Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-09-29
NEGRO RousrAsouTs.
An inapcrtant Factor In TIE Commerce
OF the Mississippi River.

One Of the principal troubles Of the
Steam0oa tmen IS Ike negro roustabout.
While the roustaAout is only Il plain
everyday sort of negro. he is an impor-
t&nt factor of boat when she is making
trip Tor freiahC. When the negro
rousters refuse 20 work the boats must
ston. TOO. and tie up AT the wharves and
wait until they are ready to 60 out WITH
them. IL the rousters are i'll a CONTRARY
mood, they can hold the boats at the
wharVes and make the captain wait uatil
they are good ana ready TO ship. During
the summer months, when the neat is so
intense, the rousters viii refuse 10 work.
As a consequence the boats are held at
the wharyes fer hours at times, waiting
until the negros are ready 20 go 20 woiK
In the winter months when tne bust
ress is brisk and the boats arc hrinriag
down good freiNhts, Il naturally means
more work for the rousters. At that time
of the year tac roustaDouts demand
wages that are oXorb{tant. To say the
least, but which tne Ste&mboatmea are
forced to pay in uruer to Keep their boats
running. At times during the busy sea-
sons the steamboat captains have been
forced to pay the rousters at the rate OF
$50. 800 and $ll0 per month. As q big
steamer takes out between forty-five and
fifty negros ON each trip. and as some of
the boats are ont for six or eight days,
the amount OF oney paid the rousia-
bouts necessarily runs up into a con-
siderable sum. At times the rousters
have been known to demand as high as
might accommodate their shippers the
steamboat captains have been forced to
lay that amount.
When n steamboat captain receives
freight on his vessel he is responsible for
that freight II he fails to snip a crew
on The evening Ct departure he is forced
TO lay his boat over until the next day.
and should the boat catch fire during the
night and burn 10 the waters edge he is
responsible Tor that freight. out of his
pocket must come money enough to make
he In. IN fh.A (
When there is trouble ON with the
rousters the question is frequently asked:
well, why don't the steamboat people
hire white labor and in that way get
ahead of the nesrues?'
Simply because the white man canno.
DO the work. Because a sack OF rice
weighs from 20 10 20 pounds. and the
ordinary white lahoring man would stag
ger and f1ll under that weight. Because u
white man canhot begin to- stand the
hours and WORK which Iall to the lot of
There are several other equally as i'm
portant reasons WHEY o white man is not
campeten, as a roustabout TEere are
few white men no are not particular
as to where they sleep at night As for
the negro he cal sleep in any niche or
corner. He does not require any baggage.
The clothes he aas on when he goes
aboard the boat ale sufficient for him all
during tile voyage. He Is not particular
as 70 what he S@ts TO eat, as long IL
is substantial food.
point up or Down inc river, whether il be
early morn or nearly midnight, the roust
about must hustle out OF his bed and
help his mates t. put of tne freight con-
signed IL that iont. When the boat
again backs out - goes back u sleep only
TO be hustled CUT at the next landing.
The rOustabCuts arc worked haTGcri on
the coast steamers than On the up-river
boats. That is u BECAUSE. D., cpgst boat
makes trip IN two days, while from six
To seven days time is consumed by the
In-TlgFr nIckplr Ia, making q While
Il coast haat does not make any more
landings than docs an uV-rlver steamer,
her handbags arc much nearer together in
point Of time, anu thc rOastabults are
called upon 10 90 almost the same
amount oi WORK ia o murh shorter space
of time. AS consequence thc COAST
boats are forced To pay more wages To
the ruUsIA0outS.
During tho busy season there are be-
tween twenty ana evenly five boats run
ming In ana out 81 New Orleans. While
some of The amaslCr steamers cake out
only u crow III twenty Or twenty-five ne
grocs the larger GOATS d Ee Dut ifty ana
sometimes as Eian as sevGnty-iiNc men.
who are paid at the rate Of from $50 "a
Sl6o per month.
The negro roustabouts Importance IS
based on Two apParontiy ins1rlnountabie
facts. FIRST, tae iio4t cannot DC operated
without MIN; and secondly. his place can
not be filled by White men.
one Of the most interesting ana pictur-
Csque sights On the Whaif Of an evening
ia 10 wdtcn 4 'Gtedmbuat mate ship Il
crew The sight IS especially pleasan, IL
the negroes are IN working humor The
mate win come out Ia the end of the
stave plank, TOOL. The crowd of negroes
over and begin calling them by name.
They crowd around him with eutstretched
bands. begging f1r u trip ticket The
mate scans the crowd and then begins 20
lick the best men uT the lot. When his
trip tickets are exhausted he passes the
word and the ruLstSrs 90 rushing down
the stage plank onto the boat like "a
troop OF Young colts. Ii is a singular
fact that the roustabouts are invariably
in q good humOT, excepting, perhaps. dur
ing the times that 2 strike order H. in ef-
fect. Ihyn they are sHlNy and AZ stub
born ms mules. When they are demand
ing higher wages and the steambOatmen
are holding out against them they stand
in groups on the wharf and converse in
low tones The minute stranger APP
pruaches one of these groups the negroes
will close Lp Ike steel traps. and 10 get
anything ont 81 one Of them Is like try
Ing 10 squeeze blood out Of stone. Al
though they have no union Of their own
they seem 70 know exactly what the pre-
vaiiing sentiment Is. They 90 not seem
to need union III the least
During the times of trouble the roustcrs
will stand around the edge of the stage
plank waiting FOL an offer that suits
Them. The mate WHO Is standing on the
end % the plank. viii oiifr thom ~. Not
II mOyc viii W. mode.
Eighty" cries the mate
Still there is no move, aud silence
like death hangs over the crowd.
Min"
Before the MAJ can get the words out
of his mouth there is surging and swaI-
ing OF the crowd or negroes, and he IL
soon surrounded on an sides BY men eager
to 10 to work. lie has mentioned the
amount agreed apun BY the rDtsters, and
they are one and an willing to work. IL
is then that they begin to tfdmplc one
another in their wild efforts TO get the
bright bits of pastcboard which entitlc
them to trip and a snug safn Of money
at its expiration.
During last year white labor was tried
On some Of the coats. but i aid mot come
up 10 the standard. and the steamboat
men we're forced 81 70 bacl. to- the me-
grUcs.
Wood sieepcrs for railways have the
disadvantage of short life under the
rrnost lnYora BILE cpndi1ir,zsi.. in