THE POTOSI CANAL
From the day in 1829 that Thomas Hymer started building his cabin near what is now Potosi it was certain that the town would be unusual. Crammed into a narrow hollow that ran down to the flats of the Mississippi it presented both handicaps such as flooding and great opportunities in the lead contained in loose mineral (float) lying about. As miners rushed in followed by merchant establishments, saloons and boarding houses it became more apparent that access to the mighty river below was essential. The lead must be transported, and the Mississippi was the most convenient pathway. As the town grew it was necessary to bring supplies in by means of Mississippi riverboats. Ferry boats were also needed to cross the Mississippi in those days before bridges. The earliest reported ferry service near Potosi was that of J.P. Cox and Justis Parsons. Parsons Landing was ten miles above Dubuque in Iowa. Cox held a landing in Osceola, about a mile from Potosi. In 1844 James F. Chapman, was granted the right to operate a ferry from Potosi across the Mississippi probably to Specht’s Ferry.
In the earliest days it was possible to navigate the Grant river slough. Ferry boats and shallow draft steam boats could unload at Osceola or a landing built at the village of Lafayette below Potosi. As the years passed silt built up making it difficult to bring the boats up. This was probably due to lumber cutting and farming that caused greater runoff from the surrounding land into the Grant river. In the age of the steamboat the forest land along the river was stripped of its lumber to fire the boilers of the steam engines that propelled the vessels upriver. By the end of the 1840’s there were over 1,200 steamboats using the Mississippi and side and rear paddle wheelers were becoming ever larger.
Potosi was growing by leaps and bounds. The Merchants and miners of the town needed to keep the water deep enough for mineral to be shipped out and goods for the growing town to be shipped in. The Territorial Legislature, wanting ports to compete with Dubuque and Galena were sympathetic. In June of 1844 Congress passed legislation providing for the sale of a section of land to fund improvements of the Grant River to allow better access to the Mississippi. In January of 1845 the Legislature named James F. Chapman (the same man who had been given the right to operate a ferry in 1844) to lead a commission to organize the sale of lots. Joel Allen Barber was named Receiver to take funds from the sales and disburse payments for costs incurred.
The engineer of the Port of Dubuque, Joshua Bryant, was called upon to study the problem and make a report. In that report, submitted November 15, 1845 he wrote:
The harbor at present, situated as it is on one of the collateral branches, or channels, of the Mississippi, appears to be approachable only by the tortuous sinuosities of Grant River Slough, or, by the shorter and little less objectionable meanderings of Swift Slough. The channel of the former is obstructed at numerous points by shoals or bars formed by de posits of silt. The removal of this would require a great amount of dredging to make it navigable at low water, and the annual operations of a dredge boat would, in all probability, be indispensable to keep it at a proper depth. In a channel so long and crooked, it is difﬁcult to form a correct idea of what the result might be in case it should be so improved. The removal of the bars as they now stand might cause the accumulation of deposits in other places; and the work of one season might be counteracted and rendered useless by the result of the succeeding one.”
The best plan according to his report was to build a canal of sufficient depth and width across the low flats and wetlands directly to the Grant river bend at Lafayette. His opinion was that “The canal from the Mississippi will he approachable at any stage of water, for boats ascending or descending the river. The current of the river impinges against the bank with its full force, and the water being deep, little apprehension may be entertained of the formation of any bars contiguous to the entrance of the canal.” He recommended that a canal 100 feet wide be excavated and the Harbor deepened. He estimated the cost to be $20,041.45.
The lots were sold throughout the year 1845, and with the engineers report the Commissioners submitted the report of Barber. The section given by Congress had yielded $4,130.64. After expenses of $1350.40, only $2780.24 remained for the project.
Despite the severe shortfall the work went on, first grubbing the trees, shrubs and other obstacles in the line the canal would follow and then commencing the excavation. In those days there were no steam powered dredgers and shovels available on the frontier, so the grubbing was done by men with shovels, grubbing hoes, and bars. The rocks and wood were then thrown mule pulled wagons for removal. The Story told by old timers later in the century was that the contractor went to
An Early mule drawn scraper in Missouri to buy mules. These were not normal mules, but rather large mules from draft horse mares. There are Percheron, Belgian and Clydesdale mares that are very large, but those breeds were not brought to the United States until the later 19th Century. The large mules obtained were used in the excavation of the canal. The greatest part of the earth removal was done by “scrapers”, large shovel like implements pulled behind four mules. Men behind the scraper would lift handles to cause the device to dig in, removing shallow layers. The earth filled scrapers were hauled up an embankment at An early mule drawn scraper the end of a one or two hundred yard pull.
