Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1914-05-08

Jim BIudso.
BY JOHN HAY.

Wall, no, can't tell you ,ohdr he iocs,
Because he don't lire, you see;
Ledstpise, he's got ont Of the habit
OF Hring like goa and me-.
War hare yOu been for the last three gear
That you harent heard folks tell
That Jimmy Bludso passcd 10 his cbecEs
The night Of The Prairie Belle?
He ,rereat no soint-the engineers
Is all pretty much di~c-
One uite an NGtche=-under the hill
And another one here, IN PIKE;
A keeriess man IN has talk nds Jim,
and an oukard man ia O ron
But he nerer funked and he merer lied
reckon he nerer- kaOUed h0W.
And THIS cas all the religion he had
TO treat has engine ueU;
Meier be passed the ricer,
TO mind the pilots bell
and if erer the Prairie Bell took fire
A thousand times he scOre,
He'd hold her nozzle against the bank
TIL the last soul got ashore.
All boats has their days the Mississippi,
And her day came at lust
The Mordstor uas better boat,
But the Belte-she uOuldat be passd.
And so she came tedrin atong that night
The oldest craft The line
W1th Niger squat on her safety rdlre,
And her furnace crammed, rtson and pine.
The fire bust ont as she cleared The bar,
And burnt hole IN the night,
And quick a fash she turned and made
For that wiLler bank the right
There runnin and cussin' bit Jim yelled Out
Ocer all The internal roar,
"I'H hold her nozzle agin' the bank
TIL The last gaiOots ashore"
Through the hot black breath of The burning boat,
Jim Biudsos roice uas heard,
And they all had trust IN has cussedness
And kaoued he uould keep has word
And sure's you're born, they all got off
Atoro The smokesacks fell
And Biudso's ghost rent mp alone
In the smoke of the Prairie Belle.
He wereat no soint-bm at jedgmeat
fd RIM my chance wih Jim,
Long side Of some piOus gentleman
That wouIdnt shook hands nth him.
He seen has duty, dead sure thing
and trent for 1t thar and then;
And Christ amt a-goin' TO be too hard
On man that died for men.
There is story about the Prairie Bele,' the 'Nat-
thez' and the "Robt. Z. Lee say old river men, that
has never been told 1t was the beginning Of quarrel
among men, and found its way down to those who event.
uay owned the Lee and Natchez.~ 1t of the
for the between those two boats the greatest
The sMovasar'' and ''Prare Belle were built for
the New Orleans and Natchez trade Both were great
in their day, but the "Movasar the fast
Time and time again they raced along the river the
"Movastar'' always winning.
The captain Of the "Prairie Belle a of bull
dog disposition. The night Jim Budso hed her nozzle
AGAINST the bank, till every galoot ashore, the
l3t these two steamers The Belle burned in
the bends just below Lake Providence La and the Mo
vaster'' later dsmanted. Then the great NAT
chez and the Lee" Practically the same owners
interested in these steamers.
The hatred kindled the loss of the Prairie Bel
grew in the hearts of these men, and ranked until they
fought it out squarey and on the same plan.
Following the river race the Natchez re-entered
in the New Orleans and Vicksburg trade. She big
cotton carrier often going into New Orleans with moth
ing visible but her spar, smokestacks and piot-house
Her last trip to Lake Providence La after cotton
While running at full head of steam she struck sunken
snag in the big bend below Lake Providence and sank
in deep hole, not far from where the prairie Belle
burned.