Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1907-01-19
THE PASSENGER
WAS ON time
Distinction Won by a Florida
Cracker.

"A Few days ago, SAID man,
read a good little newspaper story or
how one of the largest Atlantic liners
was held a moment at her pier In
New York for a baby's kiss.
1.-The father, who was to sail for
Europe. saw the child's outstretcheu
arms, rushed down the gang plank
gave the little one a hug and KISS
and would have missed getting aboard
If the men at the tackles had not held
the plank suspended for him whiie
you could count ten. The story,
continued the man, smiling, remind
ed me of the holding of a steamship
for three-quarters of an hour for one
steerage passenger.
1T was about the time OF the
Charleston earthquake. In those days
you went to Charleston from New
York by the vessels of the old Charles
ton line, and from there to Jackson
vile, Fla, and landings on the st.
Johns river as far up as Palatka by
trim little steamship, the City OF
Palatka. Capt. Leo Vogel was her
master.
He was at sea with his vessel on
Charleston when that city was partly
wrecked by earthquake. At that sea-
son of the year, when some or the
regular boats were laid off for their
summer repairs, the City of Palatka
made the entire trip to New YORK,
calling at Charleston each way. When
he arrived at New York just after the
earthquake Capt. Vogel gave a re-
porter an interesting story of how the
earthquake affected his vessel at sea.
1.-THE City of Palatka, by the way,
was perhaps the only steamship or
her time that made part of her regular
trip through four or five feet of mud.
This she did every time she crossed
the bar in the narrows OF the st.
Johns river just below Palatka.
"She was sold eventually for use on
the Pacific side, went around the
Horn and was burned a few years
later at some port, think, on Puget
Sound. Capt. Vogel afterward was
with the Clyde line as pilot for all
their Florida steamships over the dan
gerous St. Johns river bar at May
port By hustling back by rail from
Charleston to Jacksonville and vice
versa he managed to pilot every
steamship in the service in those days
across the bar going in and coming
out.
well, to get back to my story, one
afternoon when the City Of Palatka,
bound up the river, came along to the
Green Cove Spring landing, forty-1ve
miles north of Pal1tka typical
Cracker from back in the pine woods,
carrying a black oilcloth satchel.
started to board the vessel. On being
asked where he was going he allowed
he was bound for York
"He had been told, he said that the
ship would not make the Green Cove
Spring landing on coming down the
next morning and he reckoned he had
better get aboard now.
Capt Vogel overheard the talk and
said to the Cracker:
1.-The City of Palatka will be al
this landing on her way to New York
at o'clock tomorrow morning. BE
here then, and you will get aboard al
right"
"'But maybe you'll get here and &c
on before that, and l won't git tc
York. said the Cracker.
"'You be here at O'clock said the
captain, and you won't get left
1.-THE next morning at about
o'clock the City of Palatka rounded
the channel beacon off Green Cove
Spring, and in fifteen minutes was
alongside the landing. The Cracker
passenger was not among those wait
ing on the pier.
"He had not shown up when every
body and everything else that was
going north was aboard. Then begar
a roaring of the ships steam gonl
that resounded through the pine
, woods and woke up the owls in the
water oaks along shore.
For forty-five minutes the steam
: ship lay at the pier and kept her gonl
sounding. The passengers, many o
them we'll to do Northerners boun(
I'D from their winter homes, begal
to talk as to the cause of the delay
Zone explanation had it that Pierre
l Lorillard had telegraphed from dowi
l the river, offering large sum to hav,
t the vessel held till he could come VI
in his steam yacht and take passag,
[ for New York
) cat about three minutes before
= o'clock there was seen coming leislre
" down the pier two wheeled car
!. drawn by a gray mule. On the bot
tom boards of the cart, with her bacl
D toward the mule, sat Cracker VIC
1 man in a calico gown and a checkere,
bingham sunbonnet, and with be
z feet hanging over the rear Of tn
cart.
9 'In the cart was black oilclotl
satchel and astride the gray mule wa
a Cracker man. At the head of TIL