In addition to the income from the sale of lots, the Legislature granted the town the right borrow $5,000.00 per year to finance the work on the canal. They were further authorized to levy a tax of not more than $3,000.00 per year for the purpose of repaying the loans. This should have enabled the ongoing work to continue to its conclusion. The people of Potosi in a town meeting voted to construct a canal of 50 feet width and sufficiently deep to give a six feet clearance which would suffice for most of the Shoal draft (aha shallow draft) riverboats of those days.
The work was still in progress in 1849 when several calamities struck Potosi and the area.
The first was a cholera epidemic. The hollow and the river land had never been a paradise of health. Rev Matthew Dinsdale, minister of the Methodist Church at Potosi wrote to his family in 1845 “There has been much sickness in this part this summer, and several deaths. I have had a funeral to attend almost every day I have been here.” The year 1849 is remembered as one of three epidemics of Cholera that hit the middle of America. It was worst along the rivers which were the highways of commerce and settlement. “If it be the Divine will that I should live a little longer God can shield me… All places in the vicinity of rivers are subject more or less to ague (probably malaria) and bilious fever (typhus)” Cholera is a disease that attacks the walls of the intestine. The bacillus Vibrio Cholerae destroys the lining of the intestine causing uncontrollable diarrhea that leads quickly, sometimes in hours, to dehydration and death. Bad sanitation in disposing of fecal wastes and poorly lined, shallow wells allowed those wastes teeming with bacteria to pollute drinking water wells, spreading the dreaded death dealer. Of course no one knew the cause, and the treatment was not only ineffective but harmful. Bleeding, withholding fluids, and noxious nostrums sped the work of the killer. People fled Potosi, thereby spreading the disease.
The second event was the discovery of gold in California. Through 1852 many miners left for the New Eldorado, depopulating Potosi and many other Grant county Towns. With depletion of the population many of the merchants packed up and left. Although Potosi was authorized to borrow and expend $5,000.00 annually and tax its citizens $3,000.00 additionally per year it was not possible with the greatly reduced tax base. Some histories say the canal was never completed, but I believe it was done on a very modest scale not sufficient to serve the riverboat traffic it had known. Lafayette Landing did receive steamboats for years including the Teal owned by the Specht family, which later became the Potosi. In the late 1920’s one writer made the following comment about the canal in his article on the Grant River: “The old diggings can easily be traced across the bottoms and fields although it is more than 80 years since the big ditch was dug.”
So the canal, begun by industrious men wishing prosperity, wilted and died. It is no longer to be seen, for as the map shows, the construction of the Zebulon Pike Lock and Dam #11 at Dubuque in the 1930’s lead to the flooding of what was farmland and meandering channels. According to one source the pool behind lock and dam #11 raised the water as much as 15 feet at Potosi (9 Feet seems more correct). The map shows the shoreline as it was before the Lock and Dam pool. The red line drawn shows the present shoreline. None of that flatland of meandering river branches and sloughs will ever be seen again.
