The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1894-06-01

At five in the evening on Ma,
Sth, 1894, we babe goodbye Il
friends at Evansville who had conn
to see us off, and boarded tn
steamer "W. +. Nisbet" for triI
down the Ohio and up the Tennes
, see as far as Waterloo, Alabama
As soon as we were on board tn,
first bell rang, the second, the thirt
accompanied by a whistle, and
away we started down the Ohio.
| The "W. +. Nisbet" is large
boat and can accommodate great
!, many passengers. Captain Nc
!, Meechan is just such a captain a.
we read of, and knows how to take
care of his crew. The pilots, en-.
gineers, mates, clerks, stewards and
|, so on, are all courteous and polite
gentlemen.
| The maid having shown us our
berths, the steward announced sup.
per. This being over and enjoyed
by all, as meals on this boat are
always good, we soon became as
, one big family. AS said above, the
boat can accommodate a great
many, but we were, all told, about
forty passengers. Some from Chi
cago, Indianapolis, Evansville,
Princeton, Boonville and Jasper,
and all along the route passengers
got on and off.
j AT &: 30 the whistle blew, and the
captain said; "All upon deck to
view the bridge at Henderson, y
a fine structure indeed.
i Among our passengers were sew
eral fine musicians, who entertained
us the earlier part of the evening
with display of their musical tai
ents. Later on, the employed
band on board struck up some of
their chords, and pretty soon most
of the passengers were Gripping the
light fantastic" This is every
Evenings amusement on the boat,
Sunday excepted.
After bidding one another good
night we retired. At $3.50 next
morning we were aroused for break
fast. All were full of excitement to
catch the first glimpse Of the Ten
nessee. Paducah, at the mouth of
the river, was our first landing.
We went ashore "to take in" the
city, which is pretty place Of
about 10000 inhabitants. The
beauty of this city lies in its shaded
streets. After two hours we return
ed to the boat, went on deck to
view the scenery along the Tennes-
see. The water Of this stream is of
a greenish hue, and does not mix
with that Of the Ohio. The stream
is narrow, and while the scenery
along the Ohio is pretty, that Of the
Tennessee is far the prettier. The
latter curves and winds along most
gracefully, and to sail on its mean
der ng waters is delightful. The
scenery is wilder and more broken
farther you 60 up the stream. I'm
mense rocks rise boldly from the
river, topped with the richest vege-
tation, and covered with patches Of
small growth, Of all colors, on their
sides. Rising above these rocks in
the distance may be seen, in vernal
outline, the so-called Tennessee
mountains. Quite a number Of is
lands are in this stream, and a
pretty sight are these spots Of green
in the midst of the river. Here
and there you will see a lone hut,
and its inhabitants appear happier
than those Of some mansions.
All day we feasted on the grand
eur Of this scenery, for it was fine
day, bright and sunshiny. The
sunset on the water is 50 beautiful
it cannot be described.
After supper we reached Fort
Henry. This being historical
place our captain led us ashore, and
after few hard scramblcs up a
steep hill, we stood on the fort
which was captured by General
Grant on the 9th Of February, 1862.
Our party picked up almost any
thing which could be found to keep
as relics. About twelve miles from
here on the Cumberland, is Fort
Donelson, the capture Of which
made Gen. Grant the "Uncondi-
tional Surrender General" After
listening to some Of the Captains
war stories (and good ones they
were, and viewing our boat which
was lighted and cast pretty refec-
ton in the water, we followed our
leader to the boat, where, like the
evening before, we danced until
midnight. Soon, however, we
landed at some small landing and
in came some Of the employees
with punches Of laurel to decorate
the breakfast tables, and this again
told us we were in Tennessee.
A Drn,,ptl, ~ civ powf pnnrp;p0 ~s-a