New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1853-04-16
From Gody's Lady's Book |
THE CANAL BOAT.
by MRS. II. e. BEEcHER STOWE.

among our locomotive nation, this said vehi-
Gle the canal boat, is the most absolutely
prosaic and inglorious. There is something
picturesque, nay, almost sublime in the
lordly march of your well-built, high-bred
steamboat Go take your stand on some over
hanging bluff, where the blue Ohio winds its
thread of silver, or the sturdy Mississippi
tears its path through unbroken forests, and
it will do your heart good to see the gallant
boat walking the waters with unbroken and
powerful tread, and like some tabled mon
ster of the wave, breathing fire and making
the shores resound with its deep respirations.
Then there is something mysterious, even
awful, in the power of steam. See it, curl
ing up against blue sky some rosy morning,
graceful, flceting, intangible, and to all
appearance the softest and gentlest of all
spiritual things, and then think that it is this
fairy spirit that keeps all the world alive and
hot with motion, think how excellent a SER
want it is, doing all sorts of gigantic works,
like the Genii Of old, and yet if you let slip
the talisman only for moment, what terri
BILE advantage it will take of you and you
will confess that steam has some claims both
to the beautiful and the terrible. For our
own part, when We are down among the ma
chinery of steamboat in full play, we con-
duct ourself very reverently, for we consider
it as very serious neighborhood, and every
time the steam whizzes, with such red hot
determination from the escape valve, we start
as if some of the spirits were after us. But
in canal boat there is no power, no mystery,
no danger one can't blow up, one can't be
drowned unless by some special effort; one
sees clearly all there is to the Casa horse,
a rope, and muddy strip of water, and
that is all.
Did you ever try it, reader? If not, take
animaginary trip with us just for experiment.
"There's the boat =" exclaims passenger
in the omnibus as we are rolling down from
the Pittsburg Mansion House to the canal.
"Where ?n exclaim dozen Of voices, and
forthwith dozen heads 60 out of the
window.
'"Why down there under that bridge,
don't you see those lights f"
"What that little thing?" exclaims an
inexperienced traveller, "dear me! we can't
half of us get into it !" .a..
awe, indeed! +" says some old hand in the
business-"I think you'll find it will hold us
and a dozen more loads like u.s."
impossible " say some
you'll see" say the initiated; and as
soon as you get out, you do see, and hear
too, what seems like general breaking loose
from the Tower of Babel amid perfect hail
&C l.
and every describable and indescribable form
of what westerner calls plumber
"That's my trunk banks out big round
man. "Thats my handbook! screams /,
heart-stricken old lady, in terror for hel
immaculate Sunday caps. where's my
little red box had two carpet bags and {
-. My trunk had scarlet-iIalloa
where you going with that portmanteau
Husband, husband do see after the large
basket, and the little hair trunk oh anC
the babys little chair p"
"Go below, go below for mercy's sake, m,
dear, I'll see to the baggage"
AT last the feminine part of creation per
ceivng that in this particular instance the.
gain nothing by public speaking, are conten
to be led quietly under matches, and amusin,
is the look of dismay which each new come
gives to the confined quarters that presen
themselves. Those who were so ignorant o
the power of compression as to suppose tn
boat scarce large enough to contain then
and theirs, find with dsmay a respectabl
colony of old ladies, babies, mothers, BIZ
baskets and carpet bags already established
"Mercy on us y says one, after surveying
the little room about ten feet long and 81
high, "where are we all to sleep tonight.
"Oh, me! what a sight of children " say
young lady in despairing tone
"Poh!n says an initiated traveller, chi
dren! scarce any here; let's see: one, tn
woman in the corner two, that child wit
the bread and butter three, and then there
that other woman with two; really, its quit
moderate for canal boat, however, we can
tell till they have all come"
"All for mercy's sake You don't sa
there are any more coming . exclaim tw
or three in breath, they can't come, thel
is not room"
Notwithstanding the impressive utteranc
Of this sentence, the contrary is immediatel
demonstrated by the appearance of yer
corpulent elderly lady, with three well grow
daughters, who come down looking abo'
them most compacently, entirely regardle
of the unchristian look of the compan
What a mercy it is that fat people a
always good natured!
After this follows an indiscriminate raj
ing down of all shapes sizes, sexes, and age
men, women children babies, and nurse
The state of feeling becomes perfectly de
perate. Darkness gathers on all faces. "N
shall be smothered We shall be crowdt
to death! We can't stay here" are heal
family from one and another, and yet, thong
the boat grows no wider, the walls no highe
they do live, and do bear it in spite
repeated protestations to the contrary. Trul
as Sam Slick says, "theres sight of wei
in human natur,n
But meanwhile the children grow sleep
and divers interesting little duets and tri