The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-04-03
o1D.rEMR HYPER RACING.
How the Robert E. Lee Beat the Natohez in
 a Three Days Run.
From the Detroit Free Press.l


 close of last August I sat in the for ward part of the swift upper Mississip- pi river steamboat Spread Eagle talk ing to one of the veterans of the old river days, Captain Hunter Ben Jen- kins-that was the veterans name-Was one ofthe prosperous boat owners and operators in the days before and just after the war. He was the proprietor of the Montana, one of the greatest boats that ever breasted the mighty current of the treacherous Missouri.
 When the railroad began to cut into the business of the steamboat lines they Were not long in giving away, and at what seemed a breath they were prac- tically swept from the rivers. Within the past ten years there has been a re- markable recovery in this traffic, and III the general adjustment of conditions it is becoming apparent that the water ways of this country will again serve, as they do in Europe as highways or commerce.
 On the day of which speak Captain Jenkins had been telling me, as IS his wont when at leisure, of the many romantic occurrences that were part of the life of every western steamboat man in the days when cargo 10 fort Benton meant fortune in frelghts, we had just rounded bend not far from Madison Landing when the captain pointed down the broad river.
 There is the Vicksburg," he said 'The captain of this boat may take notion to try to beat her."
 For several moments neither or us spoke. Then Captain Jenkins, who had risen from his seat, remarked:
 There's a race on sure"
 And there was It was not race for a long distance, for the city of St. Louis, the destination of both boats, was but twenty miles below, but 1t was evident in minute that the Vlcks- burg was humping herself, while the little Spread Eagle was doing her best to shorten the distance between the boats.
 AS I sat there watching the impromp- tu but interesting and friendly contest, my thoughts ran back to the days when steamboat racing was part of the weekly life of the romantic western steamboat captain. Then It occurred to me that it had been a long time since I had thought of the most famous ot all steamboat races, the contest between the Robert D. Lee and the Natchez' in which the Lee reached St. LOUIS an hour ahead of her rival, after race or three days. I put my dates together It had been just twenty-four years on the last Fourth of July-a quarter of century on the neXt-since the pantlng Lee, stripped of boards from her wheel house, without windows, and with worn out but excited crew, came to the St. Louis levee to be greeted by the cheers of thousands who had gathered to witness her coming.
 An, but that was a great race! The Lee and the Natchez had long been rlV- als. Captain Leathers of the Natchez thought that his boat was the fastest and best on the river, and Captain Can non of the Lee was willing to risk his life on the superiority of his vessel. It had been rumored at New Orleans for several days prior to the last of June, 1870, that the Lee and the Natchez would try conclusions on the next trip, which was to begin on the last day of the month. Captain Leathers had a big passenger list, but the Lee, which was preparing to go to the marine ways at Jeffersonville, Ind, for an overhaul ing, was running light" About June 25 Captain Leathers posted notice, in which he said that his boat would not race, as indicated by a rumor, and that passengers and freight traffic would re- ceive the best of attention. However, another steamboat company, being sat isfied that there would be a contest of speed, started excursion parties north | from New Orleans, in order that people | might be in good position to see the | boats pass when the race was we'll un- der way On the afternoon of June 30 the boats | slipped their moorings at the levee of | the Crescent City The Lee was slight | ly ahead, but seemed to be running | easily and evenly. Before long the | word was passed that Captain Cannon had on board several of the most ex- perienced commanders of the western rivers, and that he had made every | preparation for the race. Captain Leathers, on the other hand, was in sole command of his boat, and, in ac- cordance with his promise, he had a large list of passengers.
 His receipts from that source, to be exact, were $4,0O0.
 The night was passed without undue excitement. The Natchez was known to have lost several minutes before Baton Rouge was reached, but the change was so slight it was not noticed. At Bayou Sara, however, the Natchez had begun to pick up bit, and it was then seen that the race was on in earn est. Neither Captain Cannon nor Cap- tain feathers went to bed that night. Indeed, 1t is doubtful whether there was a sleeper on either boat. People cannot appreciate the inter est that was felt in the river towns in such contests of speed as this one, and when the interested ones were on the very boats that were racing, it may readily be imagined that sleep would be out of the question as long as endur- ance withstood the strain.
 Both boats plunged madly through the fair southern night leaving great trails of black smoke that settled on the river back of them Occasionally the stacks would send out huge bursts 1f sparks, and the flames sometimes shot high into the air. It was four