The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1850-01-02
From the Sunday Times,

-
1t was a cool, clear, moon-shiny even
Hig early i'm the autumn Of 1907, when
a large fleet Of boats might be seen rid
Ing at Anchor in the fine eddy of the
harbor at New Madrid, on. the western
shore of the Mississippi There were
nearly hundred in all, in which every
possible imaginable. variety of water
craft seemed to be realized in some fan
tastic form and structure. There was
the strong, stately barge, huge in size
as an Atlantic schooner, with its eleva-
ted and outlandish deck. Moored by its
side, one beheld the keel boat, of long
slender, and lovely shape, and yet capa-
bic Of CARRYING its forty tons burshen.
Next came the Kentucky fats, or in the
backwoods patois, ''broad horns," built
after tie model OF Noah's ark, but very
much Resembling pig sites. Many OF
these were family boats, conveying en-
igrants to their new homes in the forest.
Then might be enumerated covered
sleds." Alleghans siliiis, pirogues, hol-
lowed on. Of gigantic trees. common
ssifis, dug outs, and several other mon
strous anomalies utterly irreducible to
any class-in short, Il perfect Babel of
heterogeneous boats.
Equally, o? even still more contradic-
tory, was the character Of the naviga-
tors They had come from diiereat re-
gions of the great valley, thousands OF
miles apart-from the Missouri, the falls
of ST. Anthony and Lake Michigan, from
the Wabash, the Monongahela, the sa-
lIne of Kanawha, and the blue noun
tains of the winding Tennessee. There
was hunters and trappers. Canadian
French and the genuine alligator breed
Of old Kentuck." Their lading was
also as dissimiler as their persons. 1t
was made W of all sorts of animals
horses COWS, sheep, hogs, turkeys, chick
cns-bound for the market OF New Or
leans. There were flats loaded with
pine planks from the south western woods
of New York. IL another place, land
ed together, yoa might see the "broad
horns, with their whiskey, hemp, bag
ging, and bales of rope: in another still.
the Yankee notions" Of Ohio; here,
vast bags Of cotton from Tennessee.
and, there, cider, tools, and implements
Of architecture and husbandry from
Pennsylvania. twas miniature done
il a charcoal sketch work, of the future
mlgnificencc Of western commerce.
That was the golden age of the boat
men. Their bronzed hands had not yet
come into equal competition with arms
Of iron which moved BIZ the secret witch
cry Of fire, rise and fall with the force
of tnunder-lor not until five years az
forwards did the first steamboat cut
through the white foam of the great riv-
cas- boiling eddies.
New Madrid was then the chief me-
ridian Of boats, both in ascending and
descending-an old town, which had
been successfully under Spanish, French,
and American rule, and having receiy-
cd motley mixture OF outlaws from
each nation together with many respecta-
bic and even wealthy inhabitants, the
r;otous disposition Of lis people suited
e-acily the taste Of that boating tribe,
in their own vernacular slang, ''hall
horse and half alligator, with a smart
touch of tie suapping-turtle, and &C
cordingly, the sk;ff in those days could
not pass, ''Sodom, as it was generally
called, without tying cable for one night
or more. From causes obvious at a
glance, the most desperate rows were Of
frequent occurrence, sometimes betw een
the different clans of boatmen, but
more often between the boa:mcn Gu one
side and the citizens OH the other.
On the occasion first alluded to, unu-
sual tranquility p-evailedtill after night
fall. Riddles might then be heard
'scraping" at every point in the feet,
while red shir.s were seen dancing Oh
deck-somc to the sound Of the violin,
some to the wilder blasts Of The buglc
and others to the wilder blasts OF the
louder intonations OF their own throat:
and windPipes, roaring their favor.te
songs-''isow, boatmen, row." and
Glance, boatmen, dance" Riddles
too, were going in every grocery on the
shore; and there might be counted
twenty-fve-some Of them also open
for worse purposes taan retailing gin
''Spose we venter out and raise tbs
wind, spell, "said Bill Coulter, huge
massive, bony ''six-iooter. with SHARP
gray eyes, and hair red as his hanne
shirt.
Good as grass to a hungry hog,
shouted dozen drunken voices
"We'll alters back Bill Coulter, becase
he's king Of the wild cats, what never
was whipped. "
And Immediately the wild CATS ant
their honored king, leaped on shore fol
reverend set. They had not pro.
eceded far when Bill exclaimed, ga
prize, by thunder!' and instantly gave
chase to female who happened to be
passing. The woman fled but the ruff
fian succeeded in overlooking her.
Purity as 4 young angil, cried King
Bill, as he tore of her veil and discov.
cred features, although AT the time pale
from excessive terror, beautiful ia ever
beamed beneath females hood. Ve-
ry little space however was allowed the
boatmen to rejoice over their wicked A.