The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-04-03

preparation as to taking on fuel, while the Lee had sent the Pargoud, a very fast boat, a week ahead with a cargo of dry pine. When the Lee reached this fuel boat it did not stop to take it on, but ran alongside. and while the boats were tearing up the river the light wood was thrown over the rail to the racer.
 Nearly every minute of the race found the boats in sight of each other. The passengers on the Natchez were wild with excitement and made all man. ner of offers to Captain Leathers if he would tighten his boat and take extra means to win the race. Both vessels were brilliantly lighted by night and with their streamers of black smoke and fire made a sight that was well cal- culated to set the blood boiling. Before the boats reached Cairo, which was originally set as the ending point of the race, the Lee was stripped of her win dows to allow a freer circulation of air, and the wheelhouse had been robbed of It's boards i'm order that the weight might be reduced and the splash of re- sistance taken away.
 T am not running in this river to tear up my boat said Captain Leathers to a patron. q am here to carry pasSen gers, and I am doing it."
 By the time the boats had reached Cairo the Natchez, had lost an hour in repairs to- her pumps. and the Lee had had a similar accident; but so much time was not consumed in fixing the break, by reason of the excellent equip- ment that the boat carried, t5
 It was found at Cairo that the inter est in the race was so intense that it would be profitable for the boats to continue to St. Louis, where the hotels and public places were alive with peo- pie who talked of nothing else. When the mouth of the Ohio river was reach ed, number of boats from St. Louis and Cincinatti were on hand with large number of passengers who want ed to see the fleet boats pass The Idle wild, then the fastest boat on the lower Ohio river, came alongside of the Lee and asked to be allowed to put few passengers aboard the racer. The Cap tain consented, but it was found that Idlewild could no keep up with the Lee and until the engines of the latter were stopped line could not be made fast
 The Ievees of all the landings were damned with humanity, each of the boats having about an equal number of friends in the towns.
 Both boats reached St. Louis on the morning of July 4, the Lee in the lead. The race ended at a point opposite lief ferson barracks, the government fort, about three miles south of St. Louis, but there was no letting down of steam until the vessels had tied up at the wharf, which was black with the wild est mob that was ever seen there. That night there was a banquet given to the two commanders at the Southern hotel. Good feeling prevailed in spite of the understanding that the two boatmen had not been on good terms previously. The next day Captain Leathers and Captain Cannon were seen on the floor of the Merchants exchange. Mary Cur tis Lee, daughter of General Robert E. Lee, was leaning on the arm of Cap tain Cannon, and as the pair came down the grand stairway a committee presented an excellent painting of the Lee under full steam to the young lady.
 An odd feature of the contest is that neither captain had a dollar wagered on the result. Captain Cannon died at his home in Kentucky in 1882 at the age of 63. Captain Leathers is still alive in New Orleans, but he is away from the river for life. Many members of his family are still heavy owners.