The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-10-13

~host Oh Jim BIuHSOe Called Into Be-
ing as a Feature of the Street
Fair at CairO-NO "Nigger ON
the Valve" but That Was the
Only Thing Lacking in the At
fair.
CAIRO, ILL.,, Oct. 12.-Jim B!udsoe's ghost
came back from the wreck of the Prairie
Belle and danced along the yellow Ohio. There
was steamboat race on the river a real
race, the kind they used to have when
steamboats, carried the commerce Of the cOun-
try. when steamboats, were floating palaces
ana steamboat men were kings, and when
t the I lac, that the Kate Adams had beaten
tne Jim Lee into Memphis was a bigger
news Item down South" than the assasslna-
uon OF a cZar.
one OF the features CT its street fair. The
DICK Fowler and the Georgia Lee raced down
the Ohio river from Cache creek to Cairo.
The white-haired old citizens of Cairo ran
along the bank of the river and almost
whooped their heads off with excitement.
Inc younger generation caught the infection
anG shr1eked and yelled.
mere was only trouble with the raca
mat kept 1t from being just like. cd times.
II was a draw Time was when racing
steamboats, either won or blew up. Twenty
years ago 1t was leo bales Of cotton to q
Jewsharp that if the Dick Fowler hadn't beat
en- the Georgia Lee it would have been be-
NJ
bottom OF the river and the deckhands and
passengers who were still alive were swim
ming to shore on the loose furniture. And
II the Georgia Lee hadn't won il would have
been because the man at the wheel was
burned up before the race was over.
But considering that as far sceamboating
IS concerned this is a degenerate age the race
OF the Georgia Lee and the Dick Fowler was
a success. OF course the boats burnt consd-
cradle coal instead Of nothing but resin and
pine, as they used to do and worst of ali
neither one had a large, fat colored Individual
sublimely perched on the safety valve. That
was the sad part Of the race to the old citi-
zens Of Cairo.
NO Niger" PERCHED.
"They air Albumin Of coal. sab. " said ona
Wlre-bearded colonel from Kentucky regret
fully, land the spectatahs Of those boats sab
don look as If they expected to swim, sab
but the worst part Of 1t all is, sab. that
HeIther one OF those steamahs, sab has Eot
Niger a-settin' on the safety valve They
most certainly ought to have a niger a,set-
tin on that safety valve"
At fifteen minutes after the Dick Fowler
PuIIeo out from the wharf boat and dropped
down stream and then headed up to a point
opposite the head of the wharf The GeorgIa
Lee cast on It's line and dropped down stream
Ihen 1t headed up stream again under a full
nead OF steam and passed the Fowler which
had stood quietly in the river waiting The
two boats, side by side, started for the mouth
OF cache creek, where they were to come
about and race back to Cairo.
AS they passed along the crowds On thu
banks cheered, and the cheers must have
reached jim Bludsoe. The Fowler was ravIv
ueckeo out IN fags and bunting, and had a
pig crowd OF spectators on board. The Judges
OF the race, Capt. Fred Bennett Cant. n o
Brace and Reed Green, also stood on the
deck Of the Fowler. These committeeman
were selected because of their great no71IIar
ity, but they couldn't be elected coustsbIes
OF Cairo tonight because they didn't make
safety valves.
Up the river went the boats with the black
smoke pouring out Of the smokestacks and
steamers reached the mouth of Cache creeE
headed about, started down stream. and the
race mad begun. The stacks belched smoke
ara the hremen worked like the fremen used
TO 90 when the captains would promise every
man a gold watch if their boat was the first
INTO Memphis They worked at disad-
vantage. They had to shovel coal instead Of
tanning IN pine knots and sides of bacon.
ana, besides, when they got the steam up II
blew OF In most distressing manner There
certainly ought to have been some colored
person sitting on those safety valves.
CAME WITH A RUSH.
Down the river the boats came. The indi-
| Gator showed pressure that made the pas
| sengers turn white, and clutch all the loose
furniture they could find By rights those
! indicators ought to have had paper pasted
| over them so that no one could have seen
| the arrow juggling around. Besides II there
| hao been somebody of African descent sitting
on those safety valves the indicators
IN the wakes of the two boats as they sped
along. The crowds ran along the banks and
hoWled.
First IT looked as if the Dick Fowler would
win, and then the Georgia Lee was seen to
be leading. The fremen damned coal and
then more coal into the furnaces, and when
they had the fire boxes so full that the live
Goals rolled out at their feet they franticalIy
! shook their shovels at the furnaces and
| yelled. The bands played for awhile. but
! finally the pounding engines and the excite
I ment was too much for the hornblowers, ard
| some Of them went down to help the fremsn.
! The others thought of Jim Bludsoe who went
! up with the Prairie Belle, and wondered II
the pilots on the Dick Fowler and the &c -rgia
Lee like Jim Bludsoe, would stand by the
wheel till the last galoot was ashore. ."
Faster and faster went the boats but lust
when they were moving like the old boats
did IN the old days a squirt of steam shot I'D
from the Fowler, and then from the Georgia
Lee. The thing led happened that everybody
was afraid would happen. The steam had got
too high and the safety valves had opened
If there had only been somebody squatting on
those safety valves 1t would have been a real
race.
Both boats lost way and they passed the
wharf boat at Cairo a line The judges
said the race was a tie. 1t didn't show
which was the better boat the Dick Fowler
or the Georgia Lee.