|
|
INCIDENTS IN THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE SAGINAW VALLEY BY JUDGE ALBERT MILLER
No supplies were taken on the boat, as it was expected she would return to Saginaw by noon or a little after, the distance to the forks being about sixteen miles. The boat passed up the Saginaw and Shiawassee rivers without difficulty, but making rather slow progress till it entered the Bad river, which was narrow and so crooked that the boat would sometimes be wedged between two points which caused great difficulty in her making progress at all. The Rev. Louis Mills, then pastor of the Presbyterian church at Saginaw, who had joined the excursion, fearing its duration would infringe on the Sabbath, at this point wisely took a canoe and paddled himself back to Saginaw. The pressing of the boat against the banks filled with mud the pipes that were used to convey water to the boilers, and before we arrived at our place of destination the boat was propelled by heated gas, blue streams of which issued from every joint in the boilers and engines, and a shower of molten lead was falling from the joints of the steam pipe. At this time the engineer was wading beside the boat trying to open the pipes to let the water into the boilers, but fortunately he was unsuccessful, for had a dash of water entered them in their heated condition they would have exploded and scattered us all to the four winds.
We finally arrived at the forks and after dismissing our Shiawassee friends with cheers, we waited for the boilers to cool so they could be filled by hand for our return trip, but upon the first introduction of water into them, it was found that the strain from the heated gas had opened every joint, so that the water ran out as fast as it was poured in.
Michigan
Page 27
|
|
|
|
|
|