Cooper County, Missouri - Chapter 5: Transportation and Highways, 1919

EARLY RIVER TRANSPORTATION - COUREUR DE BOIS - PIONEER ROADS AND TRAVEL - FIRST FERRIES - FIRST STEAMBOATS - ARRIVAL AT FRANKLINARRIVAL OF SECOND STEAMBOAT - DESCRIPTION - GREATEST ERA - PRIMITIVE BOATS - GROWTH - COST - WRECKING - SANTA FE TRAIL - BOONSVILLE ACTIVE MART - USE OF OXEN - FIRST RAILROADS - REBUILDING OF BRIDGES - ROAD IMPROVEMENT.

Advanced transportation and good highways are indices of a people, certain . evidences of their culture, progressiveness and prosperity. As are these so are the people. Good transportation, advanced civilization; or advanced civilization, good transportation; either way one follows the other as certainly as the night the day, or the day the night.

Transportation has been, is, and will be a process of evolution. Could we turn back the scroll of time and witness the primitive methods of the early pioneer, great would be our astonishment; could we project ourselves into the future one hundred years, and observe the method of transportation then, doubtless it would be beyond our comprehension.

Early River Transportation. - When our first settlers arrived at the Missouri River, the routes of commerce and travel were largely the water courses. For this reason the settlements made were on the banks of the Mississippi and the Missouri. At this time there was neither steamboat nor railroad. The pirogue, the canoe, the bateau, the mackinaw, the bullboat and the keelboat were the means of all river transportation. The pirogue was a small type of canoe. The canoe was the most commonly used, and was the simplest of all river crafts. It was usually made from a cottonwood log, hollowed out, and was usually from 15 to 18 feet long, and was generally manned by three men, one to steer and two to paddle. It was used chiefly for local use, though occasionally employed for long trips. The mackinaw was a flat boat, pointed at both ends, and was of varying lengths, from 40 to 50 feet. Its crew usually consisted of five men, one steersman and four oarsmen. The bullboat was usually used on shallow streams because of its light draft. It was constructed of buffalo bull hide sewed together, and stretched over a frame of poles, and required two men to handle it. The keel boat was the aristocratic craft, and the largest, from 60 to 70 feet long, with the keel running from bow to stern and the latest improvements in river transportation prior to the steamboat. It was capable of carrying a larger cargo than any of the others mentioned. It was usually propelled by means of a cordelle. The cordelle was a line practically 1,000 feet long, one end of which was fastened to the top of the 30 foot mast in the center of the boat, well braced from this mast the rope extended to the shore. At the shore end of the line, some twenty or thirty men walking along the river bank, would pull the boat up stream. Cordelling was never used except in breasting the current of the stream. It was more or less difficult, and in some places it was absolutely impossible by reason of the cliffs on the river bank. At such points poles were used. Sails were also used very effectively at times in this manner of transportation. Notwithstanding the difficulty with which this type of boat was propelled, it was employed prior to the invention of the steamboat more extensively than any other kind for long distance voyages up stream. In fact it continued to be used along with the steamboat for many years after the appearance of the latter.

Coureur de Bois. - An average day's voyage for the keel boat was from twelve to fifteen miles. It was the means of transportation used by the coureur des bois. It is claimed that as early as 1700, there were not less than one hundred coureur de bois, or trappers, domiciled among the tribes along the Missouri River. The coureur de bois was a French Canadian, sometimes a half-breed, and in his habits were blended the innocent simplicity of the fun-loving Frenchman and the wild traits and woodcraft of the Indian. Born in the woods, he was accustomed from childhood to the hardships and exposures of the wild life of the wilderness, and was a skillful hunter and trapper.

His free and easy manners, peaceful disposition, and vivacity qualified him for associating with the Indians, whose customs he adopted, and often marrying into the tribe, himself became a savage. It was the ceureur de bois as he wandered up and down the Missouri River who gave the poetical and musical French names to its tributaries and prominent localities which they bear to this day, as follows: Bonne Femme, good woman; Lamine, the mine; Pmeem de terre, apple of the earth, the potato ; Moreau, very black ; Niangue, crooked ; Gasconade, turbulent ; Aux Vase, very muddy; Creve Couer, broken heart; Cote sans Dessein, hill without a cause; Petit sas Prairie, little cradle of the prairie; Marias des Cygnes, river of swans; Roche Percee, pierced rock; Petit Saline, little salt.

The history of the Missouri for more than two hundred years is the history of the country through which it flows. On its muddy waters the Indians paddled their canoes for centuries before the advent of the white man. Then came the French voyageur and his pirogue, canoe, bateau, his mackinaw and his keel boat, without which the fur trade, the principal commerce in the early day, could not have attained its great proportions.

Pioneer Roads and Travel. - In 1815, the tide of immigration, which had been halted by the War of 1812, began with increasing force to flow steadily to the Boonslick country. The settlers brought with them wagons, horses and mules, and by degrees they began to mark out roads and to cut their ways through the forest. Oxen were also used for transportation, and continued to be so used for many years thereafter.

