The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1875-01-01
OLD TIMES on TIE MISSISSIPPI.

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OLD TIMES ON THE MISSISSIPPI
When T was boy there was but on
permanent ambition among my CON
rades in our village on the west bank c
the Mississippi river. That was, to b
steamboatman, We had transient an
billions of other sorts, but they wer
only transient. When circus cam
and went, it left us all burning to be
come clowns; the first negro minstre
show that came to our section left us al
suffering to try that kind OF life; no'
and then we had hope that if we live
and were good, God would permit us t
be pirates. These ambitions faded ont
each in its turn but the ambition to b
steamboatman always remained.
Once day cheap, gaudy packet al
rived upward from st. Louis, and an
other downward from Keokuk. Befor
these events had transpil ed the day wa
glorious with expectancy !; after the.
had transpired the day was dead ant
empty thing. Not only the boys, bu
| the whole village, felt this. After al
these years can picture that old tim
to myself now just as it was then ; thl
white town browsing in the sunshine d
b summers morning the streets empt5
pr pretty nearly go one or two clerb
hitting in frontof the Water street store,
With their splint- bottomed chairs tiltd
back against tha wall, chins on breast,
hats slouched over their faces. asleep
With shingle. shavings enough around 70
show what broke them down; SOW aid
litter of pigs loaing along the SID.
SILK, doing a good business in watf-
aeIon rinds and seeds; two or thre
3nely little freight piles scattered abolt
he " levee;;" q pile of skids" on tie
iope of the stone paved wharf, and tie
iagrant town drunkard asleep in tie
hadoW of them two or three wod
iats at the head of the wharf, but nj
ody 10 listen to the peaceful tapping II
ee waVelets against them; the greet
ississippi, the majestic, the magnit-
At Mississippi, rolling its mile e-wiIe
le along, shining in the sun; the dene
rest away on the other side: he
goint" above the town and the s'poiisS"
low, bounding the river-gtfmpse, end
ming ii into sort of sea, and witAal
cry still and brilliant and lonely one.
eently film of dark smoke appears
We one Of those remote points !;
antly a negro drayman, famous for
suiek eye and prodigieus voice, lifts
no cry, "S.t-e.a.m-boat a-comin' y
he scene changes. The town drunk
sirs, the clerks wake up, furious
OF drays follows, every house
lore pours out human contIibu-
and all in q tWinkling the dead
Is alive and moving. Drays, carts,
boys, all go hurrying from many
ers to common centre. the wharf.
nbied there, the people fasten their
u on the coming boat as upon a
en- they are seeing for the first
And the boat is rather a hand
. sight, TOO. She is long, and sharp,
trim, and pretty she has two tall,
topped chimneys, with gilded
70 Of some kind swung between
en-: q faneiful pilot house, ell glass
id gingerbread, perched Oh top Of
10 texas" deck behind then the
7dle-boxes are gorgeous with pic
10 or with gilded rays above the
ats name the boiler deck, the hur-
tcane deck and the texas deck are
fenced and ornamented with clean white
Rulings there is a flag gallaAtIy flying
from the iack-staff; the furnace doors
are open and the fires elarine bravelY !;
the upper decks,are black with passen-
GERS the captain stands by the big bell,
calm, imposing, the envy d sll great
volumes of the blackest smoke are roll
ing and tumblina out of the chimney
a husbanded grandeur created with
but OF pitch pine just before arriving at
9 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 pictureIQuely on the
ebd Of 1t with coil Of ronB in his hand;
the pent steam is screaming through the
gange-cocks the captain lifts his hand,
o bell rings, the wheels stop then they
turn back, cnurning the water TO foam,
end the steamer ID &c rest. Then such
9 scramble IS there is I'd get aboard, and
70 get ashore, and to take ii freight and
to discharge freight, al at one and the
same time; and such yelling and
curelng as the mates facilitate 1t all
with Ten minutes later the steamer
70 under way again, with no flag on the
jack staff and no black smoke issuing
from the chimneys. After ten more
minutes the taWn Is dead again, and the
town drunkard asleep by the skids ence
more.
My father was Justice of the peace,
and ! supposed he possessed the power
Of life and death over all men, aud
could hang any body that offended him.
Ibis Waa distinction enough for me as
general thing but the desire To be 6
steamb asEnan kept intruding, neverth
less. I first wanted TO be- cabin,b boy, so
that I could come out with white
apron on and shake 8 table.cloth over
he side, where All my old comrades
sould see me later thought / would
sather he the deek-hand who stood on
she end of the stage plank with the coil
u rope IN his hand, because he was
conspicuous. But these
aEe only day-drearn they we're too
ID be contemplated rs real
by aud bY one of our
bows went away. He was not heard Of
Fos d long time at last he turned mp
IA gapprentl9a engineer or striker on
eieamboaf This thing shook the bot
TON ont ol all nny Sunday -school tesch-
,nas. Illt bog ha1 bgen notoriausIy y
rldIv, aasl ins She reverse yet Ils
,ras exalsd to this eminsnee, and /
5sfe III osJFcagity and misery. There
sar Y,yYssll1S6u ssaatsrnsYs aIlout kl1ia SaII0W