Approximate location of Lafayette Landing
At the present Boat Landing
Panoramic view from the present day Boat Landing
Mfereji wa Potosi - Thomas Hymer alianza kujenga nyumba yake ya kifahari karibu na mji wa Potosi mnamo 1829. Ilipoingia ndani ya bonde lenye umbo la nyembamba lililokuwa likielekea kwenye mabonde ya Mto Mississipi, ilitokeza matatizo kama vile mafuriko na fursa kubwa katika madini ya risasi yaliyokuwa yamebaki. Kama wachimbaji wa madini walivyoingia, wakifuatwa na wafanyabiashara, baa na nyumba za wageni, ikawa wazi zaidi kwamba upatikanaji wa mto mkubwa chini ilikuwa muhimu. Ni lazima risasi hiyo ipelekwe, na Mto Mississippi ndio uliokuwa njia rahisi zaidi. Kadiri mji ulivyokua ndivyo ilivyokuwa lazima kuleta vifaa kwa kutumia mashua za mto Mississippi. Mashua za kivuko zilihitajiwa pia kuvuka Mto Mississippi katika siku hizo kabla ya kuwa na madaraja. Huduma ya kwanza ya feri iliyoripotiwa karibu na Potosi ilikuwa ile ya J. P. Cox na Justis Parsons. Parsons Landing ilikuwa maili kumi juu ya Dubuque katika Iowa. Cox alifika Osceola, umbali wa kilometa moja na nusu kutoka Potosi. Mwaka 1844 James F. Chapman alipewa haki ya kuendesha kivuko kutoka Potosi kuvuka Mississippi, labda kwa Specht's Ferry. Katika siku za mapema zaidi ilikuwa inawezekana kusafiri kwenye bonde la mto Grant. Mashua za kivuko na mashua za mvuke zenye mwinuko mdogo zingeweza kutolewa katika Osceola au kwenye bandari iliyojengwa katika kijiji cha Lafayette chini ya Potosi. Kadiri miaka ilivyopita, matope yalijitokeza na kufanya iwe vigumu kuinua mashua. Yaelekea hilo lilitokana na kukatwa kwa mbao na kilimo ambacho kilisababisha maji mengi kutoka kwenye ardhi iliyozunguka kuingia katika mto Grant. Katika enzi ya mashua za mvuke, misitu iliyokuwa kando ya mto huo iliondolewa mbao zake ili kutumiwa kuwasha moto wa boilers za injini za mvuke zilizosukuma mashua hizo mto huo. Kufikia mwishoni mwa miaka ya 1840, kulikuwa na zaidi ya meli 1,200 za mvuke zilizotumia Mto Mississippi, na meli za upande na za nyuma zilikuwa zikiongezeka. Potosi ilikuwa ikikua kwa kasi sana. Wafanyabiashara na wachimbaji wa madini walihitaji kuweka maji ya chini ya ardhi ili madini yaweze kusafirishwa na bidhaa za mji huo zisafirishwe. Bunge la Wilaya, likitaka bandari zishindane na Dubuque na Galena zilikuwa na huruma. Mnamo Juni 1844, Bunge la Marekani lilipitisha sheria iliyotoa fursa ya kuuza sehemu ya ardhi ili kufadhili maendeleo ya Mto Grant ili kuruhusu upatikanaji bora wa Mto Mississippi. Mnamo Januari 1845 Bunge lilimteua James F. Chapman (mtu aliyepokea haki ya kuendesha kivuko mwaka 1844) kuongoza tume ya kuandaa uuzaji wa sehemu za ardhi. Joel Allen Barber aliteuliwa kuwa Mpokeaji kuchukua fedha kutoka kwa mauzo na kutoa malipo kwa gharama zilizopatikana. Mhandisi wa Bandari ya Dubuque, Joshua Bryant, aliitwa kuchunguza tatizo hilo na kutoa ripoti. "Katika ripoti hiyo, iliyotolewa Novemba 15, 1845, aliandika hivi: ""Bahari ya sasa, iliyoko kwenye mojawapo ya matawi ya kando ya Mto Mississippi, inaonekana kuwa inapatikana tu kupitia njia ya mteremko wa Mto Grant, au kupitia njia fupi na isiyo ya kawaida ya Mto Swift." Mfereji wa kwanza umefungwa katika sehemu nyingi na matope au mabara yaliyofanyizwa