Some Early La Crosse Steamboats
                       EDWARD M. WINSLOW

    The first boat to run in the Brownsville and La Crosse trade was
a small side-wheeled boat called the "Spray" owned by M. M. Morse
and my father, G. L. Winslow. Her Captain was a man by the name of
Whittaker, who lived in Brownsville, and G. L. Winslow was Engineer.
This was during the season of 1863. She continued in the trade but a
very short time when she was sold to Harvey Rumsey. He changed her
name to the "Willie", after his son, but without the consent of the gov-
ernment authorities, who made him change it back. He did this by paint-
ing one coat of thin white paint over the name of "Willie" and repaint-
ing the name "Spray" below, so that in the river it looked as if her
name was the "Willie Spray".
    Rumsey tried to run this boat on the Chippewa river but she drew
too much water. So he brought her down to La Crosse, to his boat yard,
which was located just below the foot of Cass Street, hauled her out,
cut her in two, lengthened her and renamed her the "Johnny Schmok-
er". Two other boys and myself stole aboard and made the trial trip on
her, which was up to "Ben Coussin" light and down the east side of
the island. Rumsey ran this boat in the Chippewa river trade for a
while and then sold her to a man by the name of William Dustin. Dur-
ing the season of 1873 he ran her in the Brownsville trade in opposition
to the "Vigor". That fall he laid her up at the head of Picayune chute,
where she froze in the ice, and in the spring when the ice went out, she
sank. Dustin sold her to Bibe Liverman of La Crosse, who raised her
and brought her to La Crosse. He hauled her out on the "Public Land-
ing", which is now called "Spence's Park", and tried to repair her, but
she was too far gone. He took out the machinery and abandoned her,
and the hull, or what was left of it, is still under the park.
     At this time the city's Public Landing places were Spence's Park
and the foot of State, Main and Pearl Streets. The rest of the river
front was private property.
     At one time the Eagle Bluff Lime Company had a store house for
lime on the south side of the Public Landing and two brothers who
sprinkled the streets had a pumping station there, where they filled
their sprinkling cart. Under the west side of the park is the wreck of
a barge called the "Fred" which belonged to my father. It was crushed
in by the ice when the river broke up in the spring. I should judge it
was about in the center and under the Railroad tracks.
     The steamboat "Express" was originally a side wheel boat, built at
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