The prairie presented few obstacles to travel, but to penetrate a primevial forest was an entirely different matter, and necessitated a wise selection of a route else arduous labor in felling trees and fording streams.

No public roads were laid out in what is now Cooper County until 1819. No work was done upon the roads nor were they thought of for a number of years thereafter. The first petition for a public road in Cooper County was presented by B. W. Levens. It asked for the location of a road leading from Boonville to the mouth of the Moniteau Creek. The second petition, for the location of a public road was by Anderson Reavis, presented on the same day. The road petitioned for ran from the mouth of the Grand Moniteau to the Boonville and Potosi road. Cooper County was then organized as a county. The stream of immigration then to the south side of the river was great. Travel was greatly increased and highways needed.

authority of the court in what is now Cooper County, was the route from Cole's Fort on the Missouri River, to intersect the road from Potosi in Washington County at the Osage River.

First Ferries. - Also at this same term of court and on the same day Hannah Cole was granted a license to conduct a ferry on the Missouri between Boonville and Franklin. This was the first licensed ferry in what had been known as the Boonslick country, although, for some time prior thereto, the Cole boys had operated one on this part of the Missouri. At the same term of the court, Stephen Turley was granted the right to keep a ferry across the Lamine River. B. W. Levens, Ward, and Potter, and George W. Cary were also granted a license to keep a ferry across the Missouri at the present site of Overton. However, for some years prior to this, a ferry had been operated across the Missouri River from Boonville to Franklin. The rates charged at the Levens ferry were as follows: For man and horse, fifty cents; for either separately, twentyfive cents ; for four horses and four wheeled wagon, two dollars ; for two horses and four wheeled carriage, one dollar; for horned cattle, four cents each, and for polled cattle, two cents each.

First Steamboats. - Coincident with the opening of the first roads in Cooper County by the Cooper County Court, was the arrival at Franklin of the steamboat Independence, the marvel of marvels, and what seemed to our first settlers the acme of the evolution of transportation. Prior to this, however, and leading up to the navigation of the Missouri River, coincident with the first Anglo-American settlement on the Missouri in 1807 was the first successful application of steam as a motive power, the trip of the North River steamboat up the Hudson from New York to Albany; and again, coincident with the first Anglo-American settlements in what are now Howard and Cooper counties in 1810, was Fulton's and Livingston's proposition to the legislature of Upper Louisiana, of which St. Louis was the seat of government, to operate steamboats on the Mississippi and Ohio. The proposition, however, was not acted upon. It seemed a visionary dream. It was not until seven years afterward, in 1817, that the first steamboat, the Zebulon M. Pike, landed at St. Louis. Its hull was built like a barge. It had but one smokestack, its engine was of low pressure, and when the current was swift, the crew used poles to furnish additional power. The trip from Louisville to St. Louis took six weeks.

mention. The Independence left St. Louis May 15, 1819, and reached Franklin opposite Boonville on May 29th. Captain John Nelson had charge of the steamboat. Among the passengers were Col. Elias Rector, Stephen Rector, Captain Desha, J. C. Mitchell, Dr. Stuart, J. Wanton, and Major J. D. Wilcox.

The settlers on both sides of the river were wild with excitement and elation on the arrival of the boat at Franklin. A public meeting was held at which Asa Morgan who with Charles Lucas, laid out Boonville, on the first day of August, 1817, was chosen president and Dr. N. Hutchinson vice-president. The "Franklin Intelligencer," May 28, 1819, speaking of that event says :

"On Friday last, the 28th ult., the citizens of Franklin, with the most lively emotions of pleasure, witnessed the arrival of this beautiful boat, owned and commanded by Captain Nelson, of Louisville. Her approach to the landing was greeted by a Federal salute, accompanied with the acclamations of an admiring crowd, who had assembled on the bank of the river for the purpose of viewing this most novel and interesting sight. We may truly regard this event as highly important, not only to the commercial but agricultural interests of the country. The practicability of steamboat navigation, being clearly demonstrated by experiment, we shall be brought nearer to the Atlantic, West India and European markets, and the abundant resources of our fertile and extensive region will be quickly developed. This interesting section of country, so highly favored by nature, will at no distant period, with the aid of science and enterprise assume a dignified station amongst the great agricultural states of the west.

"The enterprise of Capt. Nelson cannot be too highly appreciated by the citizens of Missouri. He is the first individual who has attempted the navigation of the Missouri by steam power, a river that has hitherto borne the character of being very difficult to and imminently dangerous in its navigation, but we are happy to state that his progress thus far has not been impeded by any accident. Among the passengers were Colonel Elias Rector, Mr. Stephen Rector, Capt. Desha, J. C. Mitchell, Esq., Dr. Stuart, Mr. J. Wanton, Maj. J. D. Wilcox.

