The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1882-11-13
NOSE GIBBS GONE.
Incidents In the Life of the Best Steamboat
Mate on the Mississippi River.

to the roustabOuts under Gibbs superintend-
ance.
Nose Gibbs gone? We don't tell me, boyce!
The best mate as ever chtcked niger in the
water. Wall, he died as he aus said he'd Il
min tO-pOpped with his boots in morOccy
tops Nose wur a Gurus crttcr, the mos pclc-
able kin, Nv humane ever seed that wur
Nose. Couldn't never stan no kin NV a racket
bout him. no stree! Fight That wur Moses
strong hold, but he never knowed it; ullus said
as how he'd do anything, fur to keep outen
as, begin the fight an " couldm
help hisself when he wanted ter keep from
turnn up the toes NV the remainder. But he
| never spilled fur fight, like some as knowcd
| on the Mississippi; he didn't wait long nun to
splle put sailed right in an allus succeeded in
restorln peace. sweet bamy peace. which the
poet writs NV. o. he wur a pcacable man. But
| he had good many enemies; sncakin kind q
| fellers that couldn't look II rale man sq,mr in
| eye; an Nose he knOwcd it but he never tll,p-
| ped EN-, not even when they said as how he
| killed rooster ever trip. which wur lie
| FUR WIS with him, him mate an NE dcckhan'.
| nigh onto matter o ten year like, an kin
swar fore God an man he didn't drip no more
then one o his men in five cr six trips"
Hard time gittin hans, sezyc, boyee. Wv
| eff he cOudn get no crew, I'd like ter hear tell
| on the name o the tarnul idjut as could yit
enc Men WIS allls anxious to go with Nose.
an come arOun him like flies in cane clIttin time
| Suashun, no Stree, but when he walked ali by
| hisself into a bari house an sez, kind O. sof'
| and gentle like humble as a lam-'Wull bout
| 10 on We come aboard the boat wi me = he'd
| then an thar allus get mad at seem NV the
blamed fools rushin' away an yellin Don't We
pull massa Nose; wesc gwine, we is. An
| fur wurkln men We never seed his beat. Did'n
make 'em tote by httn' NV 'em, an did'n' say
| much, but whOt he said went fur. 'Bruiser
SCI ne TO me Onst, and he wer jis so arnes
| tibet therweepS was a runnin .I}ruiser don't We
never hit a man q the hull crew with capS'n
spoke! er bari slaves like the FLYNN Dutch
man, him as used ter be a parson, an Dub
| lin Tricks an Sech like o Niger drivers: don't
ye 90 it, he kin ter the men an Their Lord wul
smell O. Wool Woo frum ye n" by Keep e safe
| judshrs use NV hOwitzer feedin'-nn' | kcp his
word ter this day, an that's wy I'm agOn ter
| the border.
II allus blceved the niggcrs loved that man.
cheerful s ter sny Ho the Belle ef w am all
| them entertainment tOOns fer the ladies arter
they'd hin tOtin freight an wur r,ile tired but
Wouid'n say SO fer the world fer fear O. hurtin
| his tecllns, which wur mOughty tender an
| wOulun sian cZ much az barkeep's er a
| paper reporter. JiS t show yc how they liked
Nose ~ tel! ye a S:rclm >tance. Nose war the
| fust mate o thcr Natchcz an he'd bin on a biz
| nmborcc fore the boat pulled out o port.
| Nose wuZ never standin' in the way o des,rvin
young men like some rs I've seed but w,lr alI,ls
Wlllin ter give EN- Il show. So wOt did he do but
kin o sign like to Their sccOn' mate ter ten to
| things, spcshully ter roll back some hOgsheads
SOS thcr boat would'n be full in the head, an
| then on he goes ter SnOO2"; not ter his berth
| d, no, fur Nose WIZ like Cc,isar-hcd do as his
| men did. .HOwslmdever, | blieve he furyOt.
| fer he started up frum ther ber deck but KEN
| down agln an slOped back aft near the wheel
| house. Jis Their mint he wur gone the men got
a grumbln; work WIS too hard, pay wasn't
near nun goinr ter strike soon es they got up
stream bit. WALL they wus a standn' dom
| nothin an ther secon mate WIS u cussn an u
| swarm fer EN- to hast err spar wen Nose come
down. purity peart like fur Il man us allus thot
| twice afOre he did anything. He WIS stOOpen'
| over ike, an his big hat wlls down over his sig
mails an cigar wur burnn' a hole through it.
| hiasted."
Nose wur chicken-heartcd, too, fer he had
his sof' spots s well s emery critters. Onst a
young Ripple come aboard. They'd leettlc
eyes on. Wall, the baby wur outen the
guards wi its nuss one day an wur IA
e sGpt an a;s,;s cIappin' Nv, its hans in a
spose, when it snd'nly seed suthin ruthcr
bright on the waves an it jumped car outcn
the n t.s arums into the water. Gosh a
Inc mother seed 1t all an she jis' give one
scream an wur overheard hersclf-ddn' stop
ter think us how she could'n swim lick but jis
| went over; an how she reached it dunno but
Their mex thing wur tibet ar babby in 'er arums.
Man OverbOard yclls though seed it all an
| mought tote II war a woman eff hadn't alb in
| SO tustlcated like, an then | give a chair a
hast toard EN- an jumps wi iack-knife n
| my nan fer t cut thcr yawl rggin', which ther
| same men wara untyin which swOre at fer
losin' time. Long about this time Nose he
/
eetlc woman: Scz he, his lis face Ian" mouyh hty
white, an wen | SEE as how it is, he
jis looks a eetle wilder, and rips out a swar
| which know ther good Lord never held ter no
| count glnSt him, fur il sounded like it war
| comm rum crazy man. We wis on Their
| harrcai roof them but Nose didn stop ter
| think bout it, but jis went over. | looked
| thar away an | thought could see Their lcetle
woman Il Sinl"n Satistied-not tibet s'pOse she
knowed anything bout MnSe-but bIeeyc She
| dldn kcer cf she could iS die WI her babby
| Nose went under an then come up a shown
| lOng-GOsh a hemlOck how he swum he
| caught that ar woman an her babby 'cS they
wur gOin down fer ther last time. He kcp en-
| up, too; I'll me an a lot more come in Their
yawl. Nose wur a Shivcrin' an a grinnin' |
| SCI ter him, sof like SOS nobody else d heer-
tho Lor love yer tibet woman wIIr jis a
| Iiin Dack sun IKE WI her eyes closed tainted
some said, but hOldn' thcr babby tight agin
| hcr breaS, an do blceve she cOuldn heer a
word-l SEE, Nose yer wOt thcr books ser ar n
nero Shet up, seq he, L did it fer her an
tnen ne US turned white agin an then red as Il
billed lobster an didn' say no more, hnt /
knowed wOt he wur meanin' NV.
WALL we got ter tn boat ct las an ther
woman she KEN to. She give IA look at r bbby
an then went of In another faint, fer Their
habby 1t war dead. Nobody never seed Nose
ack like he did then. He jis fell down on his
knees an then cried over that ar woman Their
musician stanin by sayin' nOthin' all Their time
do bieeVe Nose war Il leetle off his base tibet
trip. The lectle woman come alright but sh"
like es if she didn' have NO
more use Twin. Wall, wen we
stopped at Their mex town Nose he shot M
on board an the little gyurl war clothed in
white raimcnt fer her last sleep-in the lap 0f
etarnity.