2018 Iowa - part 4, a lock, a lunch, a view, a dredger, a towboat, a tender, and Mark Twain - Travel With Us

Sunday was such an interesting day. We started off driving south along the Mississippi River and came across 1 of 29 locks on the river from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. We had seen a lock in Minnesota near the mouth of the river, but we hadn’t realized so many more locks controlled the river.

water flowing freely because of all the rain

We stopped for lunch at the oldest tavern/restaurant in Iowa, Breitbach’s Country Dining. It’s burned down twice but was also rebuilt by the townspeople twice. Boy was it busy today.

The restaurant has three rooms for dining and a big bar area. We had a 15-minute wait, so you can see how busy it was. We could order from the menu or go through the buffet line.

I had a breaded tenderloin sandwich; an Iowa favorite. Not as great as I had as a child at George the Chili King’s in Des Moines but still good.

We saw some wonderful views of Iowa countryside while we were around this restaurant. I find I relax when I look at country views like this and can see forever. Hope you do too!

Our goal for the day was to explore the Mississippi River Museum in Davenport.

While we weren’t that impressed with the museum, we loved going through the dredger and towboat that they had on display.

The *Black* is a 34-inch pipeline dredge that was used to deepen the Mississippi.

Here’s what the sign says about how the dredger operated.

Jets of water cut the sand loose from the river bottom, and powerful suction pulled the sand and gravel into the pipeline like a giant vacuum cleaner. Up to 80,000 cubic yards of material could be dredged per day, carried through the pipeline below decks, and expelled at the stern.

During the dredging, the winches, not the paddlewheels, pulled the Black forward. Deckhands dropped anchors ahead, and winches (called gypsies) were engaged, hauling the boat forward while the lowered dustpan dredged the river bottom. Crossing the cables allowed side-to-side movement.

When anchoring the boat, two 36-foot tall posts, called spuds, were sunk into the river bottom at the bow and stern, allowing it to rise and fall with the water. The forward or stern spuds were also used to turn the boat in tight places.

Water would shoot out in the middle to break up the sand, then two sucker-uppers (technical word) would bring up the silt and whatever else is below the water line.

The sand and gravel is ground up in the circular contraption on the right, and the dredged material is shot out the back of the boat.

illustration of what happens in the boiler room

Routine repairs on the *Black* were handled in this machine shop.

Tools include a 32 1/2-inch lathe, an 18-inch scraper, a 36-inch radial drill, a pipe cutter, an emery and drill grinder, a blacksmith forge, and an anvil.

On Friday evenings, the crew held a fish fry on the forge. For dessert, they used the lathe to turn the homemade ice-cream maker to make a special recipe for “Dredge Black Ice Cream.” Yum.

See the ice cream maker powered by the lathe?

This nozzle is what shoots out the dredged material.

Crew beds were on both sides of the room; windows up high help with ventilation .

Second deck had living quarters for up to 63 officers and crew. Officers slept and ate forward of the galley, while the crew slept and ate in separate quarters aft.

Even before Mark Twain made the pilothouse well known, it was the show place on a riverboat.

The job of the river pilot was one of dignity and independence. When the Black was built, the familiar pilot’s wheel had given way to rudder bars. Still remaining are the lazy bench for visiting dignitaries and the cuspidor for tobacco-chewing pilots and guests. Telegraphy and speaking tubes to the engineer provided necessary communication to keep the boat on course.

Instead of a wheel, two rudder control levers steer the boat.

So much food was needed (26,000 meals each year), bet it was good!

Small dredge tenders brought supplies out to the dredges.

The *Logsdon* was a towboat that operated on the Mississippi River. Often a family would live on the boat. The Logsdon family is still operating towboats.

The engine room originally needed a full-time engineer, but the Logsdons modified the controls so the pilot could operate it from the wheelhouse above.

In the following picture, these huge chains turned the paddlewheel several times a minute. The steel cables connect the pilot house to the rudders that were wrapped with canvas to keep out water snakes.

The galley was where the Logsdons learned crew responsibilities, ate their meals, played, and absorbed river lore. The family slept in the crew’s quarters, carrying their clothes onboard for the week in baskets and suitcases.

If additional crew members were hired, they ate with the family but slept on other company boats. They would earn $2.70 a day during the Depression ($40.89 a day today).