The northern galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1844-1848, 1844-06-12

would not have continued the race. The air
trembled with heat, smoke, roaring and foam
ing. The enemy was now right at our back.
The figure head of the George vas parellel
with our stern. Helen McGregor hold your
self Stiff cried /. Fire up, boys!' said /.
Ten dollars if you do the businessr 'IInr-
rahl' cried the hundred passengers-'Hur-
rah" The Washington loses-falls back
The captain looked, but he could not speak
a word. His lips were pressed, as if they
were nailed together-he stood like statue.
We made twenty knots. We had to keep
up now or fall among the Huntress and the
Ploughboy. All the planks cracked; the
engine shook and smoke roared. The Hell
en- McGregor,' cried, is a brave woman
brave Scottish lass. She has FIRE in her
body And that was true. She was as swift
as a race horse, TO which, for The first time,
the spurs are giveu. She floated no more
she flew like bird, or wild panther, or a
wounded stag she was swift as the rising
storm. The waters of the milk-white Ohio
flew past us, as if they shot out of Fulton's
steam rockets; still wilder became her course;
the Kentucky shores to the right with her
cotton trees, flew past us; the forest flew by,
as if seized by panic; the Illinois shores,
with their magnificent trees, danced past us,
like wild witches riding on their broomsticks.
Behind us disappeared the high banks of the
Missouri, with the forest in the back, and the
plantation of old Kentuck in the foreground.
She appeared smaller every second, and in
minute it was only as large as pigeon house.
All swan before and behind us-all hurried,
drove, flew and roared. We had lost COM
pletely sight and hearing. Hurrahs by thou
sands, seven steamers, grooming, moaning,
Kissing, spouting fire; alldisappeared before
my eyes and senses.
"The forest below Trinity flew towards us;
on it came, the wheels cracked, and the peo
pie howled before and behind us. Hurrah
Hurrah! 1t was a gallopade, a gigantic
struggle-Trinity was the goal before us, and
both Of us almost conquerors. At once the
captain cries, She is before;' and then he
stdres right out and bites his lips, which were
covered with blood. Captain says l, she
is not before Look Mr. Doughty, says he
-'lookr l looked, and as was spying all be-
came dim before my eyes. This George
Washington raced like the devil. was con-
WINGED that she would have caught US in two
minutes; and it did not take even two min
uteS.
"'Upon my soul she is ahead l cried
She is ahead repeated the captain
with low voice: he was deadly pale. L
could not speak a woodland he, sure as l
live, he had to support himself at the railing,
or he would have fallen. There was no hope;
his figure was parallel with our stern now;
ten seconds af;erward, one third Of his length
was alongside of us; ten seconds later, two,
and in less then minute he hes proudly be-
fore US, and thunders his hurrah into our
ears, and the five steamers behind US join in
TO it and we didn't hear any thing but hurrahs
and hurrahs. All, would have given thou
sand dollars if we had reached Trinity two
minutes before. Suddenly we heard the
cry from below, the boiler burst the boiler
burstr and Immediately a rafting, then a
hissiug and roaring. Happy voyage into
eternity all cried, and | thought, now comes
the hot bath. But it was nothing: the cry
originated with a pair of niggers, who
were called by Emily and Mr.. Warren, and
the other females in the ladies' cabin. Both
had been down to the engineer; had begged
him, conJured; and all the women had made
the mans head so hot, that he consented and
opened the ventile-and we were only within
half mile of Trinity. l believe, surely, that
if the cowardly villain had not done it, we
would have kept eqeal course with the Wash
ington, for she did not arrive two minutes be-
fore us. l fell upon him, was so mad, and
if the captain and some good friends had not
interfered, | would have thrashed him on the
spot; and had it cost me thousand dollars
he deserved it, the disgraceful rascal. We
had arrived in Trinity, and had made the five
miles in less than twelve minutes: but Miss
Warren was so angry, and the old gentleman
as mad and stiff as a pair Of fire tongs. But l
I l..r. Ill. - oh all
But YOU are too daring, indeed remarked
! Richards.
'Daringr replied Doughty, unsatisfed.
Daring when the honor of a ship is in the
gamel'
.Pshawl the honor Of a steamboat
'Pshaw, you say Richards! Now, il did
not know that you were true old Virginian,
upon my soul! | should almost believe that
you were one of those soft soap Creoles.-
I sPshaw,' you say, the honor Of steamboat
A steamboat, l tell you, is a ship too, and
a large one too, land an American-trueA Amer
lean! 1t is our ship we have discovered it.
/ The old world might have stood long, and
not have found it out. We got it boys, says
|. 'Pshaw' you say, he continued, excited.
And if Perry had said .pshaw,' on Lake Erie,
or McDonough on Champlain, or Rogers, or
Porter. You can say pshaw at everything,
7 at the honor of steamer ship-a State.
l tell you he who says pshaw when his ship
is sailed over will also say pshaw when it is
taken; and he who does not get warm when
( he sees another vessel sailing proudly past
his own, Is coward. l tell you, this pride is
ambition, and this ambition is the true thing
But the lives of so many human beings
! Il tell you. of the two hundred and twenty
passengers we had on board the Helen, there
were not three, Mr.. Warren and the ladies
excepted. W no would have cared straw about
it, if they should have had a barrel of hot
water over them provided they had arrived two
minutes earlier in Trinity
We had to laugh at the Kentucky brute,
and acknowledged the truth of his assertions
Cold blooded and passionless as Uncle Sam
generally is on points like this often chan
ges his nature, and in the desire to see his
ship first in haIbor, he forgets what he very
seldom does, wife, child, property and for
tune-his own life even,does not come in ac-
count He is maniac, who puts all on a
single throw. And the five hundred or thou
sand lives which these daring races cost him