St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-04-07
STUCK IN The SAND.
Low Water in the Mississippi
Delays the Stern-Wheeler
Sidney.
Her Arrival From st. Louis
Marks the Opening of
Navigation.
Several Times She Ran
Aground and Had to Be
Lightered.
The River Is Lower Than Ever
Before at This Sea-
son.
RIVER INTELLIG ENCE.

mate; C. C. Mather. clerk; Fl. G. Hill.
steward. Fro m st. Louis with 200 tons of
general merchandise. mostly for points in
The Northwest. Passenger list: Misses Kate
and Louisa Flock, Alton, ILL.,; F. SwitZer,
Muscatine. To-; John Clancy, Dubuque. 10. ::
5. GerInO, Winona; E. Anderson, Rock
Island, III.
Two strokes of a bell, h arSh, i'm
peratiye bell which sounded all over
the steamer Sidney, of the Diamond
Joe line, rang out just as the dawn was
breaking yesterday. For half an hour
The staunch stern-wheeler has been
lying almost in midStream of the MiSsiS-
sippi at the Frenchman's. just above
Nininger, the home of the immortal
sage, lgnatius Donnelly. The French
mau's, by the Way. is sand bar, and
Dn this the Steamer Sidney was unde-
niably aground. Capt. Boland. the col
lar of his heavy oVercOat turned up
about his ears, was out of sorts. Mate
Bucheit. pacing the forward deck, was
swearing mad. The rouStabouts, awak-
ened by the StOppage of the engines,
had turned over on their plank beds
with something like prayer of thanks
giving that they could doze a little
Ionger-aS near to prayer as a rouster
can ever come-with muttered anath-
ema, at the same time. at the crisp. cold
air of the morning. which whistled be-
tween decks with vengeance. The
PROV of the Sidney was pointed to the
north, and alternately her great pad
dies had been still and revolving pom
derously, churning the water at the
stern into foam, which quickly drifted
hway out OF sight in the dim star
light.
Then the two bells, sharp and COM
handing. The engineer reversed his
engine. and again the paddle revolYed,
sending great SWells away to the sandy
shores on either side. But the Sidney
lay there as calmly as duck in mud
pond, and never budged an inch. Capt.
Boland came over to Mate Bucheit's
frame of mind, and the two, had they
as fine pair as could be found In a
days travel. Capt. William Kelly. who
was in the pilot house, was Joined by
the other pilot, Henry Link, and they
formed another duo, ready to merge into
quartette with the captain and mate.
The Sidney was fractions. She wouldn't
go ahead and she wouldn't go back.
The Frenchman had firm grip on h-r.
''Dammew muttered Pilot Link,
''Fye been on this river twenty years,
and never saw the water so low in the
spring in all that time"
'Only three feet above low water
mark" gruffiy observed Pilot Kelly.
"Channefs changed so much, too,
Since was up four or five months ago"
''NeW government dams cause it,"
''Damme if we haven't had to feel
every inch of our way since we left
Hastings, and we'll have to keep it up
to St, Paul: once we are off of the
Erenchman."
Lucky we brought the barge. We'd
never got this far without it, and we'll
have to use her again."
a single stroke of another changing
bell in the hot engine room, and the en-
gineS were still, the big paddle stopped.
1t was fairly day.
Here, you lubbers, youw The stem
torian cry of the second mate rolled
over the lower deck like clap of til I'M
der from a clear sky. He was salt
water sailor once, and prides himself on
his sea yernacular. To the Missouri
niger who becomes roustabout-and
none live along the river but have had
some experience in this iine-he is
terror undiSguised, but know that he
always means something when he
speaks, and means it good and strong.
The deck crew of forty OF more heard
the cry to a man. They crawled out
from hooks and corners among the
freight and shambled forward. The
little party of coatlesS blacks who, all
the livelong night, had been shooting
craps in the stern, left off their game.
''Shiver ME to- gallantw Numbered
the second mate; ''Ayastthere aud heave
to! Spry there, noW,"
The motley gang might have been
standing there to this day. gazing
Opened-mOuthed at the second mate, had
not the captain leaned over the rail of
the upper deck and sung out: run out
that gang-plank there lively. We've
got to lighter" The rousterS deliber-
ately ran out the plank to the deck of
the barge Lusk. Then they formed in
single file, and, like a long company of
tumble-bugs, began rolling barrel after
barrel of vinegar from the lower deck
TO the barge. The Sidney responded
like an overloaded camel, and began TO
rise slowly. Half hundred barrels of Of
vinegar Off, and she was atloat. Again
the two bells, and the steamer slid back
OF the bar into the deep channel.
Clang! The paddle stopped moment,
then moved the reverse way, and the
Sidney again went forward. Three
bells struck, and her speed was at once
reduced. The second mate stood at the
bow on the lower deck, and with a firm.
slender pole i'll his hand, sounded the
bottom. The
BOAT WAS OVER TIE BAR,
And the sounding showed four feet of
water in what should be the channel.
The Sidney could just slip over. The
engines increased their speed, the boat
surged ahead. and the Frenchman was
left plainly marked by broad streak of
muddy water thrown up by the big
paddle wheel.
1.-The whole trouble is" said Clerk
Mather, who by this time was up and
dressed, as he joined the captain in the
cabin, THAT the channel is filled I'D
with SaWduSt.r
tentiOn to that" remarked Pilot Link,
''but it is certain that the dams put in
by the government last fall have
changed the channels wonderfully.
Eventually. we will have a good river
between st. Paul and Hastings. AS
soon as boats get to running regularly it
will help things good deal, in the way
of keeping sthe channels clear. The
channel here isn't nearly as bad as that
between the foot of the lake and Wi
mona. I'd rather run this stretch bv
night than that one by day. The river
has spread out and drifted around so
there that a man don't know where
he isl
The Sidney moved slowly and steadily
mp the river. The mate gave over his
sounding pole to a rouster. who sang
out the depth regularly every minute or
two for the benefit of the pilOts-that is,
when he could find the bottom. The
passengers were up and at breakfast in
the long. cheerful cabin. The deck
passengers below-tramp stamped on
nearly every one of them, Enthusiastically
-lounged about among the freight.
hollow-eyed and hungry-looking. The
ronsters hastily swallowed their break
fastS. Everything on the Sidney was