Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-11-10
The Mythical Journey Imposed on
the Defeated Party.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE REAL STREAM
Where Mr.. Lincoln Used to Go on
a Flat Boat.
FIRST REPUBLICAN ELECTED
Written for The Evening Star.


hitting the other fellow to carry off the
honors of the offices. The figure, as
worked out in the present case. makes Mr..
| Cleveland the captain Of the craft. Senator
| Hill the first mate, Chairman Faulkner the
| purser, the defeated candidates for Congress
| the cabin boys and roustabouts, and the
| rank and file of the party who rallied I'M
| successfully on election day the grim and
| wretched passengers.
| The Real Stream.
| While the trip is a myth-though one Of
| the taking humors of American politics-the
reference Is to d real stream. There Is
| Salt river, and it has been immortalized by
| this reference. 1t flows, too, through sec
| ton famous in American history. Not far
| from it's banks Abraham Lincoln was born.
| and those early neighbors of the elder Lin
| coin who were thrifty enough to raise pro-
ducs for the markets Of the lower Ohio and
| Mississippi rivers loaded it on to huge fiat
boats tied to convenient landings on the Salt
| river, and started it thence on the way to
| the south. And those were great days. Flat
boating on the western rivers was one of
| the most picturesque features of the period
antedating the common use of steamboats,.
| The crafts were fat-bottomed affairs rooted
| over, and two enormous oars, one at the
stem and the other at the stern, served at
|
| mounted high on top of the boat, had a wide
| sweep, Were worked each by half dozen
| men, who stood up and walked a beat of
| forty feet or more at the task, and at dis
| lance they looked like the mammoth horns
| of a mammoth animal swimming in the wa
| ter This suggestion gave &c those boats the
] name Of "broad-horns," which came into
| general use.
Flat Boating PrOspered.
| Flatboating in those early times pros
youngsters. anxious to put farm life behind
| them for a season, and take a look at the
outside world. pleaded with the Old folks
| to be permitted to make one of these trips
| Frolic and hard work were about equally
| divided, and the fiddler, the singer, the
| story teller and the TOUCHDOWN" dancer
| were in great request. Mr.. Lincoln, 1t may
| be remembered, made several of these trips,
| though alter the removal OF his father to
| Indiana and to Illinois. But that his taste
| for such a journey was acquired while he
was a young rustic, living in the Salt river
region there can be little doubt. He had
| heard in the kentucky cabin of the fiat
boatmenS songs and stories, of the dane
| ing on the boats roof in the evening after
| the days work was done, and Of the
numerous adventures possible along the
| lower coast and at New Orleans; and when
| he grew to mans size, and was permitted
| to have a voice In his own movements, he
| shipped as a hand" on several of these
journeys.
A Curious Association.
| This bit of history serves to show how
| curious is the fate that has associated the
| name of a small and altogether attractive
| stream with political fiction. telling Of
| disaster, and suggesting the severest hard
| ships. Salt river has thus been made the
waterway equivalent of the Jordan road.
and the rocky road to Dublin. But one 8
experience on it is very different from that
| of the traveller on the other two routes
| 1t is a smooth little stream, taking its rise
| in the hill country of Kentucky, and
| emptying into the Ohio river about twenty
| miles below Louisville Its banks, for the
greater part of the way, are fringed with
| timber of good growth, and the section
| watered by 1t is in the main fruitful and
| highly cultivated. The fiatboat days have
| departed, although the traditions linger
| and few ferries and farmers skiffs now
| have the right of way up and down and
across those historic channels. AS a matter
| of fact, no steamboat of any size, even
| though bearing a President of the United
| States and his party friends in defeat,
| could make its way any distance up the
stream. But II one could, the experience
| for those on board would be very far from
| the unwelcome or the uncomfortable. The
passage would be smooth, the reception by
| the natives cordial. and the provision for
enjoyment ample for the most eXacting.
Where the Tariff Docs Not Disturb.
The woods on either bank are at this sea-
son Of the year full Of small game, and IT is
| not far in any direction to establishments
| that no tariff bills ever disturb. and where
| the finest Of table WHISTLES are produced
| in abundance. Really, the people Of the
| Salt river country have it in their power to
| revolutioniZe the whole principle Of political
| winnings and rewards. They have only to
| dredge the channel of their little river.
| widen 1t a bit at the mouth, where rail-
| ODStructS free
| and insist upon an actual trip up the stream
| by some party in defeat to make that the
| most desired of journeys. From the day of
| the return of the first boat load the poll
| ticians would revise their scheme, and fash
| lon it after the mule race at the county fan.
| when the last mule under the wire Is de-
| cared the winner. The majority party in
| that event would make the Salt river trip.
| and the boat would always be crowded.
The village Of West Point.
At the mouth Of the Salt river, on the
] Hardin county side-the stream at that
| point divides Hardin and Jefferson coun
| ties-is the village of West Point. 1t Is a
Clean pretty place. The view of the Ohio
| from the landing. commands that river, on
| a clear day. for long distance in either
direction, and is very fine. The light house
board keeps a strong lamp trimmed there
| to guide the pilots in the time of low water.
The hills on the Indiana side just opposite
are high and this fills the air with echoes
| at night when the swift packets, with their
musical whistles and flying paddle wheels,
are running by. The village, while clean
| and pretty, is thoroughly unprogressive. 1t
positively refuses to grow. The large and
| commodious brick residence built by the
..lord of the manor seventy years and
more ago is still the most imposing, and the
only imposing, structure there. People who
nine for hurry and worry. and elbow room
for the accumula tion of large fortunes, move
| away Those who remain content them
selves With their modest environments, and
| enjoy life after the village fashion.
Numerous Traditions Cluster.
Around this village Of West Point cluster
numberless traditi, ms. and gccd stories Of
| the old Hatboating days. Here the start
was mads from all that country round after
| the boats had been loaded and the supplies
| for the crews laid in; and here again the
| crews reassembled after returning from the
trip and divided up the Profits and spun
| bje warns out of their individual expert
ences This was the very atmosphere, there
| for. that attracted and developed the stroll
| ing fiddler the yarn spinner, and all those
| hardy fellows who follow ed the river" after
a careless humor of their own Rlvalries
| were sharp but good-natLred. The contests
were frequently between the hoosier and
| the corncracker Wrestlers ploughed up