Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1881-04-30

LIGENCE s
Min eteen Feet Above Low Water
Mark and Rising.
.sNinetcen feet above low water mark ana
risIng'' was the announcement made to the
writer last Monday. ''Nineteen feet | Why,
that is not very high-for a house or q tree or a
mountain-but nineteen feet above low water
mark'' in the Missouri river means twsnty-one
feet of water in the shallOwest parts of the
channel; fifty feet In others. 1t means . giRan-
tic Hood o mile wide, running at = velocity OF
eight or nine miles an hour and with . force
incalculabls. 1t means q stream So strsng that
the mightiest engine cannot force a boat against
its low in its maddest places. It means 8 river
such Us there IL none other on earth in msgestic
power, And more than all it means that this
river IL two feet above the dangerline-tha is.
. river which ut . stage two fest less In height
began to overflow the bottom lands and drive
cattle from their pastures, the plow from its fur
row, and the people from their homes.
Tho fact that the river was SO high and must
be doing damage called US to its shores on the
day above mentioned in company with a worthy
disciple Of Esculapius. The frat thing that
greeted our sight upon turning down Water
street was q string Of wagons. conveying Mr..
&. Hale's ice from the burned ice house to
warehouse. The proprietor. who
was buslly at work among his employees, told
us that probably one-fourth of the Ice would
be saved. After deducting the $3.50 insurance
money his loss by the cendagration ia sstimatsd
at something like q, 200 or 81 .4oo. net q very
pleasant visitation at the hands. as 10 supposed,
Of = dementsd woman. g..
From the busy ice scene We walked down to
~ busy q one with tuel, the Joe Kinney, Capt.
Cartwright and Clerk Porter, being engaged At
Clark's banks taking on coal. The long line OF
running ''roostsrs." the pile Of recently dis
charged freight, the busy sssond-clsrk, the nm
usually quiet though alert mate, the miners
filing the boxes, the spectators enjoying that
most exquisite Of plsasurss-sseing other people
the noble stsaner hold to the rushing
tide by her strong hawssr. all combined =
make . scene Of animation and life; , scene 70
remind one Of boyhsod days whom, like Marx
Twain, it was our dream Of ambition to be .
pilot. Alss ! We did not even have . nurse with
sun cisnt penetration to apprentice Us to- pirate,
which in those days of adolescence would have
been eensidsfed . fate too blisSful to csntsm-
plate, There il q streak Of the nomad In every
man two strsaks in every boy), which impels
him to crave q life with nature; and II the boy
Is brought up near the water his propensity to
wander 10 apt to take the direction OF the
steamboat or the ship. We have never been
surprised to hear Of boys running away to sea;
the only wonder We have is that our lines have
drawn US into an EDITORS chair instead Of to tho
tiller. We drank in the picture of our early
fancy with 9 sigh; walked on board with
Esculapius and walked ashore again. To
descend to the praotical; the boat took on . suf-
dciency Of csal, dropped down to q pile Of ties
she had lett on . previous trip, loaded these,
and went on her way up to the village on. the
Ksw. This cosling and tieing Of course took
time. and while it was going on Capt. koley
Porter, ~ true . gentleman as ever breasted
storms and winds and rains upon tho deck Of q
steamer for the sake Of his loved ones. was up
town with his family and friends. NJ doubt
untesrlul at his boats unusually long detention .
At the landing was q gentleman who resides OPP
posfts Wellington who had been to see Capt.
Cartwright for the purpose Of engaging the
services of the Kinney to take from the bottom
to high ground q number Of persons cattle,
horses, Co., about to be W out. His
errand tells the story of ''nlnetesn feet above
low water mark and rising"
There was a poetic sponsor whom our ferry
boat was christened. Why not3 She might
have been named the Thomas. or the WATSON,
q the Davis, or the Waddell. but some land
sprite chose rather the name of the water nymph,
Undine. There il to us more poetry in that
name than Ger we found within lids Of book.
Its sound never falls upon our ear without re-
calling q SLIM iad ciad In gray recovering from
. Mt ofunconsciousness' caused oy teSer.o rouRns
on by hard work In ierryln9 . oattery oVer
me Aissiseippi river Dsiow Nspo'esh' Inc eoy
nsd isiisn Dy the Iosuslue' slcA UNI" "ss.n. =.
sooo Sa"arl'an psssinS Dy-sn sio' gray A.n
man-took him up into his carriage ana pore
hin home. Hours elapsed before MS seattereo
senses returned. As they did so mis- eyes opsnso
70 see coming over the stlle and on to the open
porch q young girl one hano noiolnk u =
rioing nae1' inc otne1 . WHIP IN" ~ wv
bigs rouno' iustrous eyes wins open "i.a -
qu1ry - to VINO THIS Stranger coulo De- lying
upon . lounge, 80 Sill ana motloniess. ne
boys eyes tsok In me picturs-yes; 3D.
serbsd IT.; 1t was as fair An one ~ painter ever
dreamsd-and closed again In oroer 70 retain IL.
The old man and the glri nurseo MIN eask te
health ana strsngtn. Wnen No coaio oea1 II
she read BOOKS 70 hlm-oooks OF poetry ano
ehlvalry; Of knighuy deeds ana tender senti'
nent-aho sne nret eeofieo 'nss n As~~ "sA>
the weird tales OF undine and Sintram. I'LL
net strange then. reader. that from the ferry o.
the turbld Missouri the thoughts Of the pro
sale man Of hard wsrk and hard facts shoult
turn back to that ferry over the Mississippi
!. nearly twenty years ago, which led to Undln'
and dreams Of the beautiful black eyes OF tina
brave, true southern woman. The grave ma
long since closed over her; but the memory o
her low. soft voice, ana the urn grasp OF ne
friendly hand can never die while Thai DO!
! lives to cherish them.
Sentiment seems out Of place In such . plac
- this. but it is net. either, for here, at hand, i
. case which appeals to the heart. AS tn
Undlns steams to the dock there Is to be sesl
2 upon her deck a plain man. Jonn Vanderpool
with MS vile, W daughters, Ms kine ana nj
household gods. The cruel river has rise
. about him till it crossed his Threshold; it GOV
cred his already planted fields. and at last b
: had to leave. He is q poor man; his rent !
;. paid IN advance; his farm work already done
t lest fer the year; he has = large family, it il nc
easy to again procure land; and he is old. Gel
Ifofn1u fhIa Dc q nla0A far AnfimAnf-fhQ AonfI