Mexico weekly ledger., 1902-03-20

" OuALEu 0AnAEl vi wi
seabury 4 johnson, Mfg. Chemists, NJ.
pourds. Near midnight ] was sud
denly awakened from my sleep by a
loud crash and L thought the boat
had struck a snag, but when ! looked
down l saw Kerr crawling over the
side Of his bunk and he was as mad as
a hornet, and as o 0 rs be got ON his
feet he began to shout hrel Hre. as
loud as be could yell. One Of the
omcers OF the boat ran to the door
and begged him to stop, telling him
that he would fri hten the ladies and
create a panic. "What the hell,'|
said he, edo ! care about the ladies
when the bottom Of my bunk has
dropped out?'i And he kept shouting
"fren until the porter was hustled
into the room and fixed his bunk.
Seeing that sleep was out Of the ques-
tion with me l got into my clothes
and walked out into the cabin. The
two gamblers and the boyish looking
young fellow, whose name l afterwards
learned was Reid, were still sitting at
the card table and on the opposite
side the young Virginian was standing
with his hands resting on the table
and talking as though he was labor
ing under great excitement. The
| virginian was staggering drunk and
he was accusing Reid Of cheating him
out of his money. This Reid denied
and the vlrginian called him a liar
and a thief, but no sooner had he said
this than Reid was on bis feet and
seizing the heavy chair he had been
sitting In he struck with all his might
at him across the table. The chair
failed to reach the mark, but it play
ed havoc with the glass drops that
hung from the chandelier, scattering
them like a shower Of hail all over the
cabin. The Virginian knocked the
chair aside and seizlng Reid by the
neck he yanked him across the table
and landed him on his head on the
floor. He then took Reid by the heels
and setting his foot on his neck he
leaned against the wall to steady him
self. expected 10 hear him say, as
he stood In that position, 'slc semper
tyranis!n but his tongue vas too thick
TO utter the words. The gamblers
rescued Reid and the porter hustled
the Yirginlan of to his room In a
hurry. We were all standing on the
hurricane deck when the boat reached
the mouth Of the Ohio and from the
middle Of the Mississippi to the Mis-
souri, shore the water was very muddy
.lOld Mike Hickman noticed it and hC
said: "Marse, Jim, what makes dai
water look so muddy ober dar?'
why said Kerr, you id OLE
! fool, don't you know that it is the biz
catfish roofing up the mud in the bot
tom Of the river?" We passed a larg,
number Of fatb0ats as we we're goinl
: up the river and everyone had a funnl
. name. On nearly every n Of thOsI
little boats, floating down to New
Orleans, there was one jolly fellow
. saving away on a fiddle and anothe.
n chap dancing a Jig. We reached st
\ Louis about O'Clock in the morning
, and landed just below where the grea.
q Eads bridge now stands. Just beforI
' we reached the landing we passeC
! "Bloody Island,n where many prom
1 inent citizens Of this State had fallel
= in fatal duels fought on that littll
island in former days. A tier o
steamboats,, three deep, lay along thl
a shore the entire length OF the city
s about three miles, snd the Mississippi
. river looked to be as wide as the Hud
4 son riTes at New York st. Louis, a
that time, only extended three or fou'
. blocks back from the river and TIN
! streets are very narrow and crooked
/ following the wlndings OF the river
r We boarded the steamer Kansas in thu
afternoon bound for St. Joe, with ;
large number OF California emigrantl
: on board. The Polar Star, the fastesI
4 boat on the Missouri river. started Oui
8 just ahead Of US and when she turned
I her nose up the stream, with a whit,
4 bone 10 her teeth she ''walked the
Z water like a thing Of llfe.n Hel
2 stalwart crew, all senegamblans
\ gathered on the forward deck ant
\ waving their hats above their headi
they struck up q song and a finer LOT
of singers / never listened to. Thu
old Kansas was a very SLOW boat, but
to make up for her sl0wness she set
! the finest table on earth and we hac
, lots Of fun on board whilst she wa
blowing her way up the muddy old
Missouri. Young Reid kept aloof from
the gamblers on this boat and be told
, me that be wa a printer by trade and
was from Stenbenville, Ohio. When
we reached Lexington some one on
board told the passengers that therG
was a little village but three miles NJ
the river and. as it was twelve miles
around the big horse shoe bend that
the boat had 70 run, II we wanted u
take q little exescise on land We could
easily reach Il on foot long before ths
boat could get there. Nearly ali Of
the men On board left the boat and
started out 70 make The trip, bul
when VI had gone about half wal
through the city / suggested 10 ml
comrades that we had better stop at 1
store and learn about the road 30 tina
We cnuId make no mistake In regart