"The 'day after the arrival of the Independence, Capt. Nelson and the passengers partook of a dinner, given by the citizens of Franklin, in honor of the occasion.."

chief factor in the development of Boonville and Cooper County. However, prior to 1831, only an occasional steamer ventured up the dangerous Missouri. The steamboat arrivals ascending the river at Boonville, in 1831, were only five.

Arrival of Second Steamboat. - The second steamboat to arrive at Franklin was the "Western Engineer," a small boat constructed for scientific purposes. It carried an expedition projected by the United States to ascertain whether the Missouri River was navigable by steamboat and to establish a line of forts from its mouth to the Yellow Stone. The vessel reached St. Louis, June 9, 1819, and proceeding on the voyage, arrived at Franklin June 13, of the same year. Its progress up the river excited the greatest fear among the Indians, many of whom flocked the river banks to see it, while others fled in fear to the forest or prairie, thinking it an evil spirit, a very devil with horned head, and breath of fire and steam. The St. Louis "Inquirer" of June 16, 1819, gives this description of it: "The bow of the vessel exhibits the form of a huge serpent, black and scaly, rising out of the water from under the boat, his head as high as the deck, darted forward, his mouth open, vomiting - smoke, and apparently carrying the boat on his back. From under the boat, at its stern issues a stream of foaming water, dashing violently along. All the machinery is hid. Three small brass field pieces, mounted on wheels, stand on the deck; the boat is ascending the rapid stream at the rate of three miles an hour. Neither wind, nor human hands are seen to help her; and to the eye of ignorance the illusion is complete, that a monster of the deep carries her on his back smoking with fatigue, and lashing the waves with violent exertion."

Description of Early Steamboat. - Captain Joseph Brown, in a paper before the Missouri Historical Society, wrote what he had seen and known, as boy and man, of the primitive steamboat:

"They had but one engine, and no 'doctor' or donkey engine. The boats themselves, and particularly those for the upper rivers, were small, sometimes made like a flat boat, with broad bow and stern, and a stern wheel. There was nothing above the boiler house deck but the pilot house and chimneys, or rather one chimney, for they had cylinder boilers ; that is, there were no flues in the boilers. Having but one engine, the shaft ran entirely across the boat, and when at a landing the engine bad to run the pump to supply the boilers with water, the wheels had to be uncoupled to let the engine work. As I said before, the donkey engine

"The cabin was a very primitive affair. It was on the lower deck, back of the shaft, in the after part of the boat. There were no staterooms then, but, like a canal boat, there were curtains in front of th"e berths. It was quite common to see a bowsprit sticking out in front of the boat, such as are seen on ships, but, being useless, they were soon dispensed with. Stages had not been invented then. Two or three planks were used, if need be, tied together. Whistles were unknown, but bells were rung, and the captains were very proud of the big bell. For a number of years there was no signal for meeting or passing boats, which resulted in many collisions.

"There were no packets then. A boat started for Pittsburg was just as likely to go to St. Paul as anywhere, or up any of the other rivers, and they had no regular or even days of starting. I have known boats to have steam up for a week, telling people and shippers the boat was going in an hour, and even have their planks all taken in, all but one, and then launch out their planks again. All this was done to decoy people on board. The clanging of bells, the hurrah of agents and the pulling and hauling of cabmen and runners were most confusing, more particularly to unsophisticated emigrants. There was no fixed price for anything ; it was all a matter of bargaining, and very often deception was practiced. The engines being small and very imperfect in those days, the boats were very slow. I have known some boats in the case of a sudden rise in the river and consequently strong current, to be unable to stem it at the old waterworks point, which was at the foot of Carr Street. They would have to go over to the other side of the river and fight it out there, sometimes for hours, in sight of the city. * * *

"In 1849, when the gold fever was at its height, there were fiftyeight fine steamers plying regularly on the Missouri River; on the Upper Mississippi, about seventy-five ; on the Illinois, twenty-eight fine steamers ; to New Orleans, about one hundred ; on the Ohio, about one hundred and fifty ; on the Tennessee, about fifteen. Owing to the rush of immigration at that time, boats could not be built fast enough. It was said of a certain boat-yard at Freedom, Pennsylvania, that they kept a lot of straight bodies of boats put up. When a man wanted a boat, they took him down to the yard and asked him how long he wanted her; then just put two ends onto a body and he had a boat. But a really fast and fine boat cost about $100,000 to $150,000 and took about eight months to build. The average life of a boat was about five years. After that they were compelled either to build a more modern boat, or raise and rebuild the one that had sunk or blown up. Need I tell you that in one bend of the river there lie the wrecks of one hundred ^nd three steamboats, between St. Louis and Cairo?"

Greatest Era of Steamboating. - Steamboating reached its highest prosperity in the year 1858. There were then not less than sixty packets on the river, besides probably 30 or 40 transient boats called tramps, which came on the river from other streams and made one or two trips during the season. The packets carried the United States mail, express, freight, papers, both semi-weekly and daily, and their arrival was looked forward to along the Missouri River with a great deal of interest and people flocked to the wharves at the time of their arrival.

