Year: 1873

THE DANDURY MAN ON THE HIS


SlSSlPPl.


HIS Ken ctiODs u!'on the River and


Stcnmb: laboratory, Or tho Profanity


Of the Mate.


The funny man of the Danbury
News has gone on journey west, and
here is his description of the Father of
Waters and steamboating thereon:


At Quincy got my first view of the
Mississippi river. I believe there is
not an American but has some sort of
an idea what the Mississippi river looks
like, and has vague impression that
some time or other before he dies he
will be permitted to see if. The Mis-
sissippi-what word it is to chew ink
lis an institution by itself. It is full
of associations both tragical and com
ic, and it is also full of mud. 1t has
no banks to speak of. It is full of bars,
and has o narrow and very uncertain
channel. These are matters We all hear
at school, and see repeated in the pa
per-, but We don't realize them until
we get on the river itself.


The steamboats, are flat bottomed
and many of them carry the wheel at
the stern. I think it is the stern. II
is that part of the boat where, if it was
q house. the slops would be thrown.
The wheel is cumbersome looking
article, and to the casual observer tho
boat appears to have just climbed over
it. 1 would give you q picture of the
two were l not engaged in painting q
view OF the Rocky Mountains at sun
rise.


The river is much broader at this
point than I expected to see it, but We
cannot always have things our own
way in this world. The channel is
about three feet deep opposite this
place; I don't know the exact width of
the river, but there is no doubt that
the water is as thick as it is broad. The
traveller should turn it over with his
foot and so look at both sides of it.
All was hustle ut the dock when l got
there. The boat was taking on it's
freight, and about thirty lively negroes
and one very excited and awfully pro-
fame white man was doing the business.
That white man was q study. He was
the mate of the vessel, and what he
didn't know about rhetoric could be
held on the point of knife blade by q
nervous man. The thirty negroes had
all they could we'll attend to to keep up
with his new oaths, and roll on the
casks. Without any cessation they
bobbed from the boat to the shore, and
from the shore back to the boat, and
all the while that Mississippi elocution-
ist danced around and swore. When I
got on the boat I sat down on my bag
gage and watched that man.


Being a resident of New England /
thought knew something of wicked
ness, but I was mistaken. The negroes
were uniformly dressed in pants, shirt
and hat. Some Of the hats were orna-
mented with different colored ribbons !;
others again contained but a simple
brass plate-the trademark of a re-
tired fruit can. Beauty unadorned il
adorned the most. They were driven
like sheep, first to the shore, then back
to the boat. The least hesitation, the
slightest misstep, was noted by the
orator and promptly incorporated into
his discourse. He couldn't have been
more familiar were they his own faith
ers, which it is not likely they were.


After getting through at the dock
the boat moved up to the coal yard.
The coal was brought on board in
boxes with handles at each end. Each
box contained 2 IL bushels, and was
carried by two men. Six hundred
bushels were thus taken on. The same
amount of hustle and vehemence oc-
Cured in this transaction: The men
sweat like April, and appeared to be
ready to drop at every trip, but the
mate hurled tonics ut them and kept
them up. When his throat got tired
he used his boot, and used it in that
whole-soled way peculiar to the Mis-
sissippi boat men.


The negroes receive 81 a day and
their victuals. I should think they
woald go to some city and get into =
store.


Through the courtesy of the clerk L
helped to occupy the pilot house, and
in this lofty perch got splendid view
of the river and the cinders. The
shores are fiat and covered with forests.
When I grew tired of looking at them
I looked at the pilot. There was q boat
ahead of us which the captain was
bound to overtake. The pilot didn't
believe it could be done, because the
boilers on our boat were old and weak,
and could not possibly stand the pres
sure. This made me sick to the stom.
ach, and so climbed down out of the
pilot house, and Immediately placed
between me and those boilers all the
territory I could get together.


Shortly We came to cleared place
on the west shore, in the middle of
which stood single house, the last
survivor of Marion City. It was the
ground work for city; and never did
a city look fairer on paper. People
came there and built places, and soon
after the water in the river overaowed
that point, and the Inhabitants got up
and busted. No, not busted, exactly;
but they got up. They said they
weren't naturally advocates of irriga-
tiOn.


Only this house I speak of now
stands to mark the ruins of the city.
Where the former inhabitants now are
I cannot tell. have not sworn to
keep their whereabouts a secret, but it
is understood, of course, that I am not
to speak of it, and with gentleman
this is sufficient. But not with alady.


There was no dock at Hannibal.
There are very few docks along the
Mississippi. The boats are so cou-
structed as to run close up to the
shore, and even upon the shore, and
over fence if necessary. This hardly
seems probable, and perhaps it isn't.
Destruction OF Terrapin Tower ut Nj.


agara Fails.


An exchange says: "During the
past so years millions of people from
every inhabitable part of the globe
have seen round, weather-beaten
tower built upon the harrow ledge Of
rocks upon the extreme brink of the
Horse Shoe Fall, and millions of peo-