The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-11-16
RIVE -EIEVES.
Their aeunts on the Father OF Waters
From the Cheap Herald


From the Chsc17o Herald
/ Ii tie good old RIVER days" they used 70
( have pirates on the rlver They Travelled
singly or in orgaDizsd ga g. There was a
class known as boat wrecksr., among whom
| Sol. Plug" the connaader Of a gang Of
pirates on the lower ONO, was prominent
/ character Coz. Plug anJetacei tie steam
boats Els headquarters were in or about
| the mouth OF CG,1 creek, Just above
Cairo, and he had gangs on the
Mississippi. Plugs L2De was tIuger,
and New Hampshire Lad the honor of
giving birth 70 MIN. De was suppo ed 10
I nave KEYS 10 all the wareao 1ses from Cash
creek TO Louisville, s. that ne could U.S. the
y warehouses when be wanted 70. he had q
Keen sense OF houOr-abOut some tGl1gs.
| de had beautiful wife, AID 1t was once
rumcred that bis Lieutenant, Nine Eyes
was unduly familiar vita her. Pug chat
lenged hin to fight with rifles. Each was
| wounded, after which reconciliation was
effected over bottle Of whisky, and Plugs
wife was declared 70 be immaculate.
These boat wreckers would wait along the
bank for some freight barge 10 tie up for the
| night. While the crew as asleep on the
shore they would 20 aboard, bore holes in
the barges or dig out the calking. When
the oarges got in sinking condition Plug
and his men would 70 the rescue and make
off with tae freight. Once a boat
from Louisville hal some pretty rough
usage from Plug and his men. The
next year tee crew went prepared.
Several OF the left the boat beIole they
| got into Plugs domain and hid near the
| landing. The boat with It's small crew was
| quietly landed, the mel hospital bly, received,
aad invited to SIT in game Of cards. No
lAsooaer had they got their money out than
Plug blew his whistle for his men to raid the
| bJat The reserves nOW came into action.
| They threw three of Plugs men into the
| river, and the Others ran away, leaving
| Plug captive. Hi, clothes were
stripped from him, and he was tied to
| tree. Then each one Of the crew took turn
| at him with cowhide After they had
had all the fun they wanted they left HIM
70 the mosquitoes u1ti his wife found him
a few hours later. Col. Plug died in har-
| ness. One day he was IN boat while the
crew was away, engaged in his profession,
digging out the calk!ng, when q storm
came up, broke the flstenings of the boat
| nad drove II out into the river, where it and
| Plug vent tothe lotion.
As compared with Nike Fink, Col. Plug
| was a mid maanered gentlemad. Mike was
| celebrated, among other things, for the
! amount of WHISKY he could hold,
and even to this day it is the
, proudest moment in the life Of river
| tough when some one Us: "You can h Id
as much whisky as Mike Fink" Mike
| considered himself q humorist. When he
told something for a funny story or said
anything intended to be funny il was
always la1ghet at because the maa that did
not laugh got licked He joke of his rot
berries as practical jokes. One of his most
| ingenious Jokes was played on tho owner of
a flock of sheep. While going down the
river, ard being short of provisions. he saw
large flock OF sheep grazing on the shore.
There was al eddy near the shore, and he
| moved his boat into it AID tied up. In his
cargo were some bladdors Of Scotch snuff
Opening one Of these he went ashore with
some OF his men, caught lalf dozen sheep,
| and rubbed their noses with the snuff. Then
one OF the me1 was sent I'D to bring the
farmer down to see what was the matter
with his sheep, which seemed to be disturbed
about Something. The farmer asked Mix
what the matter was. Don't you know?'
asked Mike NO. Mike put his mouth
up TO the farmers car and whispered
DID You ever hear of the black
murrainm The farmer had hear of it,
well, that's what II is All the sheep
along the rivers got it bad. Dyin. by the
hundred, like rot on hogs" "Aiu't there
any cure Tor it.' asked the farmer. Thar
amt hu- oae, rs far as I snows; the rnurrain
is dreadful catcain, and if you do4't git rid
OF the sheep that, already got it, the whole
fiock'll catch 1t and die So you'd better
shoot the sicI ones right away. for tney's
got to die" But can't single out the sick
ones and shoot 5neni." said the farmer Il
kin; Pm Mike Fink and that was answer
enough. The farmer begged him to so right
ahead, sAoo5 the sick sheep, and
threw them into the river. But Mike pre-
tended that he didn't want 10 do that. Il
mough5 he wrong" he said "lhar'S
chance they mought ct welt or that they
amt got the murraia sure huff. Better go
| n oil h
murraln when they see it," The more Mike
objected the more tho farmer wanted him
20 shoot those sheep, until Mike prom
ised gallon of old peach brandy if he would
do tie deed. Then he yielied, shot the
shsep. threw them into the eddy, mud
fished them ont after dark When day
light came he and his men were hoatirg
down tho river. They had mutton cnops
for brealfas..
At one time trade was So much interferei
with aud the dangers TO life wero SO great
that t9e governor general OF Louisiana
issued an order excluding single boats
from TIE river ard allowing fJtillas only.
which were strong enough to repel the
pi-a:eS, to Daviga e the river. That was a
century ago. In 1877 NJ. Bsausoleil New
Orleans merchant, was captured by
pirates near the isiend T. at bears his name
10 escaped, killed. the pirates and re-
captured BIS boat The next year fotila
ard stopped at Cotton Creek to capture the
camp and supplies of the pirates. Six years
afterward the pirates were troublesome,
ami boats had 70 carry armed crews, a six
pound cannon. and rife-proof cabins. Traly
the good Old days wore great days When
the pirates mad the mlstaSe of attacking
ono of the floating arsenais there was great
fun, and such of them a. were captured
wero used rs decorations for tie cypress
and cottonwood trees.
One of the most thorough cloanings ont
that the river pirates ever got was in 1899
At that time Island o., o. stack Island, or
Crows Nest, In Nine Mile Beach, 40 mile,
above Natchez, hid teel a pirates lair for
many years. When these pirates captured
2 boat they generally murdered the crew.
In 1902 they were particularly Troublesome
Many boat, and tae entire crows had dis
appeared at that pon-, AID the country
around and IN and down the river was
practically under pirate law. At DO time
IN tho fall os 1909 several boats were con-
ceatratei ut the head of Nine Mile Beach.
and one night he crews made IN a surprise
PARTY TO 20 do@n and call on the pirates
Eighty or ninety we'll lrmed men went
On Nn to tie Crows 80 aud lptured the
woole gang. They dldn'5 take any of them