So numerous were the boats on .the lower river during this period, that it was no unusual sight to see as many as five or six lying at the landing at the same time ; and during the boating season, which continued from March to November, at no time was a boat out of sight. These were prosperous days for the river towns.

During this banner year of prosperity for steamboating on the Missouri River, some of the finest and most popular boats were : Kate Howard, John D. Perry, David Tatum, Clara, Platte Valley, Asa Wilgus, Alonzo, Child, F. X. Aubrey, Admiral D. S. Carter, Emigrant, E. A. Ogden, Empire, State, Isabella, James H. Lucas, Meteor, Minnehaha, Polar Star, Peerless, Spread, Eagle. War Eagle, Southwestern, C. W. Sombart, Twilight, Thomas E. Tutt, White Cloud and Edinburgh. Those which came later were the R. W. Dugan, D. H. Dui-fee, Phil E. Chapel, Montana, Dakota, A. L. Mason, State of Missouri and State of Kansas. These boats were built for some special trade. Some ran as late as 1888. when steamboat navigation on the Missouri ceased.

The Missouri is one of the most difficult streams in the world to navigate because of its shifting channel, its swift current and its many bends which with the innumerable snags therein were a continual menace to life in the days of the steamboat, and no pilot approaches one, especially at night, without trepidation and fear.

Primitive Boats, Canoes, Etc. - The pirogue, as used by the early French fur-trader, was really a double pirogue, or a double canoe, built in the shape of a flat-iron, with a sharp bow and a square stern. Two canoes, or pirogues, were securely fastened together a short distance apart, the floor being formed by boards, or puncheons, laid across. On the floor was placed the cargo, which was protected from the weather by hides. The boat was propelled upstream by oars or line, steered by an oarsman, who stood on the stern. A square sail was also resorted to going upstream, when the wind was in the right quarter, and a distance of from ten to fifteen miles could be made under favorable conditions.

Such boats were usually from 30 to 40 feet long, and from six to eight feet beam, and being light, were good carriers. They were much safer than the canoe, because of their width they could not be easily upset.

The bateau, used by the French trader, was a flat bottomed, clumsily constructed boat, especially adapted to transporting a cargo of fur downstream, and did not differ materially from the flat bottomed boat. It was usually from 50 to 75 feet long, and 10 to 12 feet deep. Gunwales were hewn from cotton logs, and the bottom was spiked into cross beams running lengthwise of the boat. The bow and stern were square with a sufficient slant toward the bottom to make easier the progress of the boat through the water. The oars, the pole, the line and the sail were the appliances relied upon for motive power in ascending the stream, but in going down the boat was allowed to float with the current, being kept in the channel by the steersman. The flat-boats, when they reached their destination going downstream, were usually sold for lumber.

Growth of Steamboating. - In the year 1836, on the 30th day of September, the arrivals at the same port had amounted to more than 70. The population along the Missouri River had increased so rapidly along about 1840, that there was demand for additional transportation facilities. This brought about the building of a better class of boats. They had full length cabins, double engines with a battery of boilers in place of the single engine. Great improvements were also made in the hulls, and they were so constructed as to have the same carrying capacity as before but to draw much less water.

The same genius that had invented the steamboat was continually making improvements, both in the machinery and the hull, so as to add to the speed of the boat and also increase her carrying capacity. There were 26 steamboats engaged regularly in the lower river trade during the year 1842. They were generally from 140 to 160 feet long, about 30 feet beam and six foot hold, and were a much better class of boats than those formerly built. They had side wheels and the cabins were full length.

The years between 1850 and 1860 are popularly termed by some as the "Golden Era" in steamboat navigation on the Missouri River, but Capt. .A. J. Spahr thinks the period from 1866 to 1868, inclusive, to be the most prosperous. The improvements which had been made both in the machinery and in the construction of the hull, the adaptation of the state-room cabin, and the systematizing of the business all tend to lessen the danger of navigation and to increase the profits.

The advance made in navigation on the Missouri River had kept pace with the march of commerce in other parts of the world. Phil E. Chappel says in a "History of the Missouri River:"

"The first navigator on the Missouri River was the little blue-winged teal ; the next the Indian, with his canoe ; then came the half -civilized French voyageur, with his pirogue, paddling up stream or cordelling around the swift points. At a later day came the fur-trader with his keel-boat; still later there came up from below the little "dingey" - the single engine, one-boiler steamboat, which has been described. At last the evolution was complete, and there came the magnificent passenger steamer of the '50's, the floating palace of the palmy days of steamboating, combining in her construction every improvement that experience had suggested or the ingenuity of man had devised to increase the speed or add to the safety and comfort of the passenger.

"The fully equipped passenger steamer, in the heyday of steamboating on the Missouri River, was a magnificent specimen of marine architecture. She was generally about 250 feet long, 40 feet beam, and had a full-length cabin, capable of accommodating from 300 to 400 people. The texas, occupied solely by the officers, was on the hurricane roof. In addition to her passenger accommodation, she had a freight capacity of 500 to 700 tons. She was well proportioned, symmetrical, trim, fast and sat on the water like a thing of life. Her two tall smoke-stacks, with ornamental tops, between which was usually suspended some gilt letter or device, added much to her beauty. The pilot, on top of the texas, was highly ornamentel with glass windows on every side; a fence railing of scroll work surrounded the guards of the boiler deck and texas. The entire boat except the smoke-stack, was painted a dazzling white.

"The cabin of the boat, a long, narrow saloon, was a marvel of beauty in its snow white splendor. The floors of the cabin were covered with the softest of Brussels carpets, and the state-rooms were supplied with every convenience. Indeed, the bridal chambers were perfect gems of elegance and luxury. The table was elegantly furnished, and the menu unsurpassed by that of any first-class hotel. Each boat had, in the ladies' cabin, a piano, and generally a brass band, and always a string band was carried. After the table was cleared away at night a dance was always in order, the old Virginia reel being the favorite dance. The social feature of a trip on one of these elegant boats was most charming."

Costs of Steamboats. - The estimated cost of one of the boats above described, during the period between 1850 and 1860 was from $50,000 to $75,000. The captains received about $200 per month, clerks $150, mates $125, engineers about the same as mates. These wages included board, and were based on the size of the boat, labor and danger as well as the profits of the business. The pilot, however, received princely wages, sometimes as much as $1,600 per month. He was the autocrat of the boat, and absolutely controlled her navigation. It was for him to determine when the boat should run or "lay by."

However, piloting on the Missouri River was a science, demanding of the pilot great skill and a wonderful memory of localities. The river channel, its bends, cliffs, bars and obstructions were visualized in his mind as well in the darkest night and densest fog as if seen on the clearest day. The weal or woe of the floating palace, with its rich cargo of merchandise and human freight, depended upon his skill and ever alert vigilance.

Locally Owned Steamboats. - Capt. A. J. Spahr, known in the prosperous river days as "Bud" Spahr, was one of the leading pilots on the Missouri. It is his opinion that the most prosperous period in steamboating on the Missouri were the years 1866, '67 and '68. He tells of a certain pilot on the Missouri who entered into a contract to pilot at $1,600 per month for eight months, "work or play." Also that Capt. C. H. Brewster of Boonville, who was clerk on the "Cora," a boat of about 5,000 tons, on his return from St. Louis to Fort Benton, turned over to the owner of the "Cora," Capt. Joe Kinney, the sum of $45,000 - profits of the trip.

From Captain Spahr, we gather the following information: Capt. Joe Kinney, who lived on the opposite side of the river from Boonville, was the owner of the following boats at different times: Kate Kinney, a side wheeler and a fine boat ; Kate Kinney, stern wheel ; St. Lake, Bacon, Fannie Ogden, Cora, stern wheel ; Cora, side wheel ; R. W. Dugan and Alice, and a large interest in the W. H. H. Russell, Twilight and Omaha.

Among those of our local citizens engaged and interested largely in steamboating were: Capt. Joe Kinney, as above stated; Capt. Henry McPherson, owner of, or largely interested in, the Jennie Lewis ; J. L. Stephens, Cavier, Lieut. Girard D. Allen, Captain St. John; Capt. Dave Kaiser, Wm. Linge, pilot; "Bud" Spahr, pilot; Geo. Homan, pilot; Jesse Homan, pilot; "Billy" Young, pilot; Capt. C. H. Brewster, C. W. Sombarts (owner of C. W. Sombart) , and Capt. D. DeHaven, captain of South Western owned by a company of Boonville citizens. There were doubtless others but we have been able to get information concerning only the foregoing.

Wrecking of Steamboats. - Space will not permit us in this chapter to give the names of the boats wrecked and destroyed on the Mississippi, nor to give an account of any of these unfortunate events. Suffice it to say that the list of lost boats contains the names of over 300. Of those names, 193 were sunk by coming in contact with snags, 25 by fire, and the remainder by explosions, rocks, bridges, storms and ice.

As most of the boats ran in the lower Missouri, more than threefourths of the number were wrecked between Kansas City and the mouth of the river. It has been stated on authority that there are buried in the lower bends of the river the wrecks of more than 200 steamboats, covered with the accumulated sands of more than a half century.

Santa Fe Trail, William Becknell Founder. - Next in importance to the magnificent steamboat traffic which so directly added to the growth and prosperity of Cooper County, was that of the Santa Fe trail. The first concerted organized effort to reach and open up trade and commerce with Santa Fe. New Mexico, was inaugurated by William Becknell, who lived on the north side of the Missouri, not far from Boonville.

