The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-07-22
SUPERSTITION OF
THE RIVER MEN
Few Are Exempt from Some
Form of 1t
SOME STORIES ARE TOLD
Strange Freaks Of the old Mississippi
and How Two Pilots Had Their
Dying Wishes Granted.
Murder Prevented.
SOME STORIES ARE TOLD

From the st. Louis Globe Democrat
From the admiral on man-o'-war to
the roustabout on Mississippi steamer.
there is scarcely a man on the water who
is without the vein of superstition. Any
old tar you might chance to pick up
could tell you stories from his personal
experience that would convince you of
the Intervention of supernatural forces.
Phantom ships that presage disaster,
lights that glow suddenly on the masts,
and dreams that have been fulfilled to
there is not a negro roustabout on the
river that could be chained to boat
after the rats had left her.
Only few years ago when one of the
New Orleans packets was making a land
ing a little way below st. Louis, moss
backed gray whiskered rat marched
pompously up the gangplank, paused and
lifted himself on his hind legs, emitting
a peculiar squeal, and then scurried up
to the bank In five minutes there was
consideration on the lower deck, and the
mate was compelled to use his axe to
prevent all his men from leaving him.
That rat, they declared, was the old man
of the boat. They all knew him.
The thing that happened that night
would in all probability have happened
just the same if Mr. Rat had made the
journey as usual. So at least the rational
land lubber would say. The river was
high and the pilot. relieved of the nee
essity of picking a narrow channel -
difficulty in keeping out of the way of
driftwood, for there must always be some
thing to worry the man at the wheel. To-
ward morning, when the surface of the
stream looked as innocent as a babe. sud
denly the prov of the vessel struck
something. There was a ripping sound, a
terrific shock and for a few minutes it
seemed that the boat was seized with a
swamp chill She had run into a sub
merged snag and had torn a hole in her
hull through which you could have thrown
a mule.
All the roustabouts said Il told you
So that is, all those who were still cap
able of utterance No one was drowned
and before the end of the season the boat
was running again When the disaster
was found not to be so great after all
the friends of the old man declared they
knew it would not amount TO much, for
he would have taken all the rats with
him If the steamer had been doomed. He
only left in order to- escape the shock to
his nerves. .
Pilots Private Hoodoo.
The rat is common property with all
on board, but the pilot has his own pri-
vate hoodoo that is of much higher
order 1t is called the pilot house spectre.
and it looks very much like any other
self-respecting ghost. 1t never presents
itself directly in front of the pilot. pre-
ferring to occupy a position at his elbow
so that il can dodge around behind him
as he turns. on one occasion the spectre
was impersonated by a being who was
still in the flesh, and 1t required the In
tervening of a vast concourse of gen.
iine spirits to save the pilot from greater
disaster than the real spectre had ever
threatened It happened opposite Fort
Pillow, down the river. an old stone fort
that was made memorable by the mas
sacre OF a whole regiment of negro sol
diers during the war.
At certain seasons of the year lights
are seen fitting about in the marshy
ground below the fort, and during the
day a veil of smoke hugs the earth.
Jack Written had studAd physical geog-
raphy and consequently knew all about
marsh lights and the tendency of smoke
to collect IN damp ravines, so the ghosts
of Fort Pillow presented no terror to
him. One night he was alone In the
dark wheelhouse, approaching the ac-
cursed spot. when he felt that there was
some one with him. He was sure he
had seen queer shape moving noiseless-
ly about. Like the orthodox spectre 1t
kept itself carefully out of his range of
vision. Suddenly he turned and leaped
aside. not a moment too soon, for at
hi oh etA htrrl It.of In,
the act of lifting a corn knife With
that presence of mind that comes from
long years OF training, the pilot shouted;
MY God, there after us! Run for
your lifel
With q howl of terror the would be
assassin dropped his crude weapon and
plunged headlong down the narrow stairs
landing in frightened heap on the hur-
ricane deck. An officer, rushing out of
his apartment in the texas, seized him
and asked what he meant by raising
such a disturbance.
"Lemme go, for de Lawd's sake Dey's
after mel Doan you see de niggah reg
mint a-comin' over de water?" And sure
enough, there in the ravine were the
ghosts of the massacred negroes execut-
ing their lantern dance.
A little cross-questioning revealed the
fact that the roustabout had been hired
to murder the pilot and wreck the boat
on the rocks of Fort Pillow and 1t was
due to his superstition that passengers
and cargo reached st. Louis in safety.
Pathetic Story Told.
There Is one story the old rivermen tell
that has in 1t an element of mysticism
that is pathetcally beautiful. The heroes
are VIII Cribbin and Sam Bowen, init
mate friends of Mark Twain in the davs
when he was ''a-learnin' the river" Those
of us who have followed the work of the
river commission know of the
sluggish old rivers tendency to import a
farm from the banks Of the Missouri.
carry It down stream a few miles and
then dump 1t into the first convenient
deep water pool. A dam having been
thus formed, more sand Is piled around
it until a towhead is constructed. Soon
a crop of willows spring up. and the
towhead is transformed into an island
T., d,,a tft,oo fha island 10 uarna6 or mum,