The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-06-12

iThere want nothin' said to him, though till we came to the mouth O the St. Francis river, an some on 'em that knoWed the channel seen t the old man were a turnin' his boat off to the west, like he were goin' up the St Francis. The capnn of boat was somebody them days an 'twan't no triflin' matter to call him to question, no matter what he did.
 "There was five or six passengers, though they was gettin' sore, an they sort O braced up an says to him t they was thinlkin' O goin' down to New Or leans an'leans. an if he didn't mind they'd ruther be goin' along, stead O foolin' round lookin' fir people to pick up outen the water.
 Old Man Didn't Say Much.
 ''rhe old man, he didn't say much, but what he did say was like 1t come outen a gun
 My daughter an her two little ones was drowned into the flood last year. he says, an if there's any other mans daughter in trouble round here, an can get to her in time he says, I'm gon' to be there, if I never get this boat no fur ther along. If there's anybody aboard that's too much in a hurry to go along, he c'n try the walkin' or I'll sell him skiff an he c'n paddle.
 "Well, there want no more kicxin'. Them t was dissatisfied seen 'twa'n't no
 
 shamed O therselves. too.
 There was consid' able poker on that trip, too. There want no extra heavy game on. but thered been tol' able steady playin' f'r the better part of a week, bein t there was eight or ten p'fession- als aboard an maybe a hundred passen- gers, not countin' fifteen or twenty la dies as was comin' down the river with their husbands. Them that playey was gettin all they wanted in tn way O ex- citement an the gamblers was don' tol- 'ble we'll in the way O wnnin's, but there hadn't been no scandal nor no row.
 "Thered been one thing did f were a little onusua1. The first time the cap'n stopped his boat long enough to pick up a man as was fioatin down on the roof of his barn, big Frank Hardy, t was busy gettin the money away i'm three Mem phis men, says, kind O sudden T mo- ton we make kitty fir the poor devil t has been picked up.'
 well there want no objection to that. an when they quit playin' that night Hardy handed the old man S34. tellin' him where 1t come from. an savin' t them that give the money d ruther the poor devil t was to get 1t wouldn't know where 1t comes from.
 kitty" for Each Survivor.
 It got talked about, though, an after that every time the old man d pick up a survivor there'd be kitty in one or two games. There was somepin' like thirty aboard by the time we got to the St Francis. an the old man was goin' right on piclSin 'em up.
 q recollect we went twenty-five miles straight west i'm Memphis, through the woods, to get a family O three t was Twin up tree. We got there just in time.
 II never knowed whether the old man had heerd of any p'ticular case up the St. Francis, but he peared to have tol' able clear notion O what he were doin', fir. long about four hours ater we turned. we come to big storehouse t stood nigh about where the bank O the river had been, an on the roof O that storehOuse were a woman.
 "O' course, we took her off. an she told a hard luck story to make you cry. Pears there was some fifteen on em got to the storehouse when all the other buildins was swep away, an she was the ony woman. She an her husband had gone up to a sort O loft there was to sleep when 1t come night, an the others camped out on the main floor Then. long in the middle O the night some time there come a sort O wave. swashin through the house sudden an drawnded all them f was on the main floor. An the husband undertook to help some O them, and he got drownded his own self.
 well. that young " were as pretty as a picter bu to be kind o' stunned like. In our boat cried enough to make up. they took her off to their staterooms an fixed her up with clo'es an things, an there was four separate lsitties started for her inside O the next two hours. '"They played all night that night at two O the tables. an there must ha' been somepin' like s3G0 took up fir the widder at the four tables. Them that quit be- fore the old man turned in handed him their money. but when the others broke up. night 8 o'clock in the mornin'. Red Masters was chose a committee O one to hand over the money they had to the widder herself. if she was anywheres round. If she wasn't. he was to give it to the clerk for to hand over to the old man when he came out
 "Red" Was Crossroader. Red Masters was a crossroad gambler 1 i'm Missouri, t was knowd all up an down the river fir a bad man ever since I he took to the boats. There was them t said he cheated. but on'y two men had | said it to his face, an they never said | nothin' more about it-nor about nothin' | else.
 They did say, too that he were a | devil of man fir women. but there wa n | much to show that on the boats. When