Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-02-06
aNistellantous Readina.
THE MISSISSIPPI SWEEPSTAKES
Robert e. Lee Beat the Natchez in a
Race and Broke All Records.

Race and Broke All Records.
Did you ever hear man get enthu'
siastic when telling about a race
Well, when he gets through talking
this one will hold him for a while.
This is the race Mark Twain desig'
mated as the greatest ever run II
America. Foot racing and horse racing
, are all right in their way but none
Of them can hold with steam
boat racing-that is, steamboat rae
ing of the order of the kind the Nat
chez and the Robert E. Lee put on.
It was back in 1870 when the two
steamers left the levee at New Orleans
for st. Louis to win the Mississippi
river sweepstakes. The bets on each
side ran up into the hundreds OF
thousands.
For three days the Natchez and the
Lee was running almost neck and
neck, the Lee from to 80 minutes In
the lead. Finally the Lee plowe6
through the fog which the Natchez
pilots were unable to penetrate, and
| the Robert E. Lee unloaded at the st
Louis levee five hours ahead Of heI
| opponent.
The winner showed her nose under
| the wire just about a half an hour be-
fore noon on the Fourth Of July
Twenty thousand people were on the
banks watching her come in-the win
ners cheering and the losers paying
out great rolls Of green-backs.
A record trip Of the Natchez was the
immediate cause Of the race, although
the two boats had been rivals for sew
eral months. The Robert E. Lee, built
in 1866, had made quite a record fol
speed. Captain T. P. Leathers in 1858
built the Natchez. The boat was tout
ed as the fastest craft on the river
Early in 1870 it made the stream
run from New Orleans to st. Louis in
three days.
1t was the fastest run ever made
beating the record of the ]. M. White
by one hour and IL minutes. The ]. M
White established that record in 1874
Proud Of the achievement, Leathers
advertised his boat as the swiftest OF
them all. His advertising stung Cap
tain John w. Cannon, Of the Robert
E. Lee, and a challenge was issued for
race. Leathers accepted readily.
Accordingly the two boats lined up
at the New Orleans levee June 80.
They were to leave the water front at
5 p. M, or as soon after as they could
get under way. The Lee got the jump
on the Natchez and swung out into the
stream with her nose pointing north.
"a second to the good may win the
race" said Cannon as he boarded his
boat for the great race. A few min
utes after the Lee the Natchez was in
the stream sending her cloud OF smoke
to the sky. The Lee passed the st.
Mary's market at 5.04 p. m. The Nat
chez passed the same point exactly
three minutes later. Near the north
city limits Of New Orleans, it was
found the Natchez had gained eight
seconds on the Lee The fact was
telegraphed all over the country and
the odds in the betting for time were
two to one on the Natchez.
Among the river men who staked
hundreds of dollars on the outcome of
the race was Captain George Keith,
who died last May, according to Colo
mel Hunter Ben Jenkins, historian Of
the run. Keith bet $4OO on the Natchez
the day the race began. That night he
dreamed the Lee was going to win.
The next morning, with the papers
full of how the Natchez had gained
eight seconds on the Lee, Keith hedg-
ed and bet on the Lee. BY his second
days stroke he won $500 on the race.
Natchez was the first point to which
the boats raced. Everybody in town
was down at the river front watching
them come in. AS the boats came
around the bend they saw the Nat
chez swallowing the smoke Of the Lee.
It was a day of mourning for Nat
chez. The city had pair of elk horns
to deliver her namesake when she re-
turned winner Of the race. The horns
were mounted at the water front and
were in plain view from the pilot
house Of the Lee. AS the Robert E.
Lee steamed past Captain Cannon
shouted:
Lower those horns"
The horns were promptly lowered.
On the side of the Lee was a banner
bearing the inscription: "Shoo, fly,
don't bother me-"
A frantic old man on the shore went
into Mysteries as he read the sign and
heard the captain shout to lower the
horns Several bands were at the
wharf to play Here the Conquering
Hero Comes"
Captain Fred Voltz, now 76 years
old, was pilot on boat playing be-
tween New Orleans and Vicksburg.
This boat had 200 cords of pine knots
for delivery to the Lee. Voltz held his
boat alongside the Lee for ten miles
while the fuel was being loaded on
the racer.
After leaving Natchez, Vicksburg
was the next goal to race for, and the
Lee beat the Natchez there, showing a
gain in running time of Is minutes over
her rival. 1t was the end Of the first
day, the Lee passing Vicksburg wharf
at IS minutes to 6-according to the
Kouns record-on the afternoon Of
July /, and the Natchez passing at 8
minutes after 6. The Lee ran up along
the upper wharf-boat and discharged
a few passengers and started off, pick
ing up two coal floats in the river.
Coal beavers swarmed over them and
they were cast off, minus the coal, in
few minutes In doing all this the
Lee lost only eight minutes. The Nat
chez tried the same feat, but got one
of the barges across her bows and she
was delayed several minutes. The end
of the first full day Of the race closed
with the race still in the balance, but
with the Lee Is minutes in the lead.
The Lee was in Memphis at min
utes after IL the next night-the night
Of July 2. In the 35 hours since she
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