A STEAMBOAT RACE ON THE MISSISSIPPI.

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1845, 4 July 1874, Page 4

A STEAMBOAT RACE ON THE MISSISSIPPI.

' •'■:• ." '■ [KBOM 3\IAEK TWiOS's l&VEli " THE GILDED : .y/ ; ;;- : -;. ; . : -:--""/^ E -1 '* ;)'! Presently the, pilot said — "By George, yonder, comes Amaranth !" ' r> - « « A spark appeared ( iclose i , in . the water, several miles down 'the river/ The 1 pilot' ; .v took hia glass and; Jooked steadily •' : jfor a moment, and said>s chiefly ; to ' him"lt can't be the Blue 'Wing,., She, could not pick up this way. It's the Amar, ' ranth,sure!" ; ,-'. Ij y L /. , ■- ' ' " fc ,r ; - He bent over a speaking tube and r , said— . . . - : ; I;.' ; ; *f Who's on watch down there 1" '■.]■ ';; A hollowj inhuman' voice fuibleb] up :. through the tube irilanswerA- . ' !i "■'' ,". /; ." "I ain— seconds^erigineer. " ■'; , tf "Good ! You want to 'stir ; your stumps now, Harry. ..The Armaratith's' just" . turned the point, and she's just a bumping herself to !" V >,--[.!(■ ' ; I .■.{,' .'■',-■'.'. vo „:'T he pilot took; hold of ; a rope that „ stretched out forward, jerked it twice, and ! 'two t mellow strokesof the big ! belli re- 1 sponded. A voice out on the deck • shouted—^ '" ■'' ■.■■■■ ; . . , ,*' Stand by, down there, with that lab- , aboard lead!" ;.;;/ '\r ;•;./:*>/■ . . - " " No, I don't want .the lead," said the .;:,';■?. pilot ; ; " I want yoii. Rouse' out thie^tildi man ; tell him the Amaranth's coining; ; and go and call Jim — tell7wni." • "Aye, aye, sir!" , The " old man" was the'eaptain. He is always called so on steamboats and ships. , f( - Jim" was the other pilot. Within two, .. ■'. minutes both of these men were following , up the pilot-house stairway, three steps at a jump. Jim was in his shirt-sleeves, with his coat on his arm. He said— ; " I was just turning in. Where's the glass?" ' . He took it, and looked. ' ." Don't appear to be any night hawk on the jackstaff. It's the Amaranth, dead -'sure!" .■ ■• •'-. :.: v.'i rj. \', „' ; > :.- The. captain took a long look, and only i v ; -.saidr- : ■ . ..,-■!. h .. 4i - , ,•.. ■• . I Geo." Davi^! 'the 'pilot'. ! on watch,-sh-uted to the nigKtVfltchman on deck— " Bow's she Joaded ?" ' : : " Two ii'chesby the head sir." ot ; > , „"' Taint enough 1" t ; " The captain shouted how — -i-l ■''.'■. "Call the mate. Tell him to call all hands and get a lot of that sugar forward. Put her ten inche3 by the head. Lively ■.'i'lioirr .;;;.."...:; : ;=:•.;'';;., .. ..;... "Aye, aye, sir!" ' •' *' ■■.:'■■> A riot; of.; shouting ; and trampling ■ floated up from below presently, and the uneasy steering of the boat Bhowed .that ehe was gettiDgM down by the head." '■' The three men in the pilot-house began to talk in short, sharp sentences, low' and earnestly. • : - / As their excitement rose, / /thßieiVoicesd^en^-dpwn^ As fast as one, of them.^ut down the spyglass another took it up, but always with a studied "air ,of calmness. Each time the verdict was — "She's gaining!" The captain shouted through the tube.

