Chapter 13
E. H.Thomas
Burlington Saturday Evening Post
CONCERNING MECHANIC ROCK
Fort Madison, Iowa, Nov 19, 1911.
Editor Post: Recently the Hon. John P. Cruikshank requested
me to tell him something about the Mechanic Rock which
lies about a mile and a half below Montrose, and I wrote him a
part of what I knew of that time. Mr Cruikshank said he wanted
it for the historical society at Des Moines. The late Captain
J. W. Campbell gave me some of his reminiscences, and
promised me more of them which I never obtained. Yet in those
that he gave me he tells about the sinking of the steamboat Mechanic
by striking a rock that was in or near the channel of the
river about seventy five yards from the Iowa shore. Several
other boats had hit the rock previously but sustained no
damage.
The steamboat Mechanic was a side wheel boat single
engine, which was the prevailing construction of steamboats at
that time, 1830, and owned by Capt. Hugh L. White and
others. Capt. White was an uncle of Capt. J. W. Campbell,
who was cub pilot on the boat learning the river. It was just
after dark when the boat sank, but was raised and taken to St.
Louis for repairs. The winter followed the sinking of the boat
Capt White whose home was just below Nauvoo, Ills. Got several
men interested with him to join in while the river was at low
tide and hauled the rock to the Iowa shore which was done by
prying the rock from its embedment and putting log chains
around it hitching on sixteen yokes of oxen pulling the rock
to near the bank, they could not get any nearer, the bank
being so steep there was only two yokes of oxen that could get
a foot hold- and ever since then that rock has been called
“Mechanic Rock,” The pilots had it for a gauge to tell how
much water was in the channel over the rapids, and the writer
remembers that when a boat would land at Montrose on the down
stream trip the pilot would stop ashore and inquire from some
of the pilots that lived in Montrose how far Mechanic Rock was
out of water, until after low water of 1863 and 1864, when the
upper Mississippi river pilots association had two indicators
erected; one at Montrose and the other at Keokuk.
The late Capt R. S. Owen and Sam Speake, as good
rapids pilots as ever piloted a boat down over the rapids,
told the writer the name of some that participated in getting
the Mechanic Rock from the channel to the Iowa shore to with; Hugh
White, Wm. Gore, Thos. McIntosh, Wm. Adams of Galland (then it
was called Nashville), the two Brierly brothers, Col Snodley
and other names that I have forgotten. Hon. J. B. Kiel Mayor of
Montrose, had taken several views of Mechanic Rock, but his
supply is exhausted now, but will print some more as soon as
he recovers from his sickness, so he writes me. I endeavored
to get some for you to mail with this, and will have to abide
my time until Mr. Kiel is able to get around.
Charles H. Patten
