The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-31
NOVEL DUEL AROSE ON B|G STEAMBOAT How Prussian and HidalgO
 Fought it Out 2 QUEENS ON BOARD Little Captain Had Worrisome Voyage Up the Missouri, But Proved
 Equal to the
 Occasion
2 QUEENS ON BOARD

| A trim, clean cut, side wheel Sledmpode the most popular in the Missouri rive r trade, went out of commission so long ag l that not many river folks of the presen generation remember whether she wa 3 snagged and wrecked. burned to tn [ waters edge or pulled to pieces in tn
 boneyard.
 l She was not one of the floating pal l aces" so often written about in that day but she was always on time as nearlysa : it was possible for any craft in the Bii 3 Muddy to run with the clock, and wa t the best explained of anything that car f ried a jackstaff and rudder Her heal officer was a prince and diplomat t ? boot. When he stood on the forwart 3 deck giving his pilot signals he looked a : if he had been constructed on the spic am span lines of the white packet. He wa } short and alert His family was one O : that antebellum cult that gave St, boui' : it's famous social prestige.
 When river travel was an event { steamer seldom left port without having
 at least one fair passenger who became } the queen of the voyage. She became such by reason of the attention bestowed | by the captain. She had to be fair o
 face. but the chief requisite was persona grace. When she appeared at the cap
 tain's right at the table the question wa: ! settled. The distinction carried with i
 as many extras as could be given with
 out sighting the rights of others. Actua
 rivalry with dramatic incidents sometimes
 occurred on the same trip.
 Before the steamer turned her wheels ir
 the waters on one of her trips the dough-
 ty captain heard that two queens were on his hands. IL did not simplify the sit uation that the queens were antithetical. The diplomatic training of the captain came into play at the start. The beauties were aternated at the table. She who sat fas lie ...-i.. 1.fe 1skff 1 at the next dinner. One was peerless in
 song. The other was a mistress in the art of recitation. It was at the little com- l mander's request that each in her spe- 1 cialty entertained all who could be crowd l ed into the ladies' cabin later in the | evening. The skllful arrangement was not noticed by the travellers, but the crew l that had the privilege of the cabins not only saw, but understood, for never be- fore had they seen the gallant head of the steamer with two rivals on the same trip. All was going well. Even the deckhand W ho sounded the stage of the water when called to that duty by the pilots bell cried out his quarter less twain" in melodi- ous key.
 When the steamer backed out on the second day of the voyage from her land
 ing at Herman-one of the earliest dis tinctly German settlements in the west, and it remains so to this day in customs and architecture-there was a new pas senger on board. He was young Prus- sian. His bearing quickly indicated that he was in the service of his Emperor. A foreign uniform in that part of the coun- try at that time was so unusual that it caused a flutter. He was given quarters in the Texas, the uppermost structure Of the steamboats of western rivers. The captain satisfied with the rank and the standing of the Prussian, presented him to the two queens The count immediate ly showed his preference to the dark browed beauty of the southland. The cap tain was pleased to be relieved in part of playing cavalier to his double charge.
 The tie up at Boonyille brought on board another passenger. He was of the Indian type. His commanding manner caused the hands on the bow and even the bluff mate to stand aside until he passed up the grand stairway, and the mulatto who followed with his mastery baggage stepped with an air of conse- quence that showed he was the servant of a man who demanded attention, and knew how to accept it. He also was given quarters in the Texas. The cap tain knew him, and in his case no ere dentials were necessary. That night TIidalgo and Heidelberg, named by the first clerk. met after dinner in the ladies'
 cabin, and the assemblage looked on as | the four types, two of fascinating wom-
 anhood, two representatives of manli' ness and culture met under the prismatic chandeliers that played tinkling music | to the vibrations of the natty little
 steamer. The fine old captain stood witb I folded hands on the dividing line of the
 two cabins and remarked to his clerk,
 There will be trouble before we get to our destination"
 l The next night was starlit. The sparks l from the steamers black smokestaclS- flew backward like swarm of frefies and fell into the waters that were up- turned to foam from the revolutions of the wheels and glistened in the simmer of new moon. The captain piped his musicians aloft and there the minuet was danced on the hurricane deck. It must be admitted that in the early times the southerner excelled in the movements | that make the minuet the dance of the court On this night the tropical types
 were the favorites. The Prussian, unac- customed to the conventionalites of the
 new country, showed resentment when l his parties failed to receive the same ad- mration that was enthusiastically given to | the Queen of the South. There was no attempt to soothe the Prussan's irrita- | ton, and he sent a challenge to the | Hidalgo
 The watchful captain kept pace with all 1 that was transpiring. His sleeplessness | l CT. even in that conservative times-a | duel on the hurricane deck abaft the wheelhouses Personally the captain
 would have enjoyed witnessing meet
 where wounded honor sought satisfaction,
 but the reputation of his craft was more | than personal qualification. He sum moned the seconds to his quarters and
 informed them that if the proposed meet 1 ling was held he would call up his roust-
 abouts, seize the principals and all con- | cerned and pitch them overheard. The l Hidalgo saw the humor of the possibil- l lty and thought he would enjoy it. but | the Prussian was so shocked that ne l sent word to the captain that if such a termination followed he would appeal to l the emporer The captain was not l alarmed by the threat but he wished to 1 appease the Prussian while he was hls l passenger A conference was called and 1 the commander of the steamer submitted l a proposition that had the virtue or pe- 1 ing so unique that it was agreed to. ] The steamer would the next day round
 a bend off which stretched great ex- panse of sand bar. The bar was the rendez- | vous of wild geese and brant every spring, | They stopped in innumerable fiocks that
 were the wonder of new travellers in the
 west. The captain informed his bel,g- erent party that It was customary at the
 season then at hand for steamers to slow down at the bar and give sports men on l board a chance at the hocks, With the 1 understanding that all game brought
 down must be served to passengers. He
 proposed to slow down, lower the yawl