The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-04-21

The Story Of a
Levee Roustabout.


WRITTEN FOR THE sUNpA REPUBLIC.
Irish George is gone from the ievee'
and the men who handle the freigh COM
ing to st. Louis in boats are telling the
story Of him who was one OF them. ana ye'
was so much they were not.
How long ago it was when George CAM
to the wharves no one along the river
knows, but all the wharf laborers are
acquainted with his passing. Georges face
was tanned and wrinkled, and his smile waa
the Ugh that made the burden feel easier
for many a hard-worked toiler. His voice
used to sound harshly from . dust-lined
throat, but the freight handlers somehow
always liked to hear him ak when the
boat was big and the deck packed high with
boxes, barrels and crates. There was some
thing in his walk. too. that marked him a
a man among men, and now that he hal
gone many are blaming themselves for not
making more Of him before he went. Fol
when all was counted up. and there wa
much to count, Irish George helped the
r~oustabouts in some mysterious way.
George was q native Of the "auld sod"
with all the 1rishman's oddities and fan
cies. Every spring when navigation opened
he appeared at the wharves at st. Louis.
and when the sun went back to earth'S d.
viding line with each succeeding fall George
followed 1t and sojourned in its favor all
winter long on the shipping front at New
Orleans.
George moved In q little world by himself,
to ell appearances, and yet he was nearer
to the freight handlers, both white and
black, than the pompous contractor who
handed out the a checks. or even the
union boss. He cared nothing for strikes
and kindred troubles.
Irish George had q hat that had
done duty for many. many years. His head
gear Was not . handsome thing. but 1t was
not out Of place on the wharf. simply be-
cause 1t was George who wore II. And II
none the less was his clothing Q mark Of
the man. When the spring winds grew cold
he merely gathered his thin cotton shirt at
his throat and held II there with q big brass
safety pin. II tho cold increased hs donned
q coat that ~ outlivsd its usefulness to
all men but its WeareI.
Little did George care for trousers with
frayed edges and patched knees, and what
difference did 1t make II the roustabouts
guyed him for holding them up with Z wire
nail? At least the nail was passed neatly
through thu waistband, and hat was little
worse thar oue-half Of . pair Of suspendsrA,
which most Of the men wore.
the freiEht-carryinS business George told
bis mates he thought II o Be an ad-
vantage to work without shoes but when
he had walked . few times from the cold
decks Of the boats onto the Wharves, where
the sun rested, INC scorched. he concluded
It best to protect his feet. 80 George picked
up . shoe here and there In North Side al
leys. and when the boats were on their
trips he used to sit In the ehade Of the Eads
Bridge and play at shoemaker, lacking an
old sole on an even older shoA
But George was not always thus. Once
lis life was full Of promise, and for a short
period no was happy with q vito and baby
girl and q paying business. A Dublin COLLEGE
graduate, he was well prepared to make his
way IN the world. A robust young man
when his college days were at IN end, he
returned to Belfast. The future was bright
with promise. and. best Of all, the girl OF
his heart smiled on him.
b wal one Of Ertn's -fairest daughters,
and her people, while not wealthy, were in
comfortable circumstances George had
nothing to speak Of but good health and q
collegs education. He knew hat something
more than bread md cheese md kisses were
necessary to . young man wishing to EN-
bark on the ssa Of matrimony. He asked lii
eirl to wait until he could make for her .
home squal to the one he asked her 3
leave.
He came to America and worked hard.
while the girl at home waited. He soon a.
tablished a paying business. Then he wrote