The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1896-05-09
The OLD YELLOW RIVER.
Romance of the Wreck and Recovery 81
the Twilight's Cargo.


the Twilight's Cargo.
One foggy morning justabout dawnin
Aurust, 1865, the side-wheel steamboat |
Twilight was making her way cautious
ly up the Missouri river. In the wheel
house the pilot stood, dripping with
the heavy mist, calling &c the wheel
man:
keep her jackstaff on the lone cotton
wood on the starboard shore and swing
her stern around"
The Twilight was chug-chugging
along slowly against the current. Right
ahead was a bend in the river. Sudden
ly there was a jar. The hog chains
snapped with report like cannon and
the boat, heavily "hogged" or bulged>
up in the middle, began to sink. She
had struck huge submerged sycamore
tree of huge dimensions, having got out
of the channel in the fog.
The passengers were cared for by
the farmers i'm the vicinity and taken 10
Kansas City, 20 miles distant, by boat
that came up the river that night. The
cargo of the Twilight was very rich. 1t
was composed of 300 barrels of whisky,
hundreds of cases of wines, liquors and
canned goods and large stock of gen.
eral merchandise.
For several years she lay on the log
in the river, visible when the water was
low and again covered. She was a
thing of fascination to country boys,
who dreamed of all sorts of exploits to
get the treasure out of her. There was
an air of mystery about her that thrilled
the farm lads like the tales of Capt.
Kidd or the stories of the adventures OF
wreckers.
Four years after she was sunk an tin-
successful attempt was made to get the
cargo. Several years after that farmers
in the vicinity got two barrels OF
whisky out of her and when they went
for more she could not be found. The
| treacherous river had shifted and she
was buried in a sand bank. Then the
river cut in along the south bank close
| under the bluff and the great rise OF
! 1887 made sand bar on top OF her.
buried her deep and left her far inland
under 80 feet of sand, 100 yards from
the bank of the river at high water and
half a mile from shore when the river
was down.
Last year number of Kansas City
gentlemen organized company to re-
cover the sunken cargo. By series OF
ingenious mechanical devices they To-
Gated the wreck in 80 feet of water and
found the freight in comparatively
good condition. There have been many
Interruptions of the work, but a large
part of the merchandise has already
been recovered.
The 300 barrels of whisky in the hold
are in perfect state of preservation
One of them was tapped and the whisky
was found to be beyond compare. A
glass of is, which was poured out before
a company of men in the Kansas City
club, filed the entire floor with Its
aroma. It was thick and oily, almost
of the consistency of New Orleans mo-
lasses, and after the glass was emptied
it chung to the sides as strip would.
The whisky will not be- taken out
until the government officials shall be
come satisfied that it is tax free. Tht
taxes were paid at the distillery wher,
the stuff was made more than 80 year!
ago.
There Is a rumor that abaft of where
the whisky was found is the purser'!
cabin, and in it is safe containing ;
large sum of money, which was being
carried from st. Louis to up-river mer
chants and army posts. The none.
question, however, is forgotten for TIN
present in the joy of the wreckers a
the finding of the whisky. Speculation
is rife as to what will be the profits c
the wreckers. Experienced dealers sa.
that the whisky will sell readily for a
. least $500 barrel.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat.