IN A HOUSEBOAT

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 124, 21 November 1935, Page 23

IN A HOUSEBOAT

DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI A THOUSAND-MILE JOURNEY TALE OF THE NINETIES The following account of a thousandmile journey down the Mississippi in a houseboat and of experiences in quarantine in the State of Mississippi

was written in the early nineties by Mr. Victor Beck, the veteran advance agent for many theatrical companies, and who is now living in retirement in Wellington. The summer months with theatricals in America are in most cases "off" time, as the majority of companies get in all their travelling season between the months of September and April, after which time artists are employed with "summer park" entertainments, or other open-air attractions, wrote Mr. Beck. It is a difficult proposition to induce the American to enter the ordinary in fact inside a building at all—during the summer months. So—apart from the circus i and travelling tent shows—the vacation time, forced or otherwise, takes place in the warmest weather, when those artists who have had a continuous engagement, or at least a good enough engagement to allow of "laying off" at leisure, make for some of the summer resorts—either East or West, Atlantic or Pacific Coasts, according to their proximity, or the length of their purse. On one of these occasions an opportunity occurred of joining a party of professionals at leisure who had the idea of a long trip down the famous and gigantic Mississippi River. A number of the party were to start from Sauk City, Wisconsin, and proceed down the Wisconsin River to the junction of the Mississippi to the town of Debuque, lowa, where the rest of the party were to meet, and all preliminary arrangements for the trip were to be made there. This took about a week. The party consisted of sixteen adults, in addition to which were the men to handle the houseboats (of which there were two), and a small boat with engine power—which was to be used for towing the houseboats when passing through portions of the river which are found to be difficult to get steerage way on, through lack of current. Of course, the ordinary part of the trip is carried out by .simply drifting, but this is not always possible for various reasons. One houseboat was. fitted up with sleeping accommodation, whilst the other was the cookhouse and living portion, which was to be our dwelling-place for three or four months. Every convenience which was necessary was included, and our party being all ready started off during the early hours of the morning—about the second week | in May, under glorious conditions. ICE AND SUN. | Although the ice from the upper part of the river was still in evidence the sun shone with intense power during the middle part of the day. The current was running at about eight miles an hour, so we were soon out of sight of our starting point. The party soon settled down to existing conditions and the trip started and finished under the most ideal arrangements. As time was not the essence of this contract there was absolutely no need to worry about anything, the days came and went, each day entirely different to the last.'There were different scenes every hour, in fact every minute. Some days we lay tied up to some beautiful island where plenty of game of all sorts existed, and ample amusement | for; those so interested in the pastime of .fishing, other days, (but chiefly nights) at one of the many townships which exist at various points down the river, taking in all the sights which were within easy distance of our houseboats, in some cases being absent a couple of days when any item of special interest offered. Of course a trip of this length could not be expected to be carried through without accident or extraordinary excitement of some sort. The first incident was the upsetting of a houseboat at Sauk City, where it was being loaded up with bedding and a general assortment of things required on the trip. The carrier delivered the goods too low down the banks of the Wisconsin River—which necessitated bringing the houseboat about a dozen lengths down the stream. In untying the portion of boat highest up> stream the man let go the rope, with the result that the swift-flowing tide caught the loosened part in the current, carrying the boat round with such force as to break the rope at the lower end, with a result that the boat went- off down stream at a fearful rate, and when "in the centre of the river got sideways on and commenced to roll completely over and over. CARRIED ON SHORE. Fortunately there was. only one man on board, and he was an expert swimmer; not that that would have availed him much had he been thrown in the water, but he managed to climb from side to side as the boat turned turtle from time to time, in a most marvellous manner. At an abrupt turn in the river the boat was carried on shore about four miles from the spot where it started, with a result that the balance of the goods to be shipped had to be carted to the boat. Strange as it may seem there were very few articles lost, owing to the fact that the boat was covered in, but everything in the way of clothing was saturated and a good deal of the stores were spoiled. The shock almost turned the man on board the boat grey-headed, but in the course of a day or two he was as bright as ever. One of the greatest dangers met with during the trip was the negotiating of rapids, caused by the confining of the river to narrow spaces by islands in the stream. The current ran through these rapids in some cases at about sixteen to twenty miles an hour, and gave one a thrill of excitement when thinking of what would occur if the boats got out of control. However, we were very fortunate in this respect. On one occasion a cyclone was experienced, but we had sufficient warning to make preparations for it, getting the boats out of the main stream into a creek, sheltered from the gale, but even there there was the danger of the river suddenly rising and putting us holus bolus on the land. We were not far from a township, but would not take the risks of attempting to make a landing as these cyclone storms come up with great rapidity. CIRCUS CAUGHT.

