Omaha daily bee., 1883-02-22
A large steamer q carry

| Frat. clsss have q cabin to themselves.
! The cabin Is built on top of the white
pc ople's cabin. The negroes cannot
drink over tho same counter the
whites use. If they wish to drink at
the white bar they have to stand on
| the deck outside OF the cabin, and the
desired liquor Is passed out of q win.
| dow to them. Under no circumstances
are they allowed TO set their feet In.
side Of the white cabin, excepting to
90 to the office to pay their fare. In
| the hold of the steamer is q bar whore
| the negro pasaengers and the rousla.
bouts drink. The deck hands are stall
wart men. They work under the di.
rection Of the first mate, q white man,
Of oodrse, who has a gruff voice aud a
hickory club. They work on the jump.
They move on the run They are
steadily sworn at, and the least sign
of characterization Is promptly quelled
ny the active mate, whom constant
practice has made perfect In club ex-
ercise. These mates are snappy,
nervy men. Tney are often shot at
or otherwise Injured by the negroes;
but they always "get away with the
niger" The cotton on q landing
slowed on the boat, the gang planks
are raised by machinery, and, II
It is night, the electric lights are
turned ou., and the tired negroes fall
on the cotton bales and are instantly
asleep. Two, three. four miles, and
then the hoarse whistle of the steamer
resounds throughout the damp, heavy
air. Instantly all hands are on their
feet, alert and active. If 1t 10 night q
blaze of light shoots forth from the
electric lamps, and all Is light as day.
The boat awnings to the shore; the I'm
mense gang planks are lowered. The
instant the plank touches the land o
column of black men run up 1t, and
before the last man has set his feet on
shore the first men are rolling cotton
bales down the plank. There Is no
singing over this work. Tho work is
too arduous to rejoice ovev And
here, standing over them, is the mate,
cursing aud %nervously swinging his
club in q suggestive manner not cslcu.
lated to cause q negro to burst into
song. The last bale on board, the
plank rises, and down fall the exhaust.
co ~roustabouts fast asleep the instant
they strike the cotton bales. Oh,
how / pitied them.
After the steamer leaves Vicksburg
on her down trip, no more large
quantities of cotton are taken on
board, that district belonging uuder
the pooling arrangements to other
boats, The down trip is n of idle.
ness mostly. There are a few mail
landings, where loan and apparently
empty bags are delivered to dirty look
Ing white men, the postmasters, pre-.
sumably. And there may be a few
packages of merchandise or some
''plunder" belonging to black emil.
grants to be discharged or shipped;
but of work there isinone.i AFTER the
last landing above New Orleans has
been made, the roustsbouts march to
the outside of the Office to receive the
pay due them for the TRIP. The bar
keeper Ia in the office with his account
book. The mate Is there with his
time book and his club. He calls
through the open window, into which
many pairs of6blaok eyes inquiringly
look, the name of the man on the
head of his list and the amout due
him. The barkeeper Gala out the
sum the man owes him for whisky.
That amount is deducted from the
roustabout's wages, and the remainder
Is handed to the mate, who counts 1t
to satisfy himself that it is correct.
Then glancing at the negro whose
outstretched hand Is thrust into the
office, he drops the silver pieces into
his palm generally, accompanying with
a pleasant remark. These mates
abuye cpd knock the negroes about,
but th4y see that Justice Is done to
them, and they allow no others to
abuse their hands. The negro grins
In reply, and hastens below deck. He
chambers over cotton bales In eager
haste to the mess room of the rousta.
bouts, and there he prepares to play
''craps," the national game of Africa.
As the other hands are paid, they,
too, eagerly Chamber owe the cotton
bales, and the game Is at once begun.
Scraps" Is played with dice. They
are shaken in the closed hand, and with
q swing of the hand Is opened and the
dice roll down the dirty table. Ths
game, I am ashame to say, surpasses
the mental power of white men to
grasp. I met no white man who I'M.
derstood 1t, and 1 utterly failed to un-
derstand the explanations of the ne
groes. This ID the more humiliating
~ a wild nigger," fresh from an al
ligator swamp, thoroughly under
stands the game, und plays it skill
fully. The edge of the fiery desire
that possesses all black roustabouts to
gamble il taken eff with "craps;"
then Spanish monte and seven up are
INDUCED In, and the gambling never
ceases until all tho money Is In the
pockets OF five or ak Of the most ex.
pert gamblers. These men rush from
tho boat the instant 1t touches the
wharf at New Orleans, and hasten to
the lair of the tiger. When they es-
cape from the clutches of that animal
they are penniless. The men r paid
off before the boat arrives at New Or.
leans for the svowed purpose OF
having them gamble and lose their
money, SO that they will be ready to
ship again.
Smoking is strictly prohibited out
side of the cabins on all steamers
when they are loaded with cotton.
Prominent in enforcing this rule are
the black roustabouts. Stories are
told of their throwing black offenders
into the river for this wrong that en-.
dangers the life of every person onthe
boat. The negroes dread a fire ]
suppose they realize that they would
have to stand back until all the white
ooa-N- - ~.~.nl a~I Ak.k 2Lzl.