Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1882-09-28
Life on a Mississippi Elatboa,.


ern part Of the city during the summer
months have large population that
rarely figures in the city directory.
The persons referred to are the fiat
boatmen, who dot the river bank during
several months Of the year. All Of
them live in the boats. most of them
have large family Of small children,
and every boat has contingent
force Of dogs distributed in the ratio
of about three ours to every man,
woman and child on the craft.
The men are mostly sallowed and
sickly and the women and child
rem crawney and raw-boned. A Post
Dispatch reporter made a visit to
the neighborhood this morning. Just
at the foot Of the waterworks num-
Der Of flats were found tied up. APP
proach to the boats was cut off for
some time by yelping and NANCY
pack of hungry ours. A tall man made
his appearance and in a suspicious
manner inquired what was wanted.
He said he was willing to tell what he
knew about fatboating and seated
himself on log. Six or seven Of his
children Of assorted sizes disposed
themselves around to listen. The man
was possibly forty-five years Of age and
clad in garments which were equally
remarkable for patches and varieties
of color. He stated that he enjoyed
his semi-maritime life and thought it
as pleasant as any other work he could
get.
"How frequently do you make your
trips to New Orleans ?s
"Oh, not Imore than once in three
years. They do not pay, you see, and
we rarely make them"
"What does it generally cost for
trip Of that kind p
"Well, ffty-fve cents to 81 per day.
"What is your plan on such runs ?"
We generally preparefo the trip
month or six weeks ahead, and cut
loose from here or wherever we may
be three or four weeks before the
snow and stormy weather sets in"
What is your first landing-place
! after YOU leave this port p''
Eve stop at Cairo to take obserYa-
tions and lay in extra supplies. I tell
you Cairo is the greatest Of all places
in this country for fatboats. On the
trip we work more with the fishing
tackle than anything else, and sell
our catch to the towns along, and
sometimes trade in knick-knacks.
elbow long does it take you to make
one of your Southern trips?''
Sometimes four months and some
times only three"
"If the trip is successful what does
it pay your"
"On my last cruise south I made,
clear of expenses, 5000; but then I
was gone five months. The average
is 500 for trip in the fishing bust
ness.'
Are there many flatboats moving
south in the fall of the year ?"
..I have known 200 or more going
south at the same time. Some Of the
men are single, but many Of them have
families, like myself. When we reach
the end Of our trip we generally sell
our boats and come back on the deck
Of some steamer
"What work do you do when you
are stopping here?'
"When we get back our first work
is to build another fat In high floods
we are out in skiffs on the watchout
for logs that have got away from
above. If the owners come we are
always paid and return the logs. We
also catch driftWood, cut it into cord
wood length and dispose Of it to glass
factories, mills, ETC., at from $3.50 to
So per cord. When there is no wood
floating we 60 in skiffs fifteen OF
twenty miles up the river to some of
the drift heaps, make wood RATS and
tow them down to st. Louis, and some
times we pull lumber out of the river;
but most always thelumber companies
have their regular men to do the work,
you know"
The man declared that he and bis
family, who Travelled with him. were
not often sick. He seemed to think
the life he was leading as conducive
to longevity as any other. He said
that he was sure there were as many
as 1,500 flatboatmen in the western
country, and at least 500 made the
southern trip every year. He closed
the conversation by saying that in
places where he stopped he paid CON
siderable attention to the education of
his children, and he knew he was as
prosperous and as happy as most
men who had to work for living
st. Louss Pos
The Idaho springs in Tennessee are
thus described: Within a radius Of
twenty-five feet are found about six
different kinds Of water, which are
wel[known for their curative proper
ties. They are the white, black and
red sulphur, iron. alum and soda, all
used and much liked by the visitors
The richest man III AIaxien u ",