Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-07-12
Died Without
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sill of the pilot house He could feel the steady throb
of the engines the huge side wheels the ancient
river boat dug their spntered paddles
night-darkened waters of Trinity River.
Along both banks the pale yellow lights
river shanes gowed like fre-fies
intermngng of strmmed banjos whining gramo-
phones wheeling accordions and the deep
singing bargemen rising above the kissing engines The
skipper dreamly listened to refrain only
fade in the distance to be succeeded by another.
Suddenly, he Strengthened up and without turning
to the wheesman: Something's gone wrong this river
Jim"
The wheelsman took fresh hold the spokes.
Port r sarboard, capn?"
NO nothing like that Jim. dying down stop
ping in shanty right after the other captain
door means only one thing There's
bad going up the Trinity tonight"
The music had stopped completely All quiet
except for the steady swish-swsh Of the Flooding
wheeler The skipper went
1T the bad going shanty TO shanty"
He peered out into the dark.
There's a light Tins wharf Swing her in close
and I'll holler ashore"
The helmsman gave the wheel a sharp twist and in a
few minutes the steamer abreast Of the wharf
she chugged by the captain leaning far the window
megaphoned TO a man standing the string piece
What's the news. timothy"
The man cupped his hands and beloved noise
Of the aboring boat: Jest got Commodore
died up to hosptul at Liberty"
moment later and the boat shouting range
mo wonder the music stopped" the captain unused
gumiy the old man of the river is gone I'll bet bad
news like that beats TO Fort Worth"
BY dawn everybody the Trinity knew that the Com
modore dead. From mouth mouth news o his
passing quickly rolled the long the deep
into the bacl<woods where no newspaper went.
The death of the Commandments name was BAIL
Patrick Muse Hafeld-was a real blow 20 all the
Trinity river-dwelers Along river
Hatfield philosopher who showed the rverfoks how
to plant beans and get money the crop
He 10 it that the kids got school,
sters made living. No poor low for
Hatfield who lived among the people he liked
To city folks the Commodore was an old mamie was
with funny waist-length beard He laughngly
pointed out the who he wouldn't
whskers until Congress made the Trinity navgable for it's
lpnp He tho Inc tyhp
for Senaorand poed only 26 voesin order TO fight for
his river deepening project
the people the Trinity of whom couldn't
for their champion the Commodore was a kind of God
Where he from they didn't All they knew
that 10 suddenly popped up and became their
leader. And with his death, the story of the self
styled lord of the Trinity and the admiral Of the Gulf Coast
marshes
Had he not made the request that be to
Fort Worth and thrown from Belknap Bridge into the
Trinity to be carried by the current to the Gulf the Com
modore's true identity might never have become known
then that newspapermen began to probe into the
life Of the Commodore TO find out just who this be-whsk
cred None Of the rverfolk knew but
the old mans private papers showed that he was the
famous Hatfedhe engineer who had built railroads for
the and the Hatfield who had rescued
the Jameson expedition in the Boer War
He had explored hnterands of India, developed oil
fields the Orient, walked the Hmayas to the
city of Lhasa and discovered the first potash
Texas His papers showed discharges from three
armies and service under the wild Mexican Pancho Villa
These documents which went back TO 1897 also proved that
he grandson of Basil Muse Hatfield steamboat
operator on the Trinity long the Revolution
For his rescue of the Jameson Expedition
Cross and later booted from the
British army casting aspersions Queen Victorias
ancestry He been officer in the American army
in the Spanish American War.
Here was who had packed more adventure in his
years hundred men find in their combined lives
yet he died the humble old Commodore of the Trim
ity by hundreds of humble rverolk Whatever
led him back the river that his grandfather
sailed is the mystery that prompted him
to cloak all his past glores.