Chapter Eleven

White River - Gateway to Marion County

By: Duane Huddleston

 Pages 112-114

Captain Albert G. Cravens revealed in the fall of 1880 that Captain Stallings' new boat had been named the LADY BOONE, in honor of the county in which it was constructed, and would leave on the first rise for Batesville for inspection. Captain Smith also completed a new boat, the ALBERTA NO. 2, using the machinery from the old ALBERTA, and chartered the C. B. Warner for the coming season. Captain Woodbury's replacement for the ARCH P. GREEN was nearing completion at Louisville and was christened the WHITEWATER. Meanwhile, Captain Stallings readied the LADY BOONE for her first trip down the river, and her arrival was reported, thus.

"The steamer LADY BOONE, out of Upper White River, hove into the Batesville port on Tuesday of this week with 146 bales of cotton, mostly belonging to the boat, and left for Newport for inspection. This is the first trip of the LADY BOONE, and to say that she is a beauty does not half express it, and with her able commanders, the old reliable Captain Tom Stallings on deck, and the very faithful Captain Albert Cravens at the wheel, she will ply the river from Newport up. The LADY BOONE is brand new and light draught, being 110 feet long, 22 feet beam, with 8 inch engines and 3 1/2 feet stroke, and a carrying capacity of 400 bales."

Although the ALBERTA NO.2 was considerably larger than the LADY BOONE, Captain Stallings received his share of the Marion County business. When the 83-ton steamer came out of the mountains on March 7, 1881, she was loaded with 240 bales of cotton; Captain Cravens was now clerk and Hardin Shipp the pilot. Later the new boat docked at Batesville with 300 bales of cotton and 20,000 pounds of flour from millers in the vicinity of Forsythe.

The river was in splendid boating condition in late 1881, with the packets' making regular trips to Marion County, much to the joy of the local merchants. The LADY BOONE, with Captain Ed Warner at the wheel, left McBee's Landing for Newport, and when she returned Captain John T. Warner was temporaily in command. McBee's Landing was located at the mouth of Fallen Ash Creek, about one mile above the present town of Cotter, and was being developed by W. C. McBee.

A strange adventure of Captain Albert G. Cravens was told by John Q. Wolf, clerk of Captain Stallings' next boat. During a big rise, Captain Cravens and two companions were coming down the river above Buffalo City in a canoe, when they saw the LADY BOONE slowly churning upstream. They signaled to be taken aboard, and the deck hands stood ready to seize them. With Captain Cravens in the stem steering, and his companions crouched in the bow, the canoe rapidly approached the square prow of the steamer. Crew members seized the hands of Captain Craven's friends and jerked them aboard. The front of the canoe was sucked under the LADY BOONE's bow, catapulting the captain into the air. When he hit the water, he was drawn under the boat and bumped against the bottom, as the swift water carried him along. He heard the paddle wheel, and knew he would be maimed, or killed, if drawn into it. He dived and swam until he heard the big wheel pass over him, then desperately surfaced in the wake of the steamboat. Wolf stated the good captain spouted water like a whale and struck out for the shore, where he seized an overhanging willow limb until rescued.

The LADY BOONE continued to serve the Marion County Landings, but the ALBERTA NO.2 burned in the lower river, and Captain Woodbury sold the WHITEWATER, leaving only the WINNIE and the BOONE in the upper river trade.

Captain Smith's new boat, the ALBERTA NO.3, was almost a duplicate of the burned ALBERTA NO. 2, being 150 feet long and 30 feet wide. Captain Woodbury's new JOHN F. ALLEN was 130 feet long"and 24 feet wide, and both boats were in operation in late 1884, but misfortune befell Captain Woodbury within two weeks; the JOHN F. ALLEN ran into some rocks between Buffalo City and McBee's. After casting off 200 bales of cotton, he dislodged his steamer, which suffered only minor damage.

As 1885 began, Captain Stallings tied up the LADY BOONE and became pilot of the MILT HARRY, a 78-ton Black River boat owned by Captain Pete McArthur. The steamer was immediately immobilized at McBee's Landing, but later descended to Buffalo City, where she again became stranded. It was not until early February that the MILT HARRY left, only to catch fire a short distance above Batesville. The flames spread so rapidly that Captain McArthur.and his crew barely escaped with their lives.

Captain Stallings dismantled the LADY BOONE during the summer, using the machinery and cabin on the NEW HOME, which he was building near Calico Rock. Upon completion the steamboat was placed in the Buffalo City and Lead Hill trade.

