The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1874-01-02

rose the1r voices went down. AS fas
! as one of them put down the spy-glas
another took it up but always with
! studied air of calmness. Each time th
verdict was
"She's gaining p
The captain spoke through the tube
I" What steam are you carrying ?"
A hundred and forty-two, sir Blu
she's getting hotter all the time"
The boat was straining, and groan-
ing, and quivering like a monster il
pain. Both pilots were at work now,
one on each side of the wheel, with
their coats and vests off, their bosoms
and collars wide open, and the perspi
ration flowing down their faces. They
were holding the boat so close to the
shore that the willows swept the guards
almost from stem to stern.
"Stand by !" whispered George.
"All ready!' said Jim, under his
breath.
"Let her come %
The boat sprang away from the bank
like deer, and darted in long diago
nal toward the other shore. She closed
in again and thrashed her fierce way
along the willows as before. The cap
tain put down the glass
"Lord, how she walks upon us I
do hate to be be beatP'
''Jim, =" said George, looking straight
ahead, watching the slightest yawning
of the boat and promptly meeting it
with the wheel, I" how'll it do to try
Murderer's Chute ?'l
"Well, it's-its taking chances.
How was the cottonwood stump on the
false point below Boardsman's island
this morning?"
"Water just touching the roots"
&c Well, it's pretty close work. That
gives six feet scant in the head of Muir
derer's Chute. We can just barely rub
through it if we hit it exactly right.
But it's worth trying. She don't
dare tackle it meaning the Amar-
anth.
| In another instant the Boreas plum
ged into what seemed crooked creek,
were shut out in moment. Not a
whisper was uttered now, but the three
men stared ahead, into the shadows, and
two of them spun the wheel back and
forth with anxious watchfulness while
the steamer tore along. The chute
seemed to come to an end every fifty
yards, but always opened out in time.
Now the head of it was at hand.
George tapped the big bell three times,
two leadsmen sprang to their posts,
on the night air, and were caught up
and repeated by two men on the upper
| deck:
Z" Moo bottom !"
Deep four 20
"Half three %
"QuaIter three p
GO Mark under wa-a-ter three %
"Half twainr'
"Quarter twain -"
Davis pulled a couple of ropes
there was jingling of small bells far
below, the boats speed slackened, and
the pent steam began to whistle and the
gauge cocks scream.
by the mark twain l'
"Quar-ter-her-er-less twain p
"Eight and half l'
''Eight feet %
Seven -ana-half I"
Another jing1ing of little bells and
the wheels ceased turning altogether.
The whistling of the steam was some
thing frightfu1, now-it almost drowned
all other noises.
"Stand by to meet her p
George had the wheel hard down and
was standing on a spoke.
"All ready I"
The boat hesitated-seemed to hold
her breath, as did the captain and pilots
and then she began to fall away to
starboard, and every eye lighted.
''NoaO then meet her meet her
Snatch her !"
The wheel few to port SO fast that the
spokes blended into a spider web-the
swing of the boat subsided-she stead
led herself
"Seven feet -
sSev-six feet and haLf!"
"Sir feet Six f.
Bang She hit the bottom George
shouted through the tube
"Spead her wide open /! Whale 1t at
her !''
Pow-wow-chow! The escape pipes
belched snowy pillars of steam aIoft,
the boat ground and surged, and trem-
bled-and slid over into
" Mark twain %
"Quarter-her--"
"Tap tap tap !" Ito signify " Lay
in the leads.'O
And away she went, flying up the will
low shore, with the whole silver sea of
the Mississippi stretching abroad on
every hand.
No Amaranth in sight
"Ha ha, boys, we took couple of
tricks that time p said the captain.
And just at that moment red glare
appeared in the head of the chute and
the Amaranth came swinging after
them
"Well, I swear p
'Jim, what is the meaning of that ?''
"I'll tell you what's the meaning of
it. That hail We had at Napoleon was
Wash Hastings, wanting to come to
Cairo-and we didn't stop. He's in
that pilot house, now, showing those
mud turtles how to hunt for easy water.