Chicago artists paddle the Mississippi

Having read "The Adventures of Huck Finn" by Mark Twain, what red-blooded American hasn't dreamed of floating down the Mississippi River?

Two young Chicago women dreamed the dream and made it come true in 1948. They told a Southeast Missourian reporter when they docked here, the float trip was a "cure for a bad case of 'cityitis.'"

Published Monday, Sept. 20, 1948, in the Southeast Missourian:

En route to New Orleans by canoe, these two young commercial artists of Chicago tied up at the Head dock on the Mississippi river for a time Sunday morning. Standing is Miss Margaret Carpenter and seated is Miss Mary Kuhn. Starting at Chicago July 1, they paddled their 407th mile when they docked here. Nights are spent on sandbars, they said. (G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian archive)

WOMEN ARTISTS ON RIVER TRIP IN CANOE

Two Chicago women commercial artists stopped briefly at Cape Girardeau Sunday noon on their Mississippi River canoe cruise in quest of a cure for a bad case of "cityitis." Tanned by 407 miles of the open air, their hair windswept and needing attention of a beautician, the girls, Misses Margaret Carpenter and Mary Kuhn, smiled through the grime of travel for a photographer and announced their determination to go on to New Orleans as the first women to ever traverse the length of the Father of Waters in a light canoe.

Neither had previously garnered too much experience with boats, but now they feel they can hold their own with the best. The canoe is one of those types you have to keep your hair parted straight in to stay topside.

"We had the most trouble at Chain of Rocks. The current was swift and the wind high, but we made it, although nearly upset once," Miss Kuhn said.

Started July 1

The voyage began July 1 after the pair had been chided by friends they should take a boat trip down the Mississippi if they were tired of city life and wanted excitement.

They have been taking photos and plan to make a series of sketches from these. "We tried using our easels, but that didn't work so well in the canoe," Miss Carpenter reported.

At night they camp on sandbars and cook their meals. A Boy Scout manual has helped a lot. They discarded a gasoline stove as unsatisfactory and now dig a fire trench and use a grate to cook on. A rifle comes in handy to get small game, and while floating past here they were "blocking" for catfish.

"We learned that from fishermen up the river, and we've had plenty of fish to eat," Miss Kuhn smiled.

One of the gravest dangers the pair has encountered along the river are the waves from the heavy boats, which at times nearly upset their frail canoe. A small outboard motor helps the pair scoot along about 35 miles a day, paddles being used only to handle the craft when the motor is not in use.

The Associated Press and various newspapers along their route followed the progress of the women down the Mississippi. They landed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Nov. 24, and on Dec. 3 made it to New Orleans.