na amana za matope. Kuondoa hii ingekuwa inahitaji kiasi kikubwa cha dredging kufanya navigable katika maji ya chini, na shughuli za kila mwaka ya mashua dredge ingekuwa, kwa uwezekano wote, muhimu kuweka katika kina sahihi. Katika njia ndefu na yenye mviringo, ni vigumu kupata wazo sahihi la matokeo ambayo yanaweza kuwa katika kesi ambayo inapaswa kuboreshwa. Kuondolewa kwa mabwawa kama yalivyo sasa kunaweza kusababisha mkusanyiko wa madini katika maeneo mengine, na kazi ya msimu mmoja inaweza kupinduliwa na kutumiwa na matokeo ya msimu uliofuata. <unk> Mpango bora kulingana na ripoti yake ilikuwa kujenga mfereji wa kina na upana wa kutosha katika gorofa za chini na maeneo ya mvua moja kwa moja kwa mto wa Grant huko Lafayette. Maoni yake yalikuwa kwamba <unk>Mfereji kutoka Mississippi utakuwa unaweza kufikiwa katika hatua yoyote ya maji, kwa mashua zinazoinuka au kushuka mto. Mto huo unashambulia ukingo kwa nguvu zake zote, na kwa kuwa maji ni ya kina, kuna wasiwasi mdogo juu ya kuundwa kwa mabwawa yoyote yanayohusiana na mlango wa mfereji. <unk> Alipendekeza mfereji wa futi 100 upana uchimbwe na Bandari iongezwe kina. Alikadiria gharama hiyo kuwa dola 20,041.45 Sehemu hizo ziliuzwa mwaka 1845 na pamoja na ripoti ya wahandisi, Tume ilitoa ripoti ya Barber. Sehemu iliyotolewa na Bunge ilikuwa imetoa $ 4,130.64. Baada ya gharama za $ 135.40, $ 278.24 tu zilibaki kwa ajili ya mradi huo. Licha ya upungufu mkubwa wa maji, kazi iliendelea, kwanza kukata miti, vichaka na vizuizi vingine katika mstari ambao mfereji ungefuata na kisha kuanza kuchimba. Wakati huo, hakukuwa na mashine za kuchimba maji na makombora, kwa hiyo watu walichimba kwa kutumia makombora, mikuki, na vijiti. Kisha mawe na mbao zilitupwa kwenye magari yaliyovutwa na nyumbu ili kuondolewa. Hadithi aliiambia na timers zamani baadaye katika karne ilikuwa kwamba mkandarasi alikwenda kwa An mapema punda kuchorwa scraper katika Missouri kununua punda. Hizi hazikuwa nyumbu wa kawaida, bali nyumbu wakubwa kutoka kwa farasi wa kuvuta. Percheron, Clydesdale na Belgian ni aina ya farasi wa kawaida wa Uingereza, lakini kwa sababu ya idadi kubwa ya farasi, walikuwa wakichukuliwa kutoka nchi za Ulaya na Ulaya. Nyumbu wakubwa waliopatikana walitumiwa kuchimba mfereji huo. Sehemu kubwa ya kuondolewa kwa udongo ilifanywa kwa "scrapers", vifaa vikubwa kama jembe vilivyovutwa nyuma ya punda wanne. Wanaume waliokuwa nyuma ya kifaa hicho cha kukata-kata wangepandisha kiganja ili kifaa hicho kiweze kuchimba ndani, na kuondoa tabaka zisizo na kina kirefu. Mashine ya kukata ardhi iliyojaa ardhi ilivutwa juu ya mwamba kwenye shimo la kwanza lililotokezwa na punda mwishoni mwa kuvuta mita mia moja au mia mbili. Kwa kuongezea mapato ya kuuza sehemu za ardhi, Bunge lilitoa haki ya mji huo kukopa dola 5,000 kwa mwaka ili kufadhili kazi ya mfereji. Pia walipewa mamlaka ya kukusanya kodi ya dola za Marekani zaidi ya dola 3,000 kwa mwaka kwa ajili ya kulipa mikopo hiyo. Hii inapaswa kuwa imewezesha kazi inayoendelea kuendelea hadi mwisho wake. Watu wa Potosi katika mkutano wa mji walipiga kura ya kujenga mfereji wa futi 50 upana na kina cha kutosha kutoa urefu wa futi sita ambayo ingekuwa ya kutosha kwa wengi wa Shoal Draft (aha shallow