The Republican journal., 1910-02-17
The C0Iburn Shoe Store


mice eats EN-. Very well, says she.
maybe dey dose. SO one mornin' arter
she come in unexpected like, an she see
dis boy, pie in he's mouf. So, says
she, 1 cotch dem little mice at last. have
l?'-an' from dat day, sir, dey call him
nothin' but Little Mice; an dat been SO
long dey done forgot his oder name, if ne
ever had any"
The porter on our boat was an exact
fac smile of Little Mice as portrayed
by Porte Crayon with pen and pencil,
and he was thus described at the time:
FHe is, indeed, mountain of flesh; his
round bullet-like head seems driven into
fat shoulders and his eyes are so deeply
imbedded in the surrounding flesh that it
it is only now and then that a twinkle
reveals their whereabouts.
Possibly this depression may interest
some of those who read the articles by
Porte Crayon more than half a century
ago.
This record was made Of the end of the
trip: Approaching the city (New Or
leans) the plantations are more numerous
and better cultivated. After passing
numbers of ships laying idle alongside
the levee we reached the steamer land
ing and stepped ashore under burning
SUM-
Charles Mackay, a Scotch poet, visited
this country in 1857 and made the trip by
boat from St. Louis to New Orleans, of
which he wrote an account in rhyme for
the Illustrated London News. He alb
breviated the name of the river because
he could not find rhyme fer the full
word. Here is the closing verse, which
is very realistic:
On the seventh day morning we entered New
Orleans,
The joyous Crescent City'-a Queen among
the Queens;
And saw her pleasant harbor alive with taper
ing spars.
With "union jacks" from England, and the
Haunting "stripes and stars
And all her swarming Levee, for miles upon
BuzZing, humming, ringing with Trades inces-
SAINT war.
With negroes hosting hogsheads, and casks of
pork and oil,
Or rolling bales of cotton and singing at their
toll;
And downwards widening dovnwards - the
broad majestic river,
Hasting not, nor lingering, but rolling on for
ever.
And here from travel resting, in soft ambrosial
hours,
We plucked the growing orange and gathered
summer flowers
And thanked our trusty captain-our pilot
and our ship
For bearing US III safety down the Mississip.
A description of the passenger and
freight boats of that day may be of in
terest. The boats plying on the smaller
rivers, and some of those on the Missis-
sippi, were stern wheelers, but the larger
boats were side-wheelers. The machinery
was on the main deck, which was also
the freight deck, with a space open at
the bow where the gang plank was used
for passengers and where freight was
taken aboard. Fifteen or more feet
above the main deck was the saloon
deck, which extended to the stern. There
were staterooms on each side and outside
of the staterooms deck space called
the guards, whe-e passengers could sit.
Above the saloon deck ;:-.a:es house called
the Texas, in which We're the officers
rooms, and on top of that, just aft Of the
two lofty smokestacks, was the pilot
house. In ascending to the saloon deck
you came, when about half way up, to
landing out of which opened the porter's
room, and from here the stairway branch
ed right and left. On one side of the
saloon as you entered, heading the tier
Of staterooms on that side, was the office
and on the opposite side the bar. The
barkeepers wore the finest of linen, with
clothing of the most fashionable texture
and cut and diamonds flashed from their
shirt fronts and their hands. The river
men generally were given to diamonds
and fine clothes. The after end of the
saloon, although not divided off, was the
ladies' cabin, and the staterooms at that
end were assigned to ladies and to fami-
lies. AS all the help on these boats were
colored it goes without the saying that !
there was music, both vocal and instru-
mental; and lots of it. In the evening
there would be dancing to the music of
colored orchestra. The table was equal
TO that of the best hotels-indeed have
never eaten such pastry anywhere as
that served on Mississippi river boat.
Gambling in those days was recognized
on the southern and western
rivers. On every boat were professional
gamblers and games were in progress
day and night in the forward end of the
saloon and frequent tragedies resulted.
Among the many fine steamers that
piled the waters of the Ohio and the
Mississippi in those days the steamer
Pacific was in the front rank, and Har-
per's Weekly published picture of her,
with the following description: