The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1878-11-13
RIVER NEWS.

Old Red, at this present writing,
is dead low, has reached within 20
inches of its lowest notch, is still re-
ceding slowly, but the channel now
marks 80 inches clear, thus affording
excellent navigation.
The little steamer Cornie Brandon,
with the permission Of the Board of
Health, has been running to Egg
Bend, some 40 miles below this
point, il Avoyelles Parish, and con-
meets indirectly with the Bonnie Lee,
exchanging freights. However, she
has been ordered back to Shreveport,
and the Joe. Bryarly takes her place
here and will keep up the exchange
business till the blockade is free and
open to all.
The main and most remarkable
feature, in the way of river news, we
have to note, is the departure, on last
Wednesday, as per announcement in
this Journal, of the palatial passeu
ger Packet, Custom House, in com
mand of Captain Mat. Wells. She
left the big Town Wharf on time and
was crowded with passengers-all
her officers, to a man, were on board,
but many of her roustabouts and
deckhands were missing, had regis
tered on the old ironclad, Democracy,
forfeited their pay and took pot luck
with our party at the ballot boxes.
Though Captain Wells, the old salt,
and his picked crew of officers, were
taken by surprise and regretted this
desertion, still they summoned their
best looks, took courage in the hour
Of ignominious defeat, and their
faithful pilots, Clements and old De
Lacy, were both at the wheel, on
watch together, and Clements grace.
fully bore his heel on the valve of
the sonorous whistle Of the Custom
House, and its first blast rang clear
amid the thunder. shouts of the VIC
torious Democracy, as they bid the
buzzard and combination crew a last
farewell and bon voyage. Calhoon
and Yeager were at their posts, and
the last glimpse we got at "our old
manned Confederate" he, too, was
gracefully at his work, turning on
the steam of the starboard engine,
and backing her hard on his wheel
that she might swing out easily in
the stream and bow down. Mate
Mayo was leaning lazily on the cap.
stan, though he was watching for the
word of command from the hurricane
roof: ''let go that bow-line!' We
saw her chief clerk on his last duty,
counting out the greenbacks to Sam.
Hite for the butchers bill, and then
he dropped the receiptel bill in the
drawer and slammed it in with an
earnestness anything but pleasant
and just then there rushed to the
front of the boiler deck, with IN.
steady stride and spirited nervous
ness, the Bar-keeper, with big white
towel in one hand and an empty dem
John in the other, and the way be
bid his farewells and good byes te
all on shore was really pitiful ane
heartrending. The others of the
crew were mostly in the cabin, ar.
ranging for the comfort of their pas.
sengers, still we took in a passing
and last glance at what we though,
| was once a fourth estate man, but, Il
and behold! it proved to be the
chambermaid, a well-preseryed old
- ! H1T
meid Of crusty forty, and, reader, she
was on pleasant duty. The old sail
Captain had left home burriedly, be
fore his washing was finished, had
rushed to Town with dirty shirt
on, and the Custom Houses cham.
bermaid, as the steamer swung on,
in the current, we got that last glance
at her as she was handling a light
smoothing-iron across frilled and
boiled shirt, for the Captain of tina,
Salt River Packet. The old sail
wanted clean shirt to make a de-
cent appearance at Kanomie Land
ing, where there were in waiting Ct
way passengers. The Custom House
was very appropriately bedecked
with twenty flags, nineteen of which
were hung at half-mast, but the
twentieth one, emblematic of"W Gems
Box" and the dark masses which,
lowered on that sacred soil to the
lasting disgrace and shame of the
buzzard crew, displayed the tattered
and torn old black flag of the mos,