" What' steam are you carrying ?" " A hundred and forty-two sir! but she's getting hotter and hotter all the time." The boat was straining, and , groaning, . and quivering like a monster in pain. Both pilots were at work now, one on each side of the wheel, with their coats and vesta ofl^ their, bosoms and collars wide open, >andi»- the perspiration flowing down their faces. They were holding the" boat so close to the shore that the willows swept the guards almost from stem' to stern. 1 H? Staiidjby !" whispered Geo. . i^AilO ready!" said' Jim under hia breath. " Let her come !" The boat sprang away from the bank like a deer,- and darted..m_a lonj^ajrinal.. toward the shore. She closed" in again,~ and thrashed her fierce way along the willows as before The captain put down the glass. £%■ £ $ .<;'?._ f jjl " Lord, how v sKe walks] up- on us ! I do hate to be beat !" "Jim," said Geo., looking straight • ahead, . watching the. slightest yawning of the boat, and promptly meeting it with' ; thVwheelp'How'Jl it do to try ' Murderer^ f ! iXM^Weii, ii's taking /chances.:. How -was* the cotton,wood stump, on the false point below Board Man's Island this morning ?" " Water just touching the roots." „q " Well, •itjs,»,pretty, close work, ..and Ogives sioeej6s(iant^n the head of Mur-. derer's* 1 Chute ; we can just barely" rub through',' if -we hit it exactly right.; : But it's worth trying. Sfi>e don't dare tackle it " — meaning the Amaranth. In another instant the Boreas plunged' into what seemed a crooked creek, and the Amaranth's _approaching light was shut out in a moment? ' Not a whisper ; was uttered, now ;;,but, r the three men stared ahead into the shadows, and 'two dfthenispun the wheel back and forward with .anxious, watchfulness, while the steamer tore/along^ The; Chute seem to come to an end every fifty yards, . but always' opened up id; time; Now- .the f head of it was at hand. Geo. tapped the tig bell three times ; two leadsmen sprang. :to their; posts, ] anct in, ...a, moment -their weird cries rose on the night air, and were caughtup and repeated by the two men on the upper deck. "No-o bottom !": : -, ■ -'. "De-epfour!" - . "Half three !" " Quarter three !" """""' "'-'■'- ■ " Mark under wa-a-ter,' three !" S/ ; /malf twain l^y, , „;^ „.:■ „: " Quarter, twain !" " ' ; Davis/ptilledr a couple ; of ropes-; there, was a jingling of small beils fair below;' the boat's speed slackened, and the pent steam began to whistle, and the guage cocks to scream. -;- { i By the.mark twain I" J" By the mark twain!" ": . . " Quar-ter-/ier-er-less twain !" " - "Eight and a'h&ttl" "Eight feet!" " Seven-an-a-half \"-~^ , ; :,.- Another jingling of little bells and the :wheels- ceased- -turning.. altogether... . r The^ iwhistling.bf the stejmjwas soitething frightful now ; now it almost drowned all' other noises. - - - -- ■...'... ........ ,....,,. • ' Stand by to meet her !" Geo. had the wheel hard down, and" was standing on a spoke. "Already!' 1;; ' - ;; : • ■ ■•;:: The boat hesitated ; seemed-to hold her breath, as did the captain and pilots ; ;and; thenshe begen to fall away to starboard, and every eye lighted. . . " Noxo then ! meetiier ! snatch her !" The wheel flew to port so fast that the .spokes blended into 'a spider's web. The !jw t ing of the boat subsided. She steadied herself. , "Seven feet!" "Sev— six and a M/ 7" " : feet!" ..... ii . Bang !■ ? She . hit the bottom ! Geo. Bhouted through the tube, "Spread her wide open— -Whole it at her /" '-, Pow-wowTchowi!;;! The escape pipes bel- ; ched snowy pillars of steam > : aloft, the 'boat ground and surged arid trembled, and slid , over into ' "M-a-r-k twain !" , /•Ojuarter / 7ier/" ;.",., , : . ./, ,(To signify V £ay iii the leads.") :,, ; And.aTj?ay.:sne, went:flying up ' the wil- ; loW; shore; .with the , whole silver sea of the Mississippi sketching abroad on every hand.; di; ■.■■■<.>■* ■■;■: v.^ ; : = „-. No Amaranth in sight ! j " Ha ! ha ! boys ; we took a couple of tricks that time !" said the captain. And just at that moment a red glare appeared in the head of the Chute, and the "Amaranth came springing after them. ."Well! I. swear!" „'. ..." ' Jim, what is the meaning of that 1" " I'll tell you what's the meaning of it. . That hail .we had at Napoleon was Wash > Hastings wanting to come to Cario, and we did not stop. He's in that pilot-house' nqwj showing those mud turtles how to hunt for easy water." ■i " That's it M thought it was not any slouch that was running in that middle bar in Hog-Eye Bend. It's Wash Hastings. Well, what he didn't know about the river aint worth knowing. A regular gold-leaf, kid-glove, diamond-breast-pin pilot Wash Hastings is. We won't take any tricks off him, old man !" ■ - U 3l wish I'd a-stopped for him, that's all.' The Amaranth was within 300 yards of the Boreas, and still; gaining. The " old man" spoke through the tube, "What is she carrying now ?" "A hundred and sixty-five, sir." "How's your wood ?" ..•....- "Pine all out— cypress half gone—eating up cotton-wood like pie !" • • "Break into the rosin on the main deck— pile it in— the boat can pay for it!" Soon the boat, was plunging and quivering and. screaming more madly than ever, but the Amaranth's head was almost abreast the Boreas' stern. '" HowVyour steam now, Harry ?" .-;" Hundred and eighty-two sir.!" "Break up the casks of beacon in the forward hold!.; Pile it in! Levyohthat turpentine in the fantail ; drench every Btick with it !" The boat was a moving earthquake by this time. ' " How is Bhe now ?" 4 A\ A hundred and ninety-six, and still a swelling! Water below the middle guagercockß;! : Carrying every pound she can stand ! Nigger roasting on the safetyvalve!" .... „/...?,* Good ! ;HoVs your draft ?" li Bully '! ' Every time a nigger heayes ,astick,of .wood into the furnace, he gees (gat the cKimney with it !" "The Amaranth' drew steadily up tiirher jackstaff breasted the Boreas' wheel-house, climbed along inch by inch till her chimneys breasted it ; orept along further and

