The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1875-01-13
Old Times on the Mississippi.
BY MARK TWAIN.

When ! was boy there was but one
permanent ambition among my IN.
rades in our village, on the west bank
Of the Mississippi river. That was to
be steamboatman. We had transient
ambitions of other sorts, but they were
only transient. When a circus came
and went, it left us all burning to be-
come clowns the first negro minstrel
show that came to our section left us
all suffering TO try that kind Of life !;
now and then we had a hope that if we
lived, and were good, God would per-
NIT US to be pirates. These ambitions
faded out, each in turn; but the am.
betion to be a steamboatman always
remained.
Once day cheap, gaudy packet
arrived upward from st. Louis, and
another downward from Keokuk. Be
tore these events had transpired, the
day was glorious with expectancy !;
after they had transpired, the day was
II dead and empty thing. Not only
the boys, but the whole village did
this. After all these years. can pie
ture that old time to myself now, Just
as it was then the white town drows.
ing in in the sunshine of a summers
morning; the streets empty, or pretty
nearly so; one or two clerks sitting in
front Of the Water street stores, with
the splint bottomed chairs tilted back
against the wall, chins on breasts, hats
sloucted over their faces, asleep with
shiugle shavings enough around to
show what broke them down; a sow
and litter of pigs loafng along the side
walk, doing good business in water
melon rinds and seeds two or three
lonely little freight piles scattered
about the "levee :" pile Of "skids" on
the slope of the stone paved wharf,
and the fragrant town drunkard asleep
in the shadow Of them two or three
wood flats at the head of the wharf but
nobody to listen to the peaceful lap.
ping of the wavelets against teen the
great Mississippi, the majestic, the
magnificent Mississippi, rolling its mile
wide tide along, shining in the sun /;
the dense forest away on the other
side the "poiDt" above the town, and
the point" low, bounding the river
glimpse and turning it into a sort of
sea, and withal a very still and bril-.
liant one. Presently film of dark
smoke appears above one of those re-
mote points )" instantly a negro dray-
man, famous for his quick eye and pro.
digious voice, lifts of the cry. "S-t-e-a. M.
boat comm !" and the scene changes.
The town drunkard stirs, clerks wake
up, furious clatter Of drays follows,
every house and store pours out ii hu
man contribution, and all in a twink
ling the dead town is alive and NOV
ing. Drays, carts, men, boys, all go
hurrying from many quarters to COM
mon centre, the wharf Assembled
there, the people fasten their eyes upon
the coming boat as upon wonder
they are seeing for the first time. And
the boat is rather a handsome sight,
too. She is long and sharp and trim
and pretty she has two tail, fancy
topped chimneys, with a gilded device
OF some kind swung between them q
fancitul pilot house, all glass and "gin-
gerbread, perched on top Of the "tex-
as" decS behind them the paddle
boxes are gorgeous with picture or
with gilded rays above the boats name;
the boiler deck, and the texas deck
are fenced and ornamented with clean
white railings; there is flag gallant.
ly flying from the jack-statf; the fur
mace doors are open and the fires glar
ing bravely the upper decks are black
with. passengers the captain stands by
the big bell, calm, imposing, the envy
of all; great volumes of the blacklist
smoke are rolling and tumbliug out of
the chimneys--a husbanded grandeur
created with bit of pitch pine just
before arriving at town; the crew
are grouped on the forecastle; the
broad stage is run far out over the
port bow, and an envied deck hand
stands picturesquely on the end of it
with a coil of rope in his hand; the
pent steam is screaming through the
gauge-cocks; the captain lifts his
band, bell rings, the wheels stop !;
then they turn back, ehurning the
water to foam, and the steamer is at
rest. Then such scramble as there
is to get ashore, aud to take in freight
and to discharge freight. all at one aud
the same time, aud such yelling and
cursing as the mates facilitate it all
with Ten minutes later the steamer
is under way again, with no flag on
the jack-statf and no black smoke is
suing from the chimneys. Alter ten
more minutes the town is dead again,
and the town drunkard asleep by the
skids once more.
My father was a justice Of the peace.
and | supposed he possessed the power