Becknell published an advertisement in the Franklin "Intelligencer" "to enlist a company destined to Santa Fe for the purpose of trading for horses and mules, catching wild animals of every description that might be for the advantage of the company." It was emphasized that all men joining the expedition were to bind themselves by oath to submit to such orders and rules as the company when assembled might adopt. The number of men sought to be enlisted in this expedition was limited to 70, and applications were to be received up to Aug. 4, 1822. These applicants were directed to meet at the home of Ezekiel Williams, known as the "lost trapper," on the Missouri River, five miles above Franklin, to secure a pilot and appoint officers. At this meeting, however, only 11 men assembled, and Becknell was chosen captain. It was then determined that 30 men would be the number sufficient to undertake the expedition, and that the company as organized should cross the Missouri River at Arrow Rock on September the first.

The expedition was highly successful, and the men returned in January, 1822. William Becknell became the founder of the phenomenal Santa Fe Trail, of which Franklin, for a number of years, was the thriving center. But, alas, for more than 80 years the treacherous waters of the Missouri have eddied the shifting sands of the treacherous stream and have covered the places where the restless, indomitable and adventurous early settlers met and jostled, traded and trafficked, fitted and equipped the caravans for the great trade of the wilderness; and who on their return from successful trips, boasted of exploits and adventures, and displayed the evidences of their prosperity and wealth.

Boonville Becomes Active Mart. - A few years after 1826, the year in which the waters of the turbulent Missouri commenced encroaching upon the beautiful city of Franklin, Boonville assumed its dominant position on the Santa Fe trail. Steamboats began to land in increasing numbers along the river front, especially at the foot of what is now Main street, and there continued for years a wonderful activity.

The hum of activity; the loud and strident voices of mates, frequently punctured with oaths as they drove the stevedores to greater activity ; the monotonous songs of the negroes chanting the river melodies, as they strove, heaved and perspired; the long line of prairie schooners with teams of patient, plodding oxen loading for the great trail of the wilderness ; the flare of the torches at night reflected in the waters ; and the indescribable grace of the steamboat as she gently pressed the wharf and lowered her gang-plank and the hurly-burly; the passengers crowding the rail eagerly gazing on the shore scene, or with sparkling eyes ready to pass the gang-plank; all are now but sweet memories of halcyon days, .obscured by the sands of more than half a century.

Use of Oxen. - Experience demonstrated along about 1821 that oxen were better adapted to the Santa Fe trail than mules, and from this time on the oxen were more generally used than the mules.

When oxen were used, the day was divided usually into two drives of six or eight miles each day. As soon as early dawn approached, the first drive started and its termination was in a measure decided by the most favorable camping place where grass and water were to be found in plenty. About midday the wagons were corraled and the cattle were given food. In very hot weather the afternoon drive was not ordered until about three or four o'clock in the afternoon. On such days the drive continued until nine or ten o'clock at night. When the oxen were unyoked, they were turned over to the night herder, who kept watcn over them as they moved about seeking the best grass. As it was only necessary for the herder to keep track of the leader of the herd, one man could easily watch over as many as 300 or 400 head of oxen at night. In the herd on the trail, there developed, very soon after the start on the trail, one animal which all the others recognized as a leader. Wherever the leader of the herd went, the rest of the herd followed. The night herder always kept track of the leader, and frequently got off his mule, drove a peg in the ground to which he attached a long rope, that allowed the mule some range, rolled himself up in his blanket and went to sleep. Moreover, when the grass was scarce, the leader would wander about the plains, and all the herd would follow, thus requiring the night herder to follow and keep awake.

If the grass was plentiful the herd would often obtain a sufficient supply in three or four hours, and would then lie down until morning. At the first appearance of dawn, the night herder rounded up the oxen, and started for the corral. When in close proximity, he would shout "Roll out, roll out, roll out." This was the signal for the men to prepare breakfast and be ready to yoke up. When all was ready, each teamster answered, "All set." Then came the order, "Fall in." The second order, "Stretch out." Then with creaking yokes and rattling wheels, the train moved on with the dignified pace of oxen.

First Railroads. - The building of railroads in Missouri, commenced in 1859; this year marked the completion of the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad, the first railway extending to the Missouri river. This sounded the death knell of steamboat traffic on the Missouri, and by the same token, there passed into the dimly remembered past, the trials and thrills of the Santa Fe trail.

The first rail of the first railroad built in the United States was laid on July 4, 1828, by Charles Carroll, who was at the time the only surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence.

For a year or two, cars and coaches were drawn by horses, but after that the locomotive engine was introduced. Fifteen miles of this road had been completed by 1830. Other railroads had been planned, and in a few years were under construction, so that by 1850, a little more than 9,000 miles of railroad had been built in the United States.

country, not one mile was constructed in Missouri until 1851. However, a peculiar i*oad was started in 1849 or 1850, which extended to a point on the Missouri opposite Lexington, was operated by horse power, and its rails and cross ties were built entirely of timber. Missouri was fortunate in having great natural highways of Commerce in the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries. The steamboats then coming into general use made these natural highways all the more important and profitable to Missouri by establishing connections not only with the outside world, but also between different parts of the state. Along the Mississippi and Missouri and their tributaries were thriving and prosperous towns, and these seemed well satisfied with the conditions, as they then existed. Eastern capitalists either were not able to take up railroad building in Missouri, or did not consider it to their advantage to do so. However, agitation for railroad building began as early as 1836. A railroad convention was held on April 30, of that year, at St. Louis. Delegates to the number of 59, representing 11 different counties, including Cooper, assembled at St. Louis at this time, and passed various resolutions in which the advantages of railroads were set forth.

