The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1880-08-20
Naming a Steamboat.


In my boyhood days it was the custom
among the Cincinatti boys to own all the
steamboat bills possible of the boats
then running, as well as those that had
been-boats worn out, sunk, burned or
exploded. The boy that had the greatest
variety and number was enyied by his
fellows, and fabulous prices were, as we
thought, paid for the bills of old time
boats, such as the Mediterranean, Walk
in the Water and Car of Commerce. It
was not an exception for boy to have
two or more hundred steamboat bills, and
often the case that they would look over
their wealth and assort in different piles
the boats that had sunk, burned, explo-
ded, etc. This brought to my notice
what seemed to be fatality which at
tached itself to all steamboats, whose
name commenced with the letter M ), and
since then, now over thirty years, I have
you will say that I am superstitious.
Let us look into this before you condemn,
for do assert that, with barely an ex-
ception, all steamboats, built and run on
the Mississippi river and its tributaries,
whose name commenced with the letter
M, were either burnt, sunk, exploded or
unsuccessful as an investment to their
owners. You can look over the long list
of Missouri, Mississippi, Mary, Michi-
gan, Marie, Monarch, Mediator, ETC., and
you will find that they met the fate of
one as above indicated.
Over thirty years ago Captain John
Pierce built the Metamora. The custom
had always been to christen the boat
when launched, and before this occurred
I tried my best to persuade the Captain
to name his boat some other name, and
gave him my reasons, going over a large
number of boats whose names COM
menced with the letter M. He laughed at
what he called a superstitious notion
of mine, and called his boat the
Metamora. She was great
success, but sank above .Choctaw
Island, while she was in the prime.
Captain Charlie Davis about the same
time built splendid Cincinnati and New
Orleans boat, in which Captain Harry A.
Jones had an interest. This would be
sufficient to the knowing ones that she
partner, Pierce, would not listen to my
idea, launched, and christened her the
Midas. She sank in the bend above
Island Sixteen. Captain Joe Brown
built the Mayfower some time dnring
the SOS. Long before she was launched
tried to talk him out of calling the boat
by that name-no use. She was burned
at Memphis. Our old townsman, Nor
man Gutter, Esq, who in 1850 owned the
Josiah Lawrence and the Atlantic,
bought hull that had been at Hanni-
bal. Her cabin and machinery were put
ON at st. Louis, where she was finished
and was then 1882 the finest boat in
the st. Louis and New Orleans trade. It
was the owners intention that I should
have taken charge of the Charles Belcher,
which was the name Mr.. Cutter gave her
about a month before the Belcher was
ready to start on her first trip. [ acci-
dentally found out from Emerson, who
had built the hull, that she had been
launched and christened Magnolia.
That was enough for me. Nothing could
have induced me TO take charge of the
Belcher. She was burnt on her sixth
trip at New Orleans.
I could name hundreds of instances to
show the fatality that seems to shroud
the steamboats, whose name commenced
with the letter en-" but will content
myself by giving one more instance. I
was in New Orleans in 1875, when met
Captain Frank Hicks and his clerk, Mr..
Af Grissom, who were at that time
building hull at Metropolis, Ill. They
talked Of calling their boat Mary Bell. I
did my level best to persuade them not
to call her that name, or any name that
commenced with "M;" gave them my
reason and recited many instances of
losses, etc., all to no good. The boat was
called Mary Bell, made few trips and
burnt with full load at Vicksburg I
do not pretend to give any reason why
steamboats, name commencing with the
letter I'M" should be any more unlucky
than one commencing with any other let
ter, but the fact still remains, supersti-
tion or not.