draft) riverboats ya siku hizo. Kazi hiyo ilikuwa ikiendelea mwaka wa 1849 wakati misiba kadhaa ilipotokea Potosi na eneo hilo. Ya kwanza ilikuwa tauni ya kipindupindu. Nchi ya bonde na mto haikuwa kamwe paradiso ya afya. "Mwanzoni mwa mwaka wa 1845, Mchungaji Matthew Dinsdale, aliyekuwa mhudumu wa Kanisa la Methodisti huko Potosi, aliandika hivi kwa familia yake: ""Kama ilivyo, kumekuwa na magonjwa mengi katika sehemu hii ya nchi mwaka huu, na vifo kadhaa." "Mwaka wa 1849 ni mwaka wa kwanza wa kuenea kwa ugonjwa wa kipindupindu katika Amerika ya Kati.""" Hali ilikuwa mbaya zaidi kando ya mito ambayo ilikuwa njia kuu za biashara na makazi. "Ikiwa ni mapenzi ya Mungu kwamba ni lazima kuishi kidogo zaidi Mungu anaweza ngao mimi... maeneo yote katika ujirani wa mito ni chini ya zaidi au chini ya ague (labda malaria) na homa ya bile (typhus) ""Kolera ni ugonjwa ambao kushambulia kuta za matumbo." Bacillus Vibrio cholerae huangamiza utando wa matumbo na kusababisha kuhara kwa haraka, wakati mwingine kwa masaa, hadi kukosa maji mwilini na kifo. Utakaso mbaya katika kuondoa taka za kinywaji na visima visivyo na kina kirefu viliruhusu taka hizo zenye bakteria kuchafua visima vya maji ya kunywa, na kueneza muuzaji wa kifo aliyeogopwa. Bila shaka hakuna mtu aliyejua kisababishi, na matibabu hayakuwa ya matokeo tu bali yalikuwa yenye kudhuru. Kutotea damu, kuzuia umajimaji, na dawa zenye kudhuru zilifanya muuaji afanye kazi kwa kasi zaidi. Watu walikimbia Potosi, na hivyo kueneza ugonjwa huo. Tukio la pili lilikuwa ugunduzi wa dhahabu huko California. Mwaka 1852 wachimbaji wengi waliondoka kwenda New Eldorado, na hivyo kuondoa watu katika miji ya Potosi na Grant County. Idadi ya watu ilipopungua, wafanyabiashara wengi walifunga na kuondoka. Ingawa Potosi alikuwa na mamlaka ya kukopa na kutumia dola za Marekani 5,000 kila mwaka na kuwatoza kodi raia wake dola za Marekani 3,000 zaidi kila mwaka, haikuwezekana kwa msingi wa kodi uliopunguzwa sana. Baadhi ya hadithi zinasema kwamba mfereji huo haukuwahi kukamilika, lakini ninaamini ulifanywa kwa kiwango kidogo sana, haikutosha kuwahudumia abiria wa mto ambao walikuwa wameijua. Lafayette Landing alipokea steamboats kwa miaka ikiwa ni pamoja na Teal inayomilikiwa na familia ya Specht, ambayo baadaye ikawa Potosi. Mwishoni mwa miaka ya 1920, mwandishi mmoja alitoa maoni yafuatayo kuhusu mfereji huo katika makala yake juu ya Mto Grant: <unk>Mchimbaji wa zamani anaweza kufuatiliwa kwa urahisi kwenye sakafu na mashamba ingawa ni zaidi ya miaka 80 tangu mfereji mkubwa ulipochimbwa.<unk> Hivyo mfereji huo, ulioanzishwa na watu wenye bidii wanaotaka ufanisi, ulifadhaika na kufa. Kwa mfano, katika miaka ya 1930, ujenzi wa Zebulon Pike Lock na Dam # 11 huko Dubuque ulisababisha mafuriko ya ardhi ya kilimo na mifereji ya maji. Kulingana na chanzo kimoja, dimbwi lililokuwa nyuma ya bwawa la #11 liliongeza maji hadi mita 15 huko Potosi (mita 9 inaonekana kuwa sahihi zaidi). Ramani inaonyesha pwani kama ilivyokuwa kabla ya bwawa la Lock and Dam. Mstari mwekundu unaoonyeshwa unaonyesha pwani ya sasa. Hakuna eneo lolote la tambarare hilo lenye matawi ya mito yenye kupinda-pinda na mabwawa litakalotokea tena. Mahali pa Lafayette Landing Panoramic view kutoka leo