In January, 1886, the JOHN F. ALLEN, NEW HOME and ALBERTA NO. 3 made trips to Buffalo City, but low water forced the latter to the lower river, and she never returned. Captain ~Stallings landed his boat at Buffalo City in mid-March; however, the river was too low to go to McBee's. He was in Yellville later, telling shippers that he would go to Lead Hill on the first rise and inviting a number of citizens to accompany him.

The spring rains brought a welcome rise in the river, with trips above Buffalo being resumed, and the only known collision between two steamers occurred. The competition between steamboat crews was not the only rivalry, for that between the owners of landings was often just as keen. Before the development of McBee's, Talbert's Ferry was the main landing for old Flippin, Yellville and other small settlements. It was bought by Lee Denton and renamed Denton's Ferry, while McBee's was developed by W. C. McBee, who owned river land that included the mouth of Fallen Ash Creek. He built a ferry, grist mill, cotton gin and warehouse on the property. The emergence of McBee's caused the decline in importance of Denton's. The intense struggle for dominance is shown by this short sentence from the Mountain Echo:

"We understand that Mr. Lee Denton, "buck-eyed" up on mean whiskey, went down river and painted McBee's Landing and his 4X ferry red last week." (Whether the alleged incident was merely an Ozark Mountain joke, or an act of contempt, was never explained by the newsy reporter.)

The NEW HOME and JOHN F. ALLEN ran to Buffalo City in late December 1886, but low water curtailed operations above, and by late January over 2,000 bales of cotton awaited shipment at McBee's. Two weeks later the 7 river rose enough for each steamer to make two difficult trips.

An event happened in February that had some influence on the development of the Upper White River. Yellville citizens J. C. Berry, W. R. Jones and H. B. Hallum, editor of the Mountain Echo, arrived at McBee's to enjoy his hospitality. While there, the whistle of the steamer HOME was heard downriver, and the men left by skiff to meet her. The group was heartily welcomed by Captain Stallings, who gave them a pleasant ride back to McBee's. Hallum described the boat as an excellent craft with a 500 bale carrying capacity and speed as swift as the wind. W. R. Jones, later owner of the Mountain Echo, was so impressed that he became a foremost advocate of improved river transportation.

The JOHN F. ALLEN and NEW HOME continued to travel to McBee's, and after arriving on February 17, Captain Woodbury took his boat to Lead Hill. All of the cotton was cleared from McBee's by mid-March, which was very fortunate; the river fell, and it was two months before boats could return.

The upper river competition was enlivened by the entrance of the steamer RALPH into the trade above Buffalo City. Owned by Captain Will C. Shipp, the craft was due at McBee's on March 30, and the appearance of three steamboats above Buffalo City was a welcome sight to the citizens. However, the number was reduced after Captain Woodbury took the JOHN F. ALLEN to Lead Hill in late May, then sold the steamer to Captain Pugh, of Yazoo City, Mississippi.

Business to Marion County ports was profitable during the 1 887-1888 boating season, and several captains made plans to enlarge their operations. Captain Will C. Shipp lengthened the RALPH and added electric lights. Captain Albert B. Smith and associates purchased the GENERAL CHARLES H. TOMPKINS to replace the ALBERTA NO. 3, which had burned, and Captain Woodbury built the GOVERNOR JAMES P. EAGLE at Batesville.

The primary boats serving the local area during the 1888-1889 boating season were the RALPH and J. P. EAGLE. The former was at McBee's in late March 1889, leaving with 127 bales of cotton and 14 passengers. Captain Shipp reported that the RALPH made 21 trips during the season, of which 14 were to McBee's and above. The little TOM HESS also ran, but scant information was found on her activities.

The fall of 1890 was exceptionally good for steamboating, and by September Captain Woodbury was making regular trips to McBee's. The late Walter Isom remembered the boat most vividly, stating that she was painted a brilliant white and nicknamed "THE WHITE EAGLE".

Captain Stallings, once dubbed the Young Commodore of the Tipper White, returned in December with the GENERAL CHARLES H. TOMPKINS, which was 183 feet long and 25 feet wide; Captain Smith was seriously ill at Newport. The TOMPKINS was at McBee's on January 9, 1891, and was described as one of the finest to ever navigate the Upper White; she left with 751 bales of cotton. Captain Stallings took the boat above Lead Hill during the week of January 16, returning to Batesville with 596 bales of cotton and ten tons of ore from Music Creek. He sped back to McBee's to go as far above Lead Hill as possible,

Things were busy at the Marion County Landings, with the TOMPKINS, EAGLE, RALPH, and occasionally the TOM HESS competing for the trade. Captain Stallings made steamboat history with the TOMPKINS during the last week of February; the bold captain took his steamer to the mouth of Bear Creek and left McBee's with 800 bales of cotton. As far as is known, this is the largest shipment to leave Marion County by steamboat.