The morning call., 1891-11-15

| low-pressure steamship called the Grampus
l sailed TO France. to England, to many for
| eign countries and among them Africa. The
! captain Of the Grampus had an understand
! ing with the Southern planters to furnish
them with slaves, so we went to Africa for
| them. We took load Of trinkets like
| those we used in dealing with American
| Indians, and we entieed the Africans with
them. They came of their own free will
upon our ship, for they wanted to come to
America, never dreaming of course, that
they would be sold as slaves. Sometimes
we brought back as many as a thousand. all
under 81 years of age. Strange to say, those
negroes who sailed with Us to Africa
wanted to remain there. and we left them.
In this way saw much of the world.
AFTER a while | had an offer from an
American boat captain to sail on the Mis-
slssippi and l accepted it. The name of this
boat was the Don Juan, and il sailed from
New Orleans to st. Louis. 1t took US TWEEN
ty-four days 10 make this trip, for we dared
not sail all night. The only town of any
consequence that l remember that we
passed at that time was Baton Rouge, which
was French settlement. There were
plenty of Indians and we often had thrilling
experiences with them, but these would swell
my story too much TO relate. st. Louis at
this time was small settlement l remem-
Der well there were no houses between the
river and Main street. An Indian fort stood
where tha sugar refinery stands now. Ste.
Genevieye is older than st. Louis. Alton is
Older for we landed freight there as place
OF more importance than St. Louis. /
Travelled up and down the river for about
thirty years.
81 ran as engineer on the second locomo-
tive that ever made a trip in Missouri. Ths
first road built was the Pacific Railway. /
used to run across Chouteau Pond down to
Seventh street. We built a treStle work
across the pond and then filed it with earth.
Now the Union Depot stands where the old
Ch0uteau Pond was once located. The first
building Of any Importance that | remember
was bank, the Missouri Bank, on Main
street, and where the street known as Olive
now runs. l remember the Indian chief
Black Hawk perfectly. Then | was en-
gineer on boat again for Junius Choutesu
and Charles, his son. We made trips to the
Rocky Mountains on our boat, tho Yellow
stone, to trads with the Indians for furs.
That is how Mr.. Junus and Charles Chou
teau made their money. Ii took US months
to make a trip and we stayed for several
months, sometimes year or two before
coming home.
1.-The first time the indians saw our boat
they took it for spirit of some kind, and it
was long before we could entce them to
trade with US again. Sometimes we bought
furs which amounted in value TO 500, 900 on
one trip.
Il was engineer on the Ben Franklin,
Bob Fulton aud Jim Houston. mail-boats,
which travelled to Louisville and Cinciu-
nail never heard of Chicago in those days.
took a long time to make up my mind to
marry aud settle down. At last | fell in
love with Miss Ellen Luck, Virginia girl
living out here. She was Is when / married
her and L vas more than 80 years her
senior"
4 But fne-looking man." interrupted
Mrs. Haines.
And" continued her husband, I'VE had
several children. | have q son married and
living in Texas and daughter in Chicago.
L was In the late war and engineer on the
gunboat Sumter, which was blockaded at
Eicksburg. After the war l came back to
Carondelet for my wife. That part of ST.
Louis used to be called w heat Bush I
worked as engineer in various places, among
them for MI John Harrison at Irondale.
was engineer at the Fagin Building not so
very long ago, and at the Laclede Hotel I
was fireman for while. l could work now,
but everybody says, You're too DID, Well,
that is the sad part of a mans life. but
have much to thank God for. | belong to
the G. A. R.. and the Ransom Post sub
scribed the money-S150-which enabled
mother and l to get this good home. We
are very happy here and cheerful. we old
folk. Some of them are children compared
TO me, though. l 90 out to see my old
friends sometimes. | know many folks
here, go TO church. and l am very comfort
able. l get small pen sion, which enables
mother aud myself to be independent"
On the Goth of last month Miss Lettice
Lee Bowen of GaysviIle, VT, celebrated the
one hundredth anniversary of her birth.
O'Clock in the afternoon. The Boston
Globe, in noticing the event. says of Miss
Bowen:
She is bright, intelligent old lady. and
has led busy life, in which, until within
four years. there has been no sickness serl-