It seems to us at this day, rather strange that they recommended two lines of railroads running out of St. Louis, one to Fayette, by way of St. Charles, Warrenton, Fulton and Columbia, for the purpose of opening up an agricultural region, the other to the valley of Bellvue in Washington County, with a branch to the Merrimac Iron Works in Crawford County, for the purpose of developing the mineral region.

Congress was also petitioned by this convention to grant 500,000 acres of public lands to encourage these enterprises, and it was also urged that the state of Missouri place its credit at the disposal of the companies that would undertake to build these roads.

Governor Boggs, in the fall of the same year, in his message to the Legislature, strongly urged a general system of railroad construction. Doubtless, inspired by this convention of railroad delegates,, and the recommendation of the governor, the Legislature proceeded to incorporate, during the months of Jan. and Feb., 1836, at least 18 railroad companies whose aggregate capital stock amounted to about $7,875,000.

The early thirties were a period of general speculation throughout the United States, and the Missouri Legislature in granting franchises to railroad companies so freely and generously, was only following the example of many other states. However, little progress was made, in railroad building by these companies, due doubtless, in a large part, to a panic in

1837, and for 10 years thereafter, failing to do so, the public lost interest in railroad enterprises. The 500,000 acres of land granted by Congress to assist in internal improvements in Missouri, were divided among the various counties of the state, to be used in the construction of roads.

It was not until 1850 that the people again became interested in railroad building. At this time the population of the state had increased to 682,044. This increase in population was not confined to the older settled portions of the state, that is along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, but also in the more inland sections. The country had recovered from the panic of 1837, and the spirit of enterprise was aroused throughout the country. St. Louis became roused. In 1850, her population was 80,081, and she was the leading manufacturing center in the Mississippi valley, but Chicago was rapidly gaining upon her.

Missouri was being roused. Governor King proposed to the legislature in his message in 1850, that the state should lend its credit to the railroad companies by issuing bonds, and lending them the money realized from the sale of these bonds. The companies were to pay an annual interest at the rate of six per cent, and to pay off the principal in 20 years.

On Feb. 22, 1851, a law was passed by the Legislature, granting aid to two railroad companies, the Hannibal & St. Joseph, and the Pacific. The first was granted $1,500,000, and the latter $2,000,000. The Hannibal & St. Joseph, which had been incorporated in 1846 was to build a road which would connect Hannibal, on the Mississippi, with St. Joseph, on the Missouri. The Pacific, which had been incorporated between 1847 and 1851, was to construct a road which would run from St. Louis to Jefferson City, and from thence to the western boundary of the state.

It was in the building of the Missouri Pacific railway, that Boonville, and Cooper county, in all probability, lost her great opportunity. Boonville had the advantage of water transportation, and was the most important and most popular town or city in this section of the state, and some of its business men, though farsighted and prosperous, thought that any railroad coming west from St. Louis through a region of country surrounding Boonville, or within 20 or 30 miles of its proposed route, would naturally deflect from its course, and take in Boonville. Efforts to secure the road was not characterized by that activity and enthusiasm usually manifested by men who were attempting to avail themselves of an enterprise, the success of which would greatly and grandly enure for the

The golden prize (the Missouri Pacific), with all its promised for the future, was really to be given to the Vine-clad city, upon certain conditions but, through the lukewarmness, indifference and tardiness of those who believed the Missouri Pacific road would come to Boonville whether solicited or not, it was bestowed upon another and far less pretentious raval and claimant. Had they acted upon the advice of the poet, who said:

The citizens of Boonville had a meeting and instructed Dr. Wm. H. Trigg, one of their most wealthy and prominent business men, to go to St. Louis and confer with Mr. Allen, who was at the time manager of the Missouri Pacific railroad. The doctor waited upon Mr. Allen at his office in St. Louis, and had an extended interview with him in reference to bringing the road by way of Boonville. Nothing definite, however, was arrived at or agreed upon.

The road was chartered Feb. 21, 1857, to run from a point between Jefferson City and Round Hill, in the direction of Topeka, Kansas. The first meetings of the company took place before the war. In 1860, the charter was amended, so as to permit the construction of the road north to Boonville. The county of Cooper then subscribed $150,000 in bonds to the road. During the war the road bed was graded, and after the close of the war the county subscribed the additional sum of $100,000 in bonds. The road was finally completed through Cooper County in the spring of 1869.

The road was commenced in 1870. Cooper County subscribed $100,- 000 toward its construction through the county ; Boonville township, $100,000; Pilot Grove township, $40,000; and Clear Creek township, $30,000. The road was completed in 1873.

Previous to 1870, a railroad bridge had been talked of by such prominent citizens of Boonville as Captain Jo L. Stephens, H. Bunce, J. L. O'Bryan, and others of Cooper County, Colonels Elliott and Estill, of Howard County, and Messrs. Marvin and Barrett, of Sedalia but no steps were taken to secure the building of the same until the months of October and November of that year. During these months a preliminary survey was made by General Wm. Sooy Smith, which fully demonstrated the practicability of constructing a bridge at moderate cost. The work, however, did not begin in earnest until the road bed and franchise belonging to the Tebo and Neosho railroad passed into the hands of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad company. That powerful corporation infused new life into the enterprise and determined to push the work to rapid completion. A charter was obtained, and an act of Congress passed authorizing the construction of the bridge. A proposal was made by the American Bridge Company, and accepted by the Boonville Bridge Company for the building of the bridge. Men and machinery made their appearance about the middle of Sept., 1872. During the fall and winter following, cribs and caissons for the foundations were framed, the abutments built, quarries opened, and machinery and materials got in a general state of readiness for the spring and summer work. The bridge was completed about Jan., 1874.

Rebuilding of Bridges - Road Improvement. - In Sept., 1905, the local rains were so heavy that all the streams within Cooper County were swollen beyond precedent. They overflowed the banks and covered much of the adjoining land in many places. Most of the bridges of the county were washed away or wrecked. Iron structures of which the county felt proud were but straws in the way of the surging waters in what were in ordinary times small streams. This was an unfortunate occurrence and seemed to be a severe blow to the county. A difficult problem faced the county court. There was nothing like sufficient money in the treasury nor funds to be anticipated to rebuild and reconstruct these bridges necessary to the traffic of the county. Necessity is truly the mother of invention, and the county court was compelled to pursue an ingenius course. All were clamoring for bridges in their respective localities. Being unable to meet the demands the county court informed those petitioning for bridges that as soon as the money was available the court would at once build the bridges but that it was impossible to construct all that were needed at once. In determining what bridge or bridges would be first constructed they informed the petitioners in the immediate locality of the bridges that they would construct first the bridge in the locality where the greatest subscription was raised and sent the court for such purpose. This at first met with some opposition, but the people realizing the wisdom of the court's action and that those in the immediate locality of the particular bridge would be benefited more than those further removed, they responded to the court's suggestion and soon thereafter the action of bridge building across the streams of Cooper County began. Much sooner than had been hoped by the most optimistic. Every bridge in Cooper County was restored. This also was the beginning of an aroused interest in better roads and a few years after bridges were constructed the court adopted a policy with reference to cutting down hills and establishing better grades for roads, in other words, it offered to the people for the purpose of reducing the grade of any road as much from the county treasury as the local people would subscribe. This action on the part of the court met the hearty approval of the people and many bad grades throughout the county were greatly improved. About this time was also established and marked out the Santa Fe trail from Boonville through Cooper County to the Cooper County line on the road to Arrow Rock. This entire stretch of road was graded in the best and most approved manner. Drag districts were established. This highway was kept in the best condition for travel. Many tourists passing over it from other states pronounces it to be the best dirt road in our country. In different portions of the county the people then began to form special road districts and adopted the extensive use of drags. The automobile made its appearance among the farmers and every owner of an automobile became a "good roads" booster. It will be remembered that upon the first appearance of the automobile in our county the farmers were antagonistic to its use and so bitter and unreasonable was the opposition on the part of some that various and numerous obstructions were placed in the roads to make hazardous and impede the use of this, then, new mode of travel. However, it is now the farmer who owns the automobile. It is, to him, a necessity, as it in a measure eliminates space and time. There is at this time a strong sentiment and agitation for hard surface roads. In 1918 the Boonville special road district voted bonds to the extent of $100,000 which together with a like amount that will be received from the government, to-wit, another $100,- 000 will go far to further improve our roads.

No prophet of the present day, however great his vision, can foretell the transportation and mode of travel of the future. Even now man practically dominates the air and, in speed and distance of flight, puts to shame its feathered inhabitants. It was but the other day that Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant A. W. Brown, in a bombing areoplane crossed the Atlantic from New Foundland to Ireland, a distance of l.TJOO miles in 16 hours and 12 minutes. Our government is at the present time arranging for a flight around the world and mail routes by aeroplane are being established.

imaginary Phileas Fogg had encircled the globe in 80 days, set the world to talking and marveling about the accelerated speed of life, yet less than 20 years after or about 30 years ago Nellie Bly, a reporter for a New York paper, in actual travel, clipped eight days off the record of the marvelous trip of Phileas Fogg. In 1911 Andre Jaeger-Schmidt made the planetary loop in a trifle less than 40 days. Thus from 1872 when Verne calculated Phileas Fogg record-setting tour until 1911 only a matter of 39 years, mankind had come a half nearer the flying heels of time. Thus the imagination and vision of Jules Verne has been discounted by actual facts. What we may yet expect we would not hazzard a conjecture.