The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-07-12

n beautiful lake, the green banks mingiing
! and interlocking until. on the instant. the
| eye loses certainty as TO which is Kentucky
and where lies Indiana. Like a dream
island. the Ions, green. towering island
which fronts Jacksonville passes TO the
left; the ferry moves on under the great
piers OF the bridge. whose lace-like shadows
play on the sunny water and drift slowly
over the ferry's deck. Midway the stream
the mellow ferry whistle-''the voice of the
story of steam"-arises and floats away to
the echo. s~aluting the other ferry. from
Louisville bound. THE City Of Jeners5a-
Vile" II, too. Is a river poem in Eelft
blue and white. with loaded wagons 10 the
fore. caoin travellers in the rear. and a few
fresh-air patrons on it's delightful upper
deck. AS the "Hite" bumps gently at the
Louisville wharf. a long and exquisite
mathematician painting spreads out be-
fore the gaze-the fair river In a blue and
silver transformation under a sunny blue
sky: and the blue. blue hills of Indiana
melting away into an endless silvery dis
lance.
AT the Louisville wharf the half-holiday
air of the trip vanishes and business seems
TO begin. People stream up the .cobble-
stones. and people stream down; but no
body ''hustles"-the Southern climate is
against il. In paraphrase of the old story:
ANY simpleton can make a living up
| North, but it takes a smart man to make
a living down South" Loaded butcher wag-
ons, fenced high. struggle up the bank; hay
wagons wabble and lumber off the ferry;
grocery-wagons and other wagons rattle
4 Ouor tba v.on1 climb the hill Smoky
Louisville presents a busy river front of
tall brick buildings and towering elevators;
terraces of trains are In the foreground
yellow trains on the upper ~trestles and red
trains on the ground floor. A black crust
of coal barges Is at the waters edge; and
coal carts, gay with yellow and black sun
umbrellas, string picturesquely to and fro.
High in the air swing the big iron carriers
OF the sand elevators. and barges Of sand
lie along the bank. Huge heaps of dull
crimson brick are being carted up TO town,
and beyond the pink wharf of the big blue
and white excursion steamer Columbia
brood the old red-hooded wharves of the
~up-and-down river packet boats. Another
notable color touch along the bank is a
bright yellow office which fiaunts a bright
pink awning. Wagons are rafting down
to the ferry for the return trip, and people
jostling down the stone walk. Always there
is a stout man with two valises who gets
left, even when he runs at the tap of the
boat bell-oh, the unparalleled melody of a
bell upon the w~ater-and now and then a
stout colored lady in bright red frock and
purple hat has to jump sidewise with amaz-
ing agility over the powders when the
warning bell is heard. Three sun-bonneted
colored women and "a raggedy man." with
baskets and fishing poles, hurry on the
ferry to fish from the coal barges on the
quieter Indiana side; and the boat slides out
again. A study of commodity interchange
between Indiana and Kentucky is not with
out interest. Kentucky wagons bring to In
diana loads of watermelons. ice, salt, beer
kegs, barrels and boxes of groceries,; while
Indiana sends milk TO Louisville, pathetic
pork and veal on the hoof, and hay, hay,
hay-always hay. Seven loads of hay cross
ing the ferry in one morning attracts spe-
cial attention.; and, to an aged colored man
who is on the upper deck a query is pro-
pounded: Where does all this hay go?"
up to de hay market" he answers
docs it always sell?"
'Nev' seen a load come back in nv life.
an I've done watched dis OF river ev' since
1 bin born.
I'm Loosville," the old man goes on
"hosses jes' materially eats hay all night;
yes'm dey does. Dey couldn' wuck if dey
didn'-no'm. dey couldn'. Kaintuck bosses
liz pow'rful hay-eaters, de sho'ly iz-yes'm.
Dey STAINS up to hay all night"
''Oh," said the questioner, and that is
where you get your fine Kentucky horses,
is 1t? You feed them on Indiana hay"
"Yes'm-yes'm," the old man agreed; re-
luctantly. however, and with a feeble smile.
Notwithstanding the semi-deserted condi-
ton of the upper deck it has its quota of in
teresting human experience. Here lies,
seemingly almost undiscovered, a famous
courting-ground for summer lovers; a coun-
try lass and lad are first numbered among
those who have found it. They sit
~awkwardly near and yet apart, through
several blissful. albeit embarrassed round
trips. An ~undisguised widower, too-a tall
slouch-hatted Kentucky widower with a
before-the-war m~ustache-brings with him
to this airy bower a bright young vision
of a cheerfully resigned girl. Two portly
middle-aged colored lovers come, eat pea
nuts. giggle and sigh together for a happy
ia hOaA tiN ohASA ONAO" eHN oNoAiS. ~
bare-headed. b~are-legged, towzly street
child in a ragged red calico frock, equipped,
however, with an old umbrella and a bag
of peanuts, makes the brightest spot on
this wind-swept river playground. She
stares disapprovingly at a fretful small
Louisville boy who cannot be happy and
entertained with a mother, two aunts and
a whole ferry-cabin at his disposal for the
morning. AS the ferry glides over and back
with but few minutes rest at the wharves
the river life forms another diverting chap
ter. Upstream-mere black spots on the
swift but gentle water-skifs float or drift,
with fishermen hanging over the bow or
standing to least a line" A little green
and white launch-"The Kentucky with
a gigantic shrieking whistle, sputters and
toots under the bridge with a pleasure
party. TIL blue and white excursion boat
with flags flying is off early for an all-day
picnic 10 Fern Grove" its decks black
and white. red and blue, with men, women
and children. Colonies of house boats-red,
blue, green, white or implanted, new or
old. battered or fresh, on land or water
cluster along before Louisville, or string
out SfnCl of the fSla.1 to- NfooIya.