Year: 1875

90 hurrying from many quarters to a
common centre, :he wharf Assem-
blei there. the people fasten their
eyes upon the coming boat as upon a
wonder they are seeing for the first
4 time. And the boat is rather a
handsome sight, too. She is long
and sharp and trim and pretty; she
has two tall, fancy-topped chimneys,
with gilded device of some kind
swung between them "a fame ful pi-
Iiot-house, all glass and ginger
brea,l." perched on top of the texas
deck behind them; the paddle-boxes
are gorgeous with a picture or with
glide | rays above the boats name !;
the boiler deck. the hurricane deck,
and the texas deck are fenced and
ornamented with clean white railings;
there is a flag CALAMITY flying from
the i,ck-stafF; the furnace doors are
open and the fires glaring bravely
the upper decks are black with pass
engers; the captain stands by
the big bell. calm, imposing, the
envy of all; great volumes OF the
blackest smoke are rolling and tum-
bling out ofthe chimneys. a hus and
ed grandeur created with bit Of
pitch pine just before arriving at a
town i; the crew are grouped on the
forecastle; the broad stage is run
far out over the port bow, aud an
envied deck-hand stands picturesque
" ON the end OF it with coil OF rope
in his hand the pent steam is scream
ing through the gauge-cocks; the
captain lifts his hand, a bell rings,
the wheels stop; then they turn
back, churning the water to foam,
and the steamer is at rest. Then
such a scramble as there is To get
aboard, and to get ashore. and to
take in freight and to discharge
freight, all at one and the same time;
and such yelling and cursing as the
mates facilitate it all with! Ten
minutes later the steamer is under
wav again. with TO fl g on the jack
staff and no black smoke issuing from
the chimneys. After ten more min
utes the town is dead again, and the
town drunkard asleep by the skids
once more.


NY father was a justice of the
peace, and | supposed he possessed
the power of life and death over all
men and c,uld hang anybody that
offended him. This was distinction
enough for me as a general thing;
| but the desire to be steamboatman
kept intruding, nevertheless. | first
wanted to be a cabin-boy, so that !
could come out with white apron
on and shake ii table-cloth over the
side, where all my old comrades could
see me; later thought | would
rather be the deck-hand who stood
on the end Of the stage-plank with
the Gil of rope in his hand because
he was particularly conspicuous. But
these we're only day-dreams, they were
too heavenly to be contemplated as
real possibilities. Bye and bye one OF
our boys went away. lie was not
heard of for long time. AT last he
turned up as apprentice engineer or
striker" on steamboat. This
.hing shook the bottom out of all my
Sunday school teachings. That bov
had been VIGOROUSLY worldly, and |
lust the reverse yet he was exalted
to this eminence, and l left in pbscuri-
ty and misery. There was nothing
generous about this fellow in his
greatness. He would always manage
to have a rusty bolt TO scrub while
the boat tarried at our town, and he
would sit on the inside guard and
scrub it. where we could all see him
and envy him and loathe him. And
whenever his boat was laid up he
would come home and swell around
the town in his blackest and greasi-
est clothes, so that nobody could help
remembering that he was a steamboat
man: and he used all sorts of steam
boat technicalities in his talk; as II
he we're so used to them that he for
got common people could not under
stand them. lie would speak of the
.Iarboard" size ola morse IN an easy,
natural way that would make one
wish he was dead. And he was al.
ways talking about "St. Looy' like
an old citizen; he would refer casual
lv to occasions when he "was coming
down Fourth Street or when he
was "passing by the Planters House.
or when. there was a fire and he took
turn Oh the brakes of 'the old Big
Missouri :" and then he would 20 on
and lie about how many towns the
size of ours were burned down there
that day. Two or three of the boys
had long been persons or considera'
ton among Us because they had been
to st. Louis once and had a vague
general knowledge Of its wonders.
but the day of their glory was over
now. They lapsed into a humble
silence, and learned to disapp ar
when the ruthless "cub" engineer
approached. This fellow had money.
too. and hair oil. Also an ignorant
silver watch and a snowy brass watch
chain. lie wore leather belt and
used no suspsnier.. If ever youth
was cordially admired and hated BY
hi. comrades, this one was. No girl
could withstand his charms. He
'.cut out every boy in the village.
When his bolt blew up at last, it
diffused a Tranquil con;entment among
US such as we had not known for
months. But when he came home
the next week, alive, renowned, and
appeared in church all battered u )
and bandaged, a shining hero, stared