The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

| The following is the third of the series of articles entitled, Floating Palaces of the Alabama or de Good Old Times in Dixie" written years ago by the late Judge Fleetwood Foster who for years was editor of the Wilcox Banner The third installment fol- lows:
 Having closed our last reminiscent sketch with incidents in the lives of Jesse J. Cox and Robert Otis, We now turn to the handsome boats whose names are inseparably connected with 1 theirs. The Messenger, before spoken of. was the first boat with elaborate and ornamental smoke stacks, and hay ing an immense brass globe surmount- ing her pilot house, upon which was perched a massive eagle with out stretched pinions She was the grand est of all the fleet plying the Alabama waters and right royalty did she reign as queen. If l am not mistaken she was built in and brought from the west by Capt. J. T. May and intended for the Warrior river trade-a trade loyal to Mobile and passing through the garden spot of Alabama, com manded some of the finest packets, not only to transport the heavy freight traffic. but also to accommodate the aristocratic families of Tuscaloosa. sumter, Greene, Marengo and the coun- l ties below.
 By some trade Cox became possessed of this monarch of all she surveyed. and the good and reliable boat Fash ion was used in exchange by Captain May for service on the Black Warrior | The Messenger was rather stout Tor her height and breadth, her boiler deck being somewhat cramped to give cabin accommodation to a great pas senger traffic, but with her powerful machinery she was dangerous antag- onist to the champions of either river and was until the advent of the 'St Nicholas the regular Tuesday night packet to Montgomery and had cot ton capacity of 2000 bales.
 Captain Otis then had command of the 'Cuba the most noted racer that ever backed out of our gulf port Her capacity was small (not over 17OO paies) her guards, amidships, not over three feet above the level of the river; her plain tall chimneys, raked back. a perfect model of hull and cabin, she had the dash of our modern cruisers, lyet carried the speed of a torpedo boat A lighting craft with a fighting crew, she was known far and wide as terror to the opposition Often boats
 
 around with the idea of defeating this noble racer. With perfect working ma chInery, engines that made no noisy escape and wheels that seemed to re- volve with little center cutch, her sharp brow parted the water sending the standing streams above the nose and she sped onward without apparent effort On one occasion we saw some half dozen steamers let go their lines about the same time, and this craft, confident of her powers, backed below | the last and when all was strengthened out for the quarter stretch the throt- l tie of the Cuba was pulled open and she swept through the ranks as though they were moored to the wharf
 l Just above Mobile was a large tim Der outfit located in sight of Mobile river on Chicasavogue creek, owned and operated by the Meaher Bros Burns, Jim and Tim--than whom three more deserving, energetic and honest Irishmen never turned hand in the upbuilding of the gulf city They es- tablished a ship yard in connection with their great lumber interest and had long fought for the rich spells of the Alabama river Burns was the captain on deck, Jim looked after the 1 practical workings of the mill and Tim was the financier, or as the boat man of that day put it, the lawyer of the crowd for he could down all in an argument, and many were the cases settled by argument in those days. The Meahers built and launched ship called the William R. Hallett,' after one of Mobiles princely merchants. This vessel was lost at sea. They also built the $. B. Meaher,' large schoon- CT to ply between Mobile and Boston, whose capacity was never known, but which claimed to carry 5000 bales. The l William Jones. Jr..' (named after an- other of Mobiles prominent men) was also the work of this firm and was | intended to rival the Cuba in speed and she was a flyer-but in great race was unable to match her invinci- ble opponent.
 "The Meahers also built the R. B. Taney,' and the double -decked passen- ger Republic' first called Southern Republic and she was fine speci- men of southern workmanship. After the war she was razed to single cabin, as the glory of Alabama river passen- ger traffic was then on the wan. She was taken to New Orleans to fill some trade on the western rivers, but the 'hull being of pine Gall western boats