Morning journal and courier., 1884-02-12
Capt. Mary Miller Talks.

 1 Mrs. Miller is trim, bonny little woman, ] whom nobody would credit with years enough to be the mother, as she is, of family of | four children, two of whom are almost grown.
 IT come of steamboat family" said the lady; 'my father was a steamboat man, and after married Capt. Miller-that was seven l teen years sgo-I of course spent much of my time on the river. We have beautiful
 home at Louisville, and my little ones are all | there now, but for the past four years have been living mainly on boat. My husband used to do nothing but pilot, and I spent | much of my time in the pilot house, and | learned to manage boat and how to navi- gate certain rivers in spite of myself. There | is no reason why woman should not know l or learn how to manage boat as well as a | sewing machine"
 'sWomen often lack confidence in their own l ability" hazarded the reporter. She stared bit, and then: s'Yes, that is | true. They know what to do, but prefer to stand by and tell some man how to do it for them. But as I was saying, I learned to l handle a boat as well as any man on the
 river, and several years ago had occasion | to test my ability. Once my husband fell ill with fever, and had 8 of half 8 l hundred miles to make, with several landings, l in very crooked bayou. took the boat s l wheel and got through all right, although 1 you would have laughed over the amazement | of the natives to see woman piloting. Sev- l eral years ago we had to go and take off load 1 ed barpes from large boat stuck on sand | bar above Cairo. My husband had to leave our boat to remain on the other, which was | leaking badly, and so I took the deck, had the barges made fast to us, turned the boat round and carried her down to Cairo. Capt. Cannon said that had good a right to captains license as any man on the river 7" "What do you do with yourself all the time, Mrs. Miller?" asked the reporter Well, I manage all the money matters. When are up in the parishes I buy and ] load the boat with cotton-seed, which buy after inspecting samples, and bring to New Orleans and sell out to merchants. We carry other freight, of course, and buy all the boats provisions, and provisions also to sell to the plantation hands up the country. Then I do all the collecting, but have never yet been treated with anything but courtesy and | kindness; and besides, they never halloo out to me to call again. as they might to a man..
 Possessed of your captains license, what do you mean to do?'
 '1 shall keep on just as am moving, ex- cept that I shall be oftener on deck and look | ing after the boat when she lands and puts l freight off or on. I wanted 8 license because I had earned it, and wished to undertake l when necessary the free duties of a steamboat ! captain.
 1 ''You must not think my life has been eventful. We have never had any accidents l happen to us since we have been on the 1 river, and I am not afraid of any. Ours is l thousand mile trip, and I sew, read, write to ] the children, make out bills, and take the | deck when necessary. Not many boats take
 our route It is through 8 beautiful, hilly 1 country, and the people we meet at landings
 all know me. Most of them call me Capt. Miller already.".
 s.Do you think steam boating would be good profession for woman?" s'Certainly not, unless it had come to her, not she to it-as in my own case. Steam | boating was forced on me, and the happiest
 thing it has taught me is that whatever a man
 may learn to do, woman may also, provided | 1t is not question of muscle" Somebody poked inquiring head in at the door and asked Mrs. Miller if she bad l taken on that circular for the "wiIder- ness"
 Mrs. Miller donned her business air and the reporter withdrew.