LA CROSSE COUNTY HISTORICAL SKETCHES

Houston, Minnesota, on the Root River. It was brought down to La
Grosse by her three owners and was landed in the big eddy which
existed just below the foot of Pearl Street. Her crew, in true German
fashion, went up town to celebrate their safe voyage and that night the
boat sank. The next morning, my father seeing the condition of things,
told my uncle Milton (M. M. Morse) that he thought the boat could
be bought cheap. Morse told him to buy her, which he did. She rested
on a nice sandy bottom, and was down just level to the deck, which
was not decked over. Father, with the help of James Nimocks and James
Egan, got in with pails and in an hour had her bailed out and afloat.
They took her to Rumsey's boat yard, hauled her out, cut off her stern,
thus making a stern wheeler out of her. They named her the "Express".
In 1864 she towed a barge of corn for the Government from Prairie du
Chien to Chaska on the Minnesota River, for the soldiers. On Septem-
ber 21, 1865, she started to run in the trade between Brownsville and
La Crosse, with George Walrath as pilot and G. L. Winslow, engineer.
    The "Express" was owned by M. M. Morse, Alex Gordon and my
father, G. L. Winslow. James Langdon had no interest in her. Morse
and Gordon sold their interest to William Barncastle, who ran her in
company with Winslow until 1871. He then sold his interest to Wil-
liam Anderson, and Winslow and Anderson ran her until 1.872 when
Winslow sold to James Hunt. On June 12, 1867, the Steamer "Ex-
press" started for Black River Falls and returned the 15th, making her
return trip in 12 hours. She was captained by a man by the name of
Green. George Walrath was clerk and G. L. Winslow engineer. She made
two more trips, but got caught by low water on the last trip and had
to "hand spike" most of the way from Brockway's dam to Onalaska.
She made these trips to establish the navigability of the river for parties
who were interested. An account of these trips may be found in the
State Teachers College collection. An account of a trip of the "Spray"
up the Trempealeau river to Arcadia is given in the history of Trem-
pealeau County.


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