The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1906-05-19

wrinkles few on his face.
My mother conducted a large wood
yeard and boat supply station on the
Missouri in Franklin county and, of
course, this involved plenty Of hard
work for me, even as lad, while at
the same time it brought me in close
contact with steamboating wanted to
ship on many a boat when opportuni-
ties were offerd m, but my mothr was
averse to my going into the business,
SO that it was not until we began to
lease our slaves to steamboat captains
as roustabouts during the winter
months when work was slack on the
plantation that the way was opened up.
l was sent along to collet the wages
due the niggers and also to see that
they didn't effect an escape, a common
enough thing in those days under thise
circumstances. was about Is at the
time, and as many of the pilots on the
| boats were acquainted with me it
| wasn't long before 1 was in the pilot
house learning the rudiments of the
calling. Twi years of this taught me
enough, and as / was thoroughly fami.
| liar with the lower Missouri and Usage
rivers captains of vessels often solicit-
ed my services as watch pilot for a
single trip, for boats were many in
| those days and pilots not so numerous.
often l would receive $500 for single
| trip of this sort, and when the Daniel
Hillman, in charge of old Capt. Stops,
came limping along one night in des-
perate need of a pilot for the Usage, 1
! shipped, and have been in the business
permanently ever since.
Most of my early work was on the
Mis- 'souri, taking out boats chartered
by the American fur company to carry
supplies and bring back furs from their
various stations. The up trip con-
sumed from sixty to ninety days, that
| down from ten to thirty, so that it was
rare for a boat to make more than one
trip in season, but the profits on furs
were enormous and the pay of the boat
crews substantial in consequence. In
dependence was the outpost of civili-
cation on the river, and all the cities
now on the river beyond that were re-
presented only by wilderness. Near
what is now Kansas City there was
a small station called Weetport land
ing, but the site of the city proper was
occupied by big Indian encampment
almost continually, while across the
river hordes of timber wolves howled
an accompaniment every night to the
beating of tomtons in the Indian camp,
st. Jaseph was represented by an
other small station called Blacksnake
and many of the other fourishing cities
now on the banks Of the Missouri
there was nothing at all The big trad
ing stations were Quintaro, Kickapoo
and Summer and these were composed
of large brick and stone buildings,
with handsome shops and residences,
all of which gave those of us who
dreamed civilization would ever stretch
out so far cause to believe they would
eventually crystalize into prosperous
towns, but despite their seeming per-
manency the buildings of the posts
have disappeared; not a trace remains
to tell Of their whereabouts and corn
fields occupy their sites.
Going up the Missouri in those days,
though we invariably had as many as
200 or 800 trappers and fur traders on
board, we seldom carried much of
supply Of provisions, depending alto
gether upon the country for subsistence
and the country never failed us. Buff
falo were so plentiful that practically
every day we would encounter herds
numbering thousands engaged in swim
ing the river. On such occasions if We
needed meat we would steam up to the
edge of the herd, grapple likely liik-
ing animal by the horns and with the
aid of a derrick, swing him up out of
the water and over the boat and STAY
him. Half dozen could easily be cap
tured in this way within the space of
twenty or thirty minutes, and this
would give us sufficient food for the
boat for week When we need fuel
we simply tied up at the bank, sent
ashore a party of woodcutters and had
all we wanted In about an hour or so.
But times have changed since then and
the Missouri River trade isn't even a
skeleton of what it was in those days,
when as many as 300 boats were engag-
ed in serving it.
81 had charge of the Banner State,
which carried the party Of surveyors
who laid out the city Of Omaha in
1858 and was in charge of the New
Lucy when it was chartered for SIM
liar purpose with regard to Leaven-
worth, in 1856. At both sites none of us
though much of the prospects of the
proposed ventures, and joked and
laughed, surveyors and all, over the
thing. At Omaha l remember distinct
ly sitting with the captain of the boat
and remarking that they were destroy
ing a mighty fine field. yes, answered
the captain doing more harm than
good We might have bought all that
now constitutes Omaha for couple of
thousand dollars that day, but we
didn't, and at II I'm still running on
the river as a consequence. 1 guess I'd
be at the old occupation just the same
though, whether l owned Omaha or not.
for I'm not very comfortable except
when I'm in the pilot house, and then
I'm at home"
Capt. Horace Bixby, who is now pilot
on the United States steamboat Wright
is rs years old and began his career as
a pilot in 1S45 on the Olivia, plying up
the Kanawha River out of Cincinnati
In 184S he entered the New Orleans and
Cincinnati trade, and four years later
began to run the big boats plying be-