, 1875-07-04
MARK. TWAIN.


MARK TWAIN.
An Old Engineer Who Remember
Him ns u "Cub IA Piio1lng Ex
pcrtence Not Set Forth in the ATTAIN
| tic.
| 4 st. Louis correspondent Of the Milwaukee
Sentinel writes: While sitting in front Of tn
Southern Hotel talking to future great citize'
about the old steamboat days Of st. Louis, whe,
Captains, CLERKS, and pilots ran the town, ant
ran it under full head OF steam. an ancien
mariner let up On whiting the arm Of the mex
;. chair, turned toward us, and remarked: "Yo,
was speaking Of tho old river days ? :" We WAS.
replied perhaps. nov. yon have been read
ing some Of Sam Ctemens' yarns 7 " held up
copy OF the Atlantic, open at Mark TWAIN arti
Gle, which had really brought about the con
veIsation. Yes, thought 60; well, he dom
reaching over for a tobacco pouch which gen
tfeman was passing to u friend. ''1here'a one
little affair he hasn't worked into print yet, and
it isn't likely he will"
The social quit of on his "Reminiscences
At this point aud talked generally about
the bad outlook Of the crops aud
universal disadvantage Of dryness. Seeing
that nothing but GIN and sugar would
start him ANEW, he wns persuaded into a con-
nais oaffoom and after hostng in thres
/
! and several chunks OF cheese, he proceeded with
| his anecdote. inter1uptlng hmself number Of
.:mes to remark to the bar-kecper. ''The same,
pa1d."
II was first engineer OF the Alexander Scott
when Sam Clemens MARK Twaiu) Was cub in
| her pilol-houae> He was = clipper young chap,
with legs no bigger than casting line and fuller
| Of tricks than mule colt. He worked of Jokes
! on everybody aboard, from the skipper down to
the roostera (da1ky decknands), but they we're
all fnho in n-t T Ja.v f1w$
to pay back. About the time Sam got the run OF
the river we'll enough to stand alone at the
wheel, the Scott went into the lower river
trade carrying cotton from Memphis to New
Orleans. Perhaps, now, you never seo q boat IN
the cotton trade burn? Well, you may cover
your cotton from stem to stern with tarpauns.
and keep your doukey- engines steamed np bat
II spark Of fire touches cotton enough to fill
tooth, your boats corpse. It's quicker'n gun
powder to burn, and no pilot can reach the lower
deck tronl the texas in time to save himse1f let
alone Ills Saratoga. So, you SEQ, everybody in
that trade ls on the watch and an alarm Of fire in
q boat loaded with cotton will turn q mans hair
gray quicker n an alligator can swalleE nigger.
q Sam, being young pilot, and new to the
cotton-t1ade, was told over and ovor again how
the profession would lose promising cub il
ever fire broke out on tho Scott, aud the boy
got nervous. Nv striker and me always mau-
aged to be in the lunch-roem WHOM Sam caule OF
watch. and as he came IN wa would talk about
raor s-.d how snch crb vond hava naJa =
i,phtn,np nIot II he hadn't pot hnrnt nm in the
cot, n.,Gadc and va a|wavs notjced that Som'a
ennat;ta fa;iad him sftar that md ;nste.d NJ
1ono ~ had Ia wo,1d o. nrnw}inr sronnd the
iowsS teck "a nearing ahont ti,e hatchravs.
amajiin9 nj evrrv onau;nv like a nm That Ind
iae, ;ts G,astar o.
s.nra Iov whao ". h,cIal nit of Map,rhia
r;,h a 10 aaroo ~ cotton T complained in
Sam's hoa1ing. Ihnt the mate had ioaded the
hat too near the snrines. The bow Followed
~ ;,o ~ ~ a1na,roonn sni 1v,+boyt sean,ne
~ - ,n1;oo hin +old ~ atr;lar would d. nv
1ana1 ho,t ~ Iaan tbat cottoo frou catcb;np
80 hrt +h.t IL sros .l;n, chanca viii hole3
n;sd un'rght hetora thu fu,nace-doors. Sam
Pneo. ar npaS 1,,,tl' 'ba.d 49,, Ec't ~ ~ tha
ter.s whera he nacksd his Sa1atoga ready for
any business that mght come before the meet
,nr. When he went On watch posted the Sec
ond CLARK to keep Al eve an him.
..Ho hid hohind a smole-stack and raw Sam
.7ona in tbe ni1ot-house his hair m end hin
9aca hsa a cornso's and hia eve. st;ck;no ont
a. FAR von couid have knockei than, off w;.h a
atick. Ha danced aronnd tha nlot-honse tnrnad
m he nose iike he WA smetl,nr for :, no1ocst. .
pulled eyery bell, turned the boat's nosa for the
hhsrL .n5 Ea,Ied A. i, Gxa sha-otraa Ts: 49,:
m ths war-nath. Thnt yell broneht eTarvhndv
m deck We haf, y sl,;p carpo nf nsa.an1ars
and the women scraachen tbe man ruahaI a.
cork niliown md tha crew vanLed tha |
doora on their hnues and rnahad to tbo
ru.ris ready to On overheard At Tho frst n,nd1
eration of weather. The skinner had h,r7 wo-r
10 make the crazy nassenuera helieva that tbera
WASN'T anY fra but he broueht than to reasnn |