There was a circus located on the banks of the river at the township, and most of the members had been absent the greater portion of the day, and those in charge of the tent did not get sufficient time to prepare for the storm, with a result that after the cyclone had vent its fury there was not a semblance of the show visible, everything having been blown into the river. The horses had stampeded at the outset, and when the performers returned they were absolutely stranded, being left with only what they stood up in. Had this occurred in Australia or New Zealand there is little doubt but a subscription would have been inaugurated, but in that particular part of the country little or no notice is taken of an event of this kind. Small circuses and tent shows of all kinds are looked on with great suspicion, and the members are no better than they ought to be. On one occasion, whilst passing through a narrowed part of the river which happened to be crowded with all kinds of debris, including j parts of houses, tree branches, in lact

in some cases whole trees, one of the trees collided with the rudder of one of the boats, which caused the breaking ofT of the steering gear at a rather dangerous portion of the river. One of the members of the party caused general mirth by saying: "It would not matter much, as the damage was below the waterline —and no one would ever see it."

As much more time was expended on the trip down than originally intended we finished the trip at St. Louis, Missouri, after fourteen weeks of a most enjoyable and splendid journey. Arriving at this destination the party broke up, each member going in various directions to join companies for the next engagement.. The writer took train for New Orleans to await the arrival of a company who were due from a tour in South America and about to tour U.S.A.

Theatrical companies travelling in strange countries are frequently subjected to curious experiences—amongst others may be included the danger of running into epidemics of more or less serious complaints. It so happened that after the New Orleans season the company were playing their way north and were in the city of Jackson, Mississippi, for a two-nights season, Saturday and Monday. .It appeared, that yellow fever was in the town, but had been kept quiet until on the Sunday referred to the town clerk, who had been ill with this awful scourge, died. The news then became public, and by 3 o'clock in the afternoon an exodus had begun. Men, women, and children were to be seen in every kind of conveyance into which could be packed sufficient bedding and clothing, cooking utensils, and requisites needed for camping out. These people were making for beyond the three-mile limit of the town, which gave them the advantages of being free from quarantine restrictions, which the surrounding towns enforce as soon as the knowledge reaches them of the ejsidemic. All those having sufficient means to get away by train did so as far as the traffic would allow, but it became a matter of impossibility to find accommodation for the thousands who tried to avail themselves of the train services. Porters, carriers, and luggage conveyances were unobtainable. Many were unable to get their baggage to the trains, and of those, who did thousands were unable to board the trains during the time between the announcement of the epidemic and the quarantine, which was in force by noon on Monday, after which all trains passed through the city at a speed of forty miles an hour.

Very few of the white population were left behind, the city being left almost entirely in the hands of the negroes. Yellow fever causes a panic such as could not be conceived in the colonies. Some of the members of the company managed to get away—but seven others and myself were, not so fortunate, with the consequence that we were restricted to the severe quarantine—which lasted over four months, during which time the fever spread at a rapid rate—with a death list of over forty a day. We lost four members of the company, three others and myself escaped its ravages only by our being fortunate erough to gain the good graces of a prominent citizen, who had a large estate near the city, and to this we proceeded, and were in a kind of isolated position which was protected by the employees keeping guard continuously and notices placed along the boundaries and at entrance gates to the effect that trespassers would be shot on sight. An armed cordon surrounded the city about three miles out, and no one was allowed to pass beyond :that line. The men were there for business, as one soon realised if venturing near the line. Owing to all business being at a standstill a shortage of foodstuffs was soon evident, and, stores - were looted and private houses robbed, and in many cases set on'fire to hide the robberies. As fire brigades and police were amongst those to leave the city at the outset the place was in the hands of the mob, and it became necessary to look after one's own interests. However, as all things have an end, so did the yellow fever, and it was with a pleasure that is hard to find words to convey that the remnant of our company of twentytwo people wended its way to the railway depot to make tracks for Chicago, the headquarters of the management of the company. The others who had been so very fortunate as to get away at the first of the epidemic had all been in engagement again right away, and we four, who had to put in the dreadful time in quarantine, were not very long before we were placed on the active list again. On another occasion, whilst in an Indiana town, the members of a comedy company were held up in a smallpox district, but this did not turn out at all serious, beyond having to cancel visits to several towns ahead.