The pilots association established water gauges at
different towns on the upper river. Little houses on the
shore, where the members of the association, having keys
could go and get the stage of the water. There was one of
these gauges at Montrose, and when the boats landed, the
pilots would on in there to get some information, as to
the depth of the water over the rapids. And there was one
thing I noticed about these trips. The older men who had
seen the most service, after visiting the gauge, would
walk down the shore and look at a flat rock near the bank.
This is known as mechanic rock. It took its name from the
steamboat Mechanic which vessel hit it in the early
years of navigation, and knocked a hole in her bottom.
This rock was then regarded as the most reliable water
gauge on the upper Mississippi river. On this was recorded
the extreme low water stage of 1864. I did not see the
rock, but I have been told that the stage of 1910 went
down below that of 1864. That last year was a record
breaker, altho I am of the opinion that there was more
water in the channel than in 1864, through the action of
the government dams in concentrating it, and cutting the
sand off the shoal reefs. I am quite sue that without the
dams and other improvements Walter Blair would not
have been able to operate even his light draft boats
between Davenport and Quincy, as he did, during the entire
season.
As I have stated, it was the policy of the white collar
officials to build cheap pine hulls, wear them out and
then build others of the same kind. They claimed that it
was better, much cheaper, than maintaining repairs on oak
hulls. This may have been true. It was a matter of dollars
and cents, which I never investigated. But after this
company took possession of the river below Dubuque we
discovered that the managers wanted cheap men as well as
cheap hull. The association at St. Louis refused to
furnish pilots to handle the White collar boats at the
price fixed by the company. For a time the up river pilots
handled them. They knew but little about the channel
between St. Louis and Dubuque, but as there was a good
stage of water, they managed to go along. The coming of
the Davidson Fleet to St. Louis was a detriment to
the men in the employ of the Northern Line and
other companies, as it finally resulted in a reduction of
salaries on all of the boats.
On the Mississippi river are many hundreds of islands,
and they all have names. In the long ago they acquired
their names from nearby towns, from individuals or through
some incident or accident on or near them. I have in mind
one of these islands which received its title away back in
the 30’s or 40’s. “Dutchmans Island.” and
it is located just above Fort Madison, and near the Iowa
shore. Just opposite is the old Alley farm, of about 300
acres, where now lives in ease and comfort, Capt. L.C.
Alley, one of the old time pilots. Capt. Alleys father
was among the first settlers of Lee County, and he
purchased this land from the government. With the elder
Alley and others came a German, the latter coming direct
from the fatherland. I have forgotten his name but we will
call him Schneider. There was a rush for the lands around
there, and it appears that Schneider had a very warm time.
He knew nothing as to the wave and customs of the
Americans and they made him believe that being from a
foreign country, he had no rights which they were bound to
respect. He was pushed around from one land claim to
another, and finally, to get rid of his persecutors
Schneider took up his residence on the island. There he
was not disturbed and the settlers named it Dutchman’s
Island. The Alleys were kind to him and to them he told
the story of his life. His father was a prominent and
wealthy citizen in Germany. He had received a good
education, and on the death of his father, the son had
sailed for America. The estate was in the course of
settlement, and he was expecting a large sum of money from
the old country. As the story went the money arrived, and
Schneider placed it in an iron pot and buried it somewhere
on the island. Schneider was in the habit of going to the
Alley home every few days. But there came a time when
these visits ceased. A week or ten days elapsed, during
which time Schneider had not been seen on the main land.
Fearing that he was sick, the Alley boys were sent to the
island to investigate the matter. Entering his humble
house, they found his cooking utensils, furniture and
clothing all in place. The island was searched but
Schneider was not there. For a few days later the boat
which Schneider used for reaching the mainland was found
below the island, bottom side up. And from that day to
this no tiding has been received of the missing German.
The people believe that had Schneider simply left the
island and gone to some other portion of this country He
would have written back to his friends, the Alleys, but no
letters were ever received. Picks and shovels were used
upon the land, but the hidden treasure was never found. So
from the incident, Dutchman’s island acquired its name,
but to what became of Schneider and his bag of money, will
ever remain a mystery.