further till the boats were wheel to wheel, and then they closed up with a heavy jolt, and locked together tight and fast in the middle of the big river under the .flo.odm J g-.njgonlight ! A roar and a hurrah wenF up from' the'erbwded decks of both steamers ; all hands rushed to the guards to look, and shout and gesticulate ; the weight careened the vessels over toHyards each other ; officers flew hither and thither, cursing and storming, trying to drive the people amidships. Both captains were leaning over their railings shaking their fists, swearing, threatening, black volumes of smoke rolled up and canopied ths scene, a rain of sparks upon the vessels. • Two 'pistol shots - rang out, and both captains do iged unhurt, and the packed masses of passengers surged' "back'a'nd fell'apart, while the shrieks of women and children soared above the intolerable din. And then there was a booming roar, a thundering crash, and the riddled Amaranth/dropped loose from her ho'ld^and drifted helplessly away. Instantly the fire-doors of the Boreas were -thrown open, and the men began dashing buckets of iwater into the furnaces, for rit would have been death .and destruction to stop the eiigines 'with- such ; a head of steam 0n.,, ; . ... -. cr 'As soon' as possible the -Boreas dropped downto-the; floating : /wreck and took' off the dead, the wounded, and the unhurt, , —at least all that could be got at, for ithe whplei forward half of the boat was a shapeless ruin/ withHhe great: chimneys lying, crossed .-on. the top of it, and underneath were a dozen victims ' imprisoned alive, and wailing for help. While men : with axes worked with might and main to free these poor fellows, the Boreaß* boats went abo.ut and picked up stragglers from the river; : v ri . And now a new horrpr presented itself, the -wreck-took fire from : the dismantled , furnaces. "Never did men work with a heartier' will than did those "stalwart brayes. with the axes : but it was of no use. The fire ate its way steadily, despisV ing the! bucket brigade that fought it ; it scorched the clothes, it singed the hair of the axemen, it drove them back f opt by foot, inch by^ inch. They wavered, struck a final blow in the teeth of the enemy, and surrended ; and as they fell back they heard the prisoned voices saying— ■ " Don't,-leave us ! Don't desert us ! Dpn't'don't do it !" And one poor fellow said — ; : "lam Henry Worley, stoker of the Amaranth ! My mother lives in St. Louis. Tell her a lie for a poor devil's sa'k'e,i* please. Say I was killedfin an instant, and- never knew what hurt me, though, God knows, I've neither scratch nor bruise this moment ! It's hard to bum up in a coop like this, with the whole wide world so near. Good-bye, boys. We've all got to come to it at last anjrways!" V .::"• ;■-.■- --.■ .The Boreas stood away out of danger, and- the ruined steamer went drifting down the stream— an island of wreathing and climbing flame that vomited olouds of smoke from time to time, and glared more fiercely, and sent its luminous tongues higher and" higher; after each omission. A shriek" at intervals told of a- captive that . had met his doom. The wreck lodged upon a sand-bar j and when the Boreas turned the ■ next point on her upward journey it was still burning with scarcely abated fury.. „ When the boys came down into the main saloon of the Boreas they saw a pitiful sight and heard' a world of pitiful sounds. Eleven poor creatures lay dead, and forty' