ONE FREAK AND A PAIR OF TWINS
209
With the building of many raft-boats during the period 1870 to 1900,
and by so many different owners, it is somewhat strange that so few were
failures and I recall only one real freak, that came out in 1872.
On her side bulkheads we read: 'Eau Claire Lumber Company's Iron Raft Boat
J.G. Chapman'
She was neither a side-wheeler, a stern-wheeler nor a propeller. She was
about one hundred and ten feet long and twenty feet wide and had
'dowler wheels,' somewhat on the order of a screw propeller, but the wheels
were ten feet ten feet in diameter with only one-fourth part submerged. The
lowest part of the wheels were not below the bottom of
the boat which drew three feet at the stern. The wheels when working ahead
revolved toward each other and threw a very strong current against the
balanced rudder.
The 'J. G. Chapman' was a good strong shover and had good rudder power
going ahead, but was almost useless in backing and she was very slow going up
river. She was later changed to a regular stern-wheeler with engine fourteen
inches by six foot, but having no hog chains, her iron hull broke in two
coming up river, and she sank near Iowa island. Her engines were used in the
second 'J.G. Chapman' which was a very successful raft-boat.
During one season of good water and plenty logs, S. and J.C. Atlee had more
work than their steamer 'LeClaire Belle' could do alone, so Mr. Sam Atlee
made a …
210
... few changes in the large center-wheel ferry boat 'Keokuk' and with Captain Asa Woodward
in charge as master and pilot she made several trips.
When dismantled, her fine engines were put in the new 'Sam Atlee' an
excellent towboat.
In only one instance were two boats built in duplicate. My old friend
Captain Fred A. Bill of Saint Paul tells us about them as he was in the
general office on the Diamond Jo Line when Mr. Young of W.J. Young and
Company of Clinton, Iowa, and Mr. Fred Weyerhauser of Weyerhauser and Denkmann
of Rock Island, had these two boats built in 1881, using the same
specifications for each and when finished they drew cuts to decide the
ownership. Mr. Young named his boat 'D. Boardman,' and Mr. Weyerhauser named
his for his partner, 'F.C.A. Denkmann.
Their hulls were one hundred and thirty feet long and twenty-eight feet
wide. Their engines were fourteen inches by six foot. They were splendid
boats and gave excellent service many years till the log supply was exhausted.
HISTORY