worked on the wreck for days and days, but to no avail. The toll is the secret of the quicksand and water, forever hidden to the knowledge of man.