The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1876-06-14
STEAMBOAT VETERANS.

We note with pleasure that many
Of the Western and Southern Jour
nails, are occasionally paying tributes
of praise and remembrance, to the
few remaining veteran steamboat Of
fcers of the olden time. These leaf
lets of men, good men, yet living
with the yellow tinge Of the autumn
al leaves as their laurels, is strick-
ly commendable, and as one of the
yet blooming and dashing ''mud
clerks of those past good days, we
desire modestly to add our remem
brance drop to the steamboat waits
to which we are abiding. Prefacing
our coming leahet with the fact that
as early as 1S43 we were mud clerk
ing it on the then famed and favorite
Cote Joyeuse, and that one of her
officers with us at salary of twenty
five dollars a month less than ours,
the carpenter of the Cote Joyeuse,
was no less than the now great and
popular boat builder, Dan Howard,
of the Jacksonville firm of Howard
BROTHERS. AS our old friend and
companion, who has prospered as
true merit always deserves, is COM
pleting the greatest steamer ever
launched from a Western dock, the
new R. E. Lee, his mud clerk com
panion is cheerfully penciling this
little souvenir to him, as he con
cludes it with the intentional waif
he had in mind when he commenced
this article.
AS we write, there is now living
in Alexandria, honored and respect
ed in mellow old age, past three
score and ten, and resident Of Ra-
pides for near fifty years, gentle
man of the old regime, Capt. Bernard
Jarrcau, the oldest steamboat cap
tain Of the Southern waters. Capt.
Jarreau commenced in this trade, on
the Planter in 1924, and was her
owner and commander for the many
seasons that she continued in this
trade; then the Natchitoches and
Alexandria one. No Grand Ecore
then, no Rigolet Bon Dieu, but Cane
and Little Rivers, and old Cloutier-
vile as q thriving and business
Town, with the coasts Of lie Rrevelle
and Cote Joyeuse as the blooming
gardens of wealth, prosperity, intel
ligence and hospitality of then fair
Louisiana. We allude to these then
scenes with tinge of sorrow, yet
with exultance that we are permit
ted to record them. The steamer
Planter was about lao feet in length,
80 feet beam, nearly same floor, full
seven feet hold-a single engine, low
pressure, with the old immense ris-
ing beams. Her gentlemen's cabin
was on deck aft of her engine, and
her Ladies' Cabin in the hold, i'm
mediately under that of the Gentle
mems. No speaking trumpet, no
engine bells on her, but the Captain
would run to the large opening, where
the beams moved up and down, and
sing out to the engineer on watch,
stop her! 60 ahead! onship your lar
board wheel! 60 ahead on the star
board wheel! We can yet see old
Capt. Jarreau, then a tall, handsome,
graceful, fine looking young man,
skipping to and fro giving these or.
ders, and executing his duties like
all good steamboatmen then did
We believe Captains Locard AND
Blanchard, long since gathered tc
their fathers, were the only two q
few years ahead Of Captain Jarreau
in Red River, then followed Captains
Waters and Wilson, both old resi-
dents of Rapides, who lived respect
ed and esteemed to ripe old age
En- passa',t, and deservedly so, WI
must make mention also as a clos,
to this, that Captain Mike Welch
another old steamboat veteran, wht
commenced in IS40, is yet living il
Rapides, and is one Of our most es
teemed and respected fellow-citizen
and bears his age with the elasticit,
of youth, and don't feel ashamed O
it. And this matured, but we'll pre-
served old mud clerk, who receive,
the first dray load of freight for tn
| maiden Packet of the now prosperou
and thriving Grand Ecore trade, tn
first De Soto, is more than happ,
that he yet stalks proudly on oil
mother earth, and holds the ribbons
, editorial of the oldest Democrat
paper in Louisiana, to put in prin
these jottings by the way side.