The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-04-22

| reached Natchez. A mad crowd greeted
| her.
! In fourteen minutes the Natchez stop
| ped at the same landing. The Lee re-
| manned four minutes at a barge, taking
| fuel, while the Natchez was detained at
the levee eight miutes. Then she was
off again amid the wild shouting of the
people of the namesake town.
Late in the afternoon of this the first
day of the race both boats made land
ings at Vicksburg. The Natchez was
several minutes late, and as at Natchez,
she was longer in getting away after stop
ping. This was due to the landing of the
passengers and to the further fact that
the master of the Lee, with his previously
prepared assistance, was enabled to ham
die his boat more speedily at landings.
The Captain OF the Natchez. whatever
was his intention as TO racing, thought
that his boat was the fastest under al
most any condition. For this reason he
had not made particular preparation as
to taking on fuel, while the Lee had sent
the Pargoud, very fast boat, a week
ahead with cargo Of dry pine. When the
lee reached this fuel boat it did not stop
to take it on, but ran alongside, and while
both boats were tearing up the river the
light wood was thrown over the rail to
the racer.
Nearly every minute of the race found
the boats in sight of each other. The
passengers on the Natchez were wild
with excitement and made all manner of
offers to Capt. feathers if he would light
en- his boat and take extra means to win
the race. Both vessels were brilliantly
lighted at night and, with their stream
ers of black smoke and fire, made sight
that was well calculated TO set the blood
boiling. Before the boats reached Cairo.
which was originally set as the end of the
race, the Lee was stripped OF her windows
to allow a free circula ton of air and the
wheel-house had been robbed of its
boards in order that the weight might be
reduced and the resistance be taken away.
II am not running in this river to tear
up my boat" said Capt. feathers to a
patron. II am here to carry passengers,
and 1 am doing it,
By the time the boats reached Cairo the
Natchez had lost an hour in repairs in
her pumps. and the Lee had had a SINH
lar accident, but so much time was not
of the excellent equipment that the boat
carried.
1t was found at Cairo that the iii
terest was so intense that it would be
profitable for the boats to continue to st
Louis, where the hotels ard public places
were alive with people who talked of
nothing else. When the mouth of the
Ohio River was reached a number of
boats from st. Louis and CINCINNATI were
on hand with a large number of passen-
gers who wanted to see the fleet boats
pass. The Idlewild, then the fastest boat
on the lower Ohio River, came up along
side of the Lee and asked to be allowed to
get a few passengers aboard the racer.
The Captain consented, but it was found
that the Idlewsld could not keep up with
the Lee, and until the engines of the lat
ter were stopped a line could not be made
fast.
The levees of all the landings were
jammed with excited humanity, each of
the big boats having about an equal num-
Der of friends in the towns.
Both boats reached st. Louis on the
morning of July 4, the Lee in the lead.
The race ended at a point opposite JEFF
about three miles south of st. Louis, but
there was no letting down of steam until
the vessels had tied up at the wharf
which was black with the widest mob
that was ever seen there. That night
there was a banquet given to the two
at the Southern Hotel. Good
that the two boatmen had not
been on good terms previously. The next
day Capt. feathers and Capt. Cannon
were seen on the floor of the Merchants
Exchange. Mary Curtis Lee, daughter
of Gen. Robert L. Lee, was leaning on the
arm of Capt. Cannon. and as the pair
came down the grand stairway COM
mittee presented an excellent painting
of the Lee, under full steam to the young
lady.
An odd feature of the famous contest
is that neither captain had a dollar wa
gered on the result. Capt. Cannon died
at his home in Kentucky in 1852 at the age
of siXty-three. Capt. feathers is still alive |
in New Orleans. but he is away from the |
river for life Many members of his fami- |
~ are still heavy owners.