The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1883-12-11
LEVEE R%OUsTABoUTS.
Unloading Freight at the Wharves
of the Crescent
City. 2


lNeW orleans Cor. OUca OUserNer.J
1t is 9 o'clock In the AFTERNOON 1t Is no.
The steamer Ed. Richardson has Just arrived
from Vicksburg with a large number Of pas
sengers, a heavy cargo of freight and 10000
tons Of baked cotton. Five hundred siggera
are in line near the gang planks. There arc
no colored men here, no negroes, no dnrkits-
They are niggers whom it were base hattery
to call roustabouts. Among the 300 not one
has a suit of clothes or a garment which
would be called descent In Utica Two-thirds
are baretooted. midi the rest are louchy and
slipshod about the feet, Among the 600 one
half arc barsheadsd, but there Is not a pre-
sentable piece of headyear in the throng.
Neither Is there a whole shirt or a pair Of
pantaloons that Is not c~onspIououSly patched
or ragged
"Ab," you think. as you tako in the spec
tacle Of these 500, 1.-THE black man Of the far
south Is very unllce the black man as no ap-
pears In tho north"
You als right too. Ho Is an entirely dr.
ferent creation, and I will tell you why and
how presently.
The passengers step ashore, the captain
goes up to his state-room and then the mate
appears who is TO superintend the unloading
Of the cotton. 1t Is his business to handle
niggers,n and with an oath he yells to q sub
ordinate on tho levee to punch some life
1870 80 49,
500 are lined and rckesei, zach one receiving
with his truck a card specifying the hour and
minute at which be begins work. A bali
rings, the 500 scainper down the gang-planks.
The river Is very ow. The grade down to
the boat is very steep. Each truckman tackles
a bale Of cotton and surprises you by going
up the return ~gaug-plank on a canter. Tho
load Is heavy, tbs grade sharp, but no Niger
is permitted to walk Should no moderate
his trot tho mate flies into q rage and relieves
himself in this fashion:
"Hii yo'--n iggerl What in - yo'
beah fol Git long Wild dat wagln or -
1 break yo' neckfn
This mates voice Is shrtl-the kind of a
voice on which the rebel yell was built. his
manner is threatening, his gesticulation pas
donate, and he Is never seen without a huge
stick, which he brandishes as a sort Of puuct-
uation mark to his profanity. 1t is evident
that the 600 are afraid of the mate. The
latter knows it and profits by it Again and
again he urges the truckmen to Increased
speed There must be no break in the line.
The samc Jog trot must be kept up lou upon
hour. The heat grows more Undesirable.
Persptration has drenched every thread OF
every garment worn by the 800, but hour
upon hour the bales are rushed up and the
trucks (waginsl are rushel down with the
regularity of clock continuously as
the mates profanity.
Suddenly a halt Is noticed on the up plank.
a Niger has missed his footing, and the
pressure from the line Of trucks behind has
crowded him of the plank and down into the
river. Tho mate yells louder and swears new
oaths, while a reserve Niger jumps to the
plank, seizes the truck and the $40 move
along at the same old jog trot. The delay
has not exceeded thirty seconds. But what
OF the Niger who fell Into the riveri Does
the mate rush to the guards and throw the
''blaclt rascal a roper Docs any one pay
any attention to hint Verify, nay. If that
r~oustabout escapes drowning he must fish
himself out
questioned a mate concerning this policy
of indifference one day, and he replied with
profane politeneSs:
"Hil Great Gewd, sahl Yo' s'pose WI
stop to pull u - niger out, sahl Yo' mus
remembah, sab, we are payin' dem two bit;
an bouah, sab S'pose we yank out one mig
ger, sab. Great Gawd, sab, inside de mex
houah do whole - gang jump in. sab, jess
TO cool bath an TO- de fun o. being yanked
out, sahl"
"But suppose the niger accidentally pull
the bale of cotton Into the river when be
goes overboardr'
"Hil Great Gawd, sab, We sab do cotton
bole"
The cargo of the Ed. Richardson was un.
loaded In five hours and a quarter. Every
niger received 81. GO, making a grand total
of $3.50. How was the money Invested
In food or clothesl No, no. As soon as the
coin had been counted out to them 450 of the
600 made a break for the gambling dives
There they found free whisky, while they
risked their dimes in the game of Spanish
monte.