The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-05-23
STOPPED TIE GAME.
MAD TO FIG lit TO no 1T, nut He
KILLED mrs NAN.
An Fariy Morning stop on the Arkansas side
OF the River which showed what Wight Bc
one OF the Duties OF an Did time Mlssisslppi
Pnckei CnntAIn-Nnni. FOas'a nrnrhrhs.

" ANo Wv NhNN
one or the uuties OF an OIa-TIn,e Siississlppi
Packet Cnptnin-Cnpt. FOss's Remarks.
"Ihave always been n little hazy in my notion
OF what arc tho proper functions of the Captain
OF a Mississippi River steamboat, said the gray
haired, young.looking man. IL suppose, really,
that nothing would have been easier than for
me TO find out, for I travelled n great deal on
tho river some years ago. and / knew a lot of
people who were engaged in stoamboating as a
business. besides enjoying a personal acqnaint-
ance with several Of the Captains themselves.
hut there are some things that l do not like to
know definitely, and this is ono of them. Its
moro interesting to speculate about them in idle
moments and to think of all sorts OF whimsical
ties as possible than TO get Mt tho facts. which
would not no interesting at all.
Now, on the lakes, and on such salt water
craft as I have travelled on, the Captain OF the
boat Is very much in evidence. lie has oil to
say about everything, and seems to DO n sort Of
court of appeals for the trial and final disposi-
ton of all cases, trivial or important. He seems
TO have a personal supervision over every detail
of his business. and TO have very little real lei
sure. II may be, of course. that the Captain of
n Mississippi boat has similar duties and rcspon-
sibilitics, but 1t doesn't seem so TO the average
passenger.
In the first place. he seems to have nothing
to say about the navigation Of his boat. The
pilot attends to that, apparently, all tho time.
Then the Captain has little to say to the crow.
Tho mtte bosses the dockhands and the rousta-
bouts, and the engineer has control OF his own
department. suppose the Captain gives them
both orders. though l never saw or heard him do
A. have heard him order the walters about In
the dining room, but 1t seems ridiculous to class
/. that among his duties. Altogether, to one who
doesn't understand the matter, tho Captains
Office seems suited TO comic opera rather than
to navigation. and, as l intimated, / enjoy comic
opera too much to want to understand this.
There is one thing about the position, how
ever, which is no joke. The Captain has arbi-
trary police power over everybody on board his
boat, unless, indeed. the pilot is exempt. L
don't know about that. SO well is this fact un-
derstood that l never saw this authority dis
puted but once, and on that occasion 1t was not
well for the man who did the disputing.
Capt. Foss of the river packet Lone Star.
plying between st. Louis and New Orleans some
twenty years ago, was one of the finest men l
ever CHANGED to know on the river. That he
was a Southerner no one could doubt who saw
him and heard him talk, but l never knew what
State he came from. He was a man of middle
stature and remarkable physical development.
strong as a horse and active as a cat. l think he
had been in the army, for he had n military hear
ing. hut his title of Captain came. of course.
from his position. He was somewhat of n dandy,
and dressed in what was then old style, but the
exquisite ~neatncss and fine material OF his cloth
Ing made him conspicuous even among the
wealthy and well-drcsscd passengers who pat
ronized his boat from choice whenever they
travelled the river.
"Suave, polished, and extremely quiet In his
manners on ordinary occasions. he could blaze
out in the most fiery bursts Of temper when he
had provocation. Inevcr saw him but twice in
a temper. and curiously enough the trouble
grew out OF n game of poker each time.
Poker was always played in the main saloon
OF the boat at night. MS IA matter of course, and
] have seen some stiff games played on the Lone
Star, for | made several trips on her. Ididn't
hesitate to play there myself, even with stran-
gers. for l knew the reputation Of the boat and
of the Captain. who played himself occasionally,
though not very often. He was called one OF the
best players on the river. and was known TO be
thoroughly upright and believed to be utterly
devoid of fear. He knew all the gamblers who
travelled the river. and would not allow any
crooked play in his jurisdiction. 1t was reported
that they all knew this and had a wholesome
respect for his authority. knowing that he made
it a rule to set II man ashore in the wilderness II
, he was detected in any underhand work. He
I had done this several times. and it was generally
believed that there wasn't n gambler in the
. country who would play any tricks on Capt
Foss's boat.
zone night. an hour or two after we had left
Memphis ON the way down the river, the Cap
tain sauntcrcd into the saloon looking as If ht
4 hadn't II care or a responsibility OF any kind
q and, seeing IL game of cards going on, he walkcC
up to the table and Joined the lookcrs-on, o
D OF whom I was one. 1t was a fairly stiff game
and there was enough money changing hands L
a make ii rather exciting, even for those wht
didn't play. AS for the four men who were play
0 ing, they seemed almost dead TO the outside
! world. Whether they were playing beyond theil
; means, or whether It was simply the excitement
: OF the game that held them spellbOund, l didn'
: know, but had watched them for an hour anC
= hadn't heard one OF them utter a word beyont
4 what the game called for. Their faces all showed
intense emotion. and ono mans hand shook 81
!. that he had hard work 10 deal. IL may not have
j. been the game that caused 1t, but l thought /
: was.
After Capt. Foss had been standing by for
4 few minutes one of the four, a pale, intellectual
, looking man. threw down a losing hand will
some show Of temper. and exclaimed with al
o oath, not loud. but deep | never did hnv'
: any luck in u four-handed game And looking
) around the little group-thcre were a dozen o.
more of us-hc spicd the Captain.
r Captain he said, won't you take u hand :
o "'Well. said Capt. Foss. i don't mind play
ing a little while II none OF the other gentlemen
: object. didn't know you were superstitious
. though. Dr.. Baisley.'
:: THE Doctor frownod. Il guess everybody il
u y who plays cards, he replied shortly.
Q "'Possibly,' said Capt. Foss and as the othe
8 three ~signiled u welcome to him, he drew up
chair and bought some chips.
a 1T was IA curious, thing, ana TO Dr. Baisley !
was, no doubt, confirmation strong as proofs o
y Holy Writ OF his superstition, but II is n fac
n that his luck turned from the moment Capt
It Foss entered the game. He had been a heav.
% loser before. l could count up over a thousan'
dollars in chips that ] had seen him lose, and
hadn't seen all the play. But the turn set tn
chips rolling back TO him SO fast that he was sooi
n even and then winner TO n considerable amount
"Of the Others, one was evidently q com
mercial traveller who had got into IA hcavie
game than the knights OF the road often indulg
10 In. Somehow, he did not seem like "a gentleman
and / was not greatly surprised when he lost. hi
temper, for his luck had changed also. He ha,
been the largest winner at first. for the othe
two won and lost in turn, so that they were, no
until at length he pulled out what seemed to b
10 his LIST hunhrnl. dollar hill and hnuph1 nnnIho