Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1908-02-19
the PASSENGER
WAS ON time
Distinction Won by a Florida
Cracker.

New IOIk lOI q DdOJ hloSs
1.-THE father, who was to sail for
Europe, saw the child's outstretched
arms, rushed down the gang plank,
gave the little one hug and a kiss
and would have missed getting aboard
/ if the men at the tackles had not held
the plank suspended for him while
you could count ten. The story"
continued the man, smiling, remind
ed me of the holding of 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 Off
Charleston when that city was partly
wrecked by earthquake. At that sea-
son of the year. when some of 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
I 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 OF
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 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
We'll, 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-five
miles north of Palatka typical
Cracker from back in the pine woods,
carrying 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
"'The City of Palatka will be at
this landing on her way to New York
at o'clock tomorrow morning. Be
here then, and you will get aboard all
right"
But maybe you'll get here and 60
on before that, and | won't git to
York said the Cracker.
"'You be here at O'clock said the
captain and you won't get left
The next morning at about 7
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 began
roaring of the ships steam gong
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 gong
sounding. The passengers, many of
them well to do Northerners bound
I'D from their winter homes, began
to talk as to the cause Of the delay.
lone explanation had it that Pierre
Iori1lard had telegraphed from down
the river. offering a large sum to have
the vessel held till he could come up
in his steam yacht and take passage
for New York
"At about three minutes before
o'clock there was seen coming leisure
" down the pier two wheeled cart
drawn by gray mule. On the bot
tom boards of the cart, with her back
toward the mule, sat a Cracker wo-
rman in a calico gown and a checkered
DIN gham sunbonnet, and with her
feet hanging over the rear OF the
cart
an the cart was black oilcloth
satchel and astride the gray mule was
Cracker man. AT the head Of the
nier he leisurely alighted, took the
satchel from the cart and said, Coed
by. Mandy to his wife
"As he was going up the gangplan4'
With his Big silver watch in his hand
he gpied Capt. 'vogel, who had beer
walking the bridge for more than hal
! an hour with an untranslatable l0ol
/ he face. and hailed him with: