The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01
RIVER GYPS|ES
OF THE WEST
Strange People Who Live in
River Boats
THEY ESCAPE ALL TAXES
Couple of Mississippi River states
Are Again Asitating the Question
of This Immunity From state
Burden Sharing
THEY ESCAPE ALL TAXES


From the New York SUM-
Recent news dispatches said that a
couple Of the Mississippi valley states are
again agite.ting the question of taxing
the houseboats found in their waters.
Every once in a while the question is
brought up in some state, but 1t always
ends in the houseboat man winning, FOR
when one state gets too hot for him all
he has to do is to slip his cable and float
away to a shore where the authorities do
not lother to collect taxes from man
whose home is upon the waters.
About 1901 Kentucky imposed a license
fee of s.. 80 on all households, with the re-
| ouire,nents that the name and address OF
| the owner and the date the license eX-
| pired be exposed on the boat in con-
| spicuous place. This measure was intend
| ed more as a police regulation than any
| thing else. as the more lawless OF the
| river gyIsies had become bold IN tneif
| dnpredations upon other peoples prop
erty. The houseboat men fought the law
on the ground that the Ohio being a
navihapIe stream the commerce upon il
cannot be hampered by state taxes. The
| law was very laxy enforced, however
and 10 cases were ever pusheo "
| fnal decision.
The houseboats are usually scoWs OF
natboats about 20 feet long by 10 or II
| feet wide roughly constructed of two-incn
| blanks spiked together and caulked with
| oakum and rags and the seams made
| water-tight with pitch or tar. small
| low Eouse is built upon the boat and COW
| at 1x n
| ing a cockpit or else a raised platform
at each epo from which the crew work
| tie sweeps or oars when they are the
means of propulsion used.
| The Ecuse is divided off into from one
to five rooms, depending upon the size OF
| the family and the size of the boat
| While many are cheaply constructed
| others are equal to a well appointed land
| cottage In many instances rough bunlxs
| or berths are constructed on the sides
| for sleeping quarters. cooking stove Is
| set up in the house and its sheet Iron
| pire projecting through the roof takes
| the place of chimney. Some of the boats
are operated by power.
The better class are well equipped with
furniture, a few even having organs and
other musical instruments, but OF recent
years the graphophone and phonograph
have teen the most popular of musical
moored together the crews usually en-
tertain each other in the evenings by
each in turn placing the instruments on
tho roof OF the boat and playing their en-
tire repertoire,
The crews of these shanty boats, as
they are locally called, are well named
river gypsies, as they are water no.
MAIDS. Today they may be found tied
| UP at Wheeling. w. Va, couple of
weeks later they may be at Portsmouth,
| o.: q little later at Louisville, then at
Cairo, IL, whence they float out into
and down the Mississippi, stopping on the
| way at New Madrid, Mo-; Memphis,
Tenn; Natchez and Vicksburg. Miss, and
Baton Rouge and Bayou Sara, La, wind
ing up finally at New Orleans. There the
boat is solo and the owner and his family
return to the Ohio by steamer, to repeat
the trip again the next year.
There is a fascination about the life
which canno. be appreciated unless you
have experienced it. The houseboat dwell
e.s are not stifed by convention, for such
conventions as they have are of home
manufacture; they pay no rent or taxes,
and above all their life is utterly without
responsibility
The shanty boat folks come from all
stages OF society Many are young mar
rieu couples just starting out In life
and hoping in a few years to acquire
enough of this worlds goods to enable
them to settle down q land. Workmen
in manufacturing Establishments located
in the river towns live on, the water in
o, der to save taxes and rent. few in
valds seek health outdoors in this fash
ion, and there are some plain tramps who
have no higher ambition in life than to
get through it with the least possible ex-
ertion.
Among the tramps are found the riff
raft oe the river, whose lawless practices
have caused them to be dreaded by
shore people and the better class of
shanty boatmen. Most of their time,
when they are not stealing, eating, drink
ing or sleeping, is spent in playing cut
throat euchre, of which they are inor-
dinately fond. Quarrels are of frequent
occurrence during these games and some
times a murder Is hidden by the waters of
the muddy rivers.
Many of the tramps boats are run down
by steamers in the night, owing to all
the crew being drunk or asleep and
no light being shown. Many are wrecked
on srags or the sharp top of a bob saw
yer. The latter Is a tree with its roots
held in the river bottom by the sand and
mud, and its broken top bobbing up and
down with the undulations of the cur
rent. 1t gets It's name from tHe DoDDln8
and saving motions impaired to it by the
water.
Most OF the shanty boats are af1oat in
the rivers being: moored to the bank with
gangplanIl running to shore. Others,
generally the cider boats and those not
In good condition, are beached in u fav-
orable spot during high water, and after
the waters recede are propped level with
tiniers and driftwood.
Sometimes they are moored few rods
up the mouths of small streams, being
half hidden by willows and overhanging
sycamores. The greater part of them
are gathered near the towns and cities.
On the Clio river the favorite spots are
at Wheeling, W. Va; near Cincinnati, at
Louisville. and Paducah. Ky., and Cairo,
III. tilet
On the Mississippi, river they congre-
gate opposite St. Louis at Cape Girar-
deau, and in Missouri opposite where the
Ohio enters the Mississippi; Hickman,
Ky; New Madrid. Mo-; Memphis, Tenn.
and hatcher; and Vicksburg, Miss. II
has been estimated that on the Ohio and
Mississippi rivers and their tributaries,
exclusive or the Missouri, the number of
shanty bos.is is in excess of 1000 Estl-
ma ting tDree persons to boat, this would
make total Of over 1900 persons living
IL, such craft.
1t is as "A fisherman that the shanty
boat man shines, and many of them not
only catch enough fish to furnish SUBJ
sistonce for themselves, but also have a
surplus to barter with the shore jewellers
for land prove ilder. Black bass, German