New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-04-02

Ana IA husiness on the waters,
Listen to this song of wailing,
10 IN, tiais song for " Higher Water
Ye who are the steamboat captains,
Lounging where the guards are shady,
Smoking fragrant old Hayanas,
Sleeping soundly in the g Texas
Casing in the q Captains Officer
To some passenger unwary
Who has wandered up 3 to settle"
Or to see when ye are g going'i-
Sauntering forth upon the leyee,
Gossiping with other captains,
Whe in various strange expressions
Vent their wrath upon the weather,
And upon the falling river
Ye. the Captains of the steamboats,,
Who are either lying idle,
Or If running, losing money,
Join me In this cry Of wailing,
In this cry for Higher Water
We who are the steamboat Pilots,
With q deep and mighty knowledge
OF the windings and the twistings,
And the shadows and the soundings,
And the /. sandbarsn and the Z towheads'
( OF the channel OF the river
Ye who sit In silent anguish,
BY the wheel that should be turning
Knowing that the " snagsn and :. sawyerss
Every day are growing nearer
To the surface Of the water,
In the mighty Mississippi
knowing that the sands are shifting,
Changing all the steamboat channel,
In the bed of the Missouri
That the Ohio is frog-pond,
And the Illinois causeway,
And the Fever River g nowhar,n
Similarly to your wages
Join me, then, we mournful Pilots,
In this doleful song Of wailing
In this song for " Higher Water
All ye engineers and !" greasers,n
Sitting by your silent engine
Engine that is growing rusty,
And suggestive Of " losc acdter s.
Or are boarding at the :. Planters
Waiting for some happier moment,
Daily paying your two-ffty,''
(Boots and 3atJeps not included sl.
Or who make filial visit
To venerated parent,
Or g go forth upon q bender,
Or, got up in greatest splendor, @s
Visit sweethearts in the country,
" Regardless of expense and trouble,
Till you hav'nt any money;
Engineers much bored, and anxious
10 be at your steam and boilers,
Join me in this cry of wailing,
In this cry for Higher Water
Gentlemen who 4 10 to clerk it,
Who are g IN the steamers office''-
Gone is now your occupation.
No more deckn OF cabin passage
No !" receiving or I" discharging, !"
q Manifestsr 81 nie1nOranda,n
No mud clerking' on the levee,
No more flirting in the cabin,
Taking ladies out to dinner,
Promenading decks by moonlight,
Fascinating some fair maiden,
Who thinks officers " such darlings;n
Fancying she has made q conquest
Never thinking, poor young woman,
That each trip they try it over,n
And that handsome clerks and pilots
Are the making of steamboat,
Listen, then, oh clerks obliging,
GentIemanly, fascinating,
Whose accomplishments and manners
Now are only lying idle.
Til the rising of the river
Listen to this song Of Waifing--
To this song Of Higher Water
VI.
Passengers obliged to travel
AT this unpleasant season;
Going on three-days journey
That may take We full fortnight
Sticking firmly on a sandbar
AT the cheerful hour Of midday
While the sun, like burning copper,
Glares upon your heads devoted,
And the engine puffs and struggles,
And the fires beneath grow hotter,
And mosquitoes large as blackbirds
Come abroad from neighboring islands
With little bill to settle.
While devoured, roasted, sullen,
Plying useless fans of palm-leaf,
Sit We in the steaming cabin,
And the boat lies still and sluggish
In the middle Of the river
Passengers, who raving wildly
AT the weather and the river,
At the stoppage and the sandbars,
At the officers and owners,
Crew and builders of the steamboat,
While away the rosy hours
Or who muse in silent sorrow,
Wondering when again, if ever,
He shall see q face familiar,
Or shall reach your destination:
Ye, the patient or impatient,
Ye, the crushed ones, or the erusty,
Ye, the savage or submissive,
Victim passengers Of steamboats,
Join me in this cry Of wailing,
In this cry for q Higher Water
Ye that run upon the river,
Ye that have to do with steamboats,,
Whether it be to make a living,
Or that We go in for glory,
Or because ye're going somewhere
All ye passengers and owners,
All ye mates and all ye captains,
All We clerks and oil We pilots,
All We engineers and greasers,n
All We stewards and We walters,
All ye firemen and deck hands,
ALI We barkeepers and porters,
All We chambermaids and BARRIERS,
All ye river mem and women,
Who so down upon the steamboats,,
And do business on the waters,
Listen to this song of wailing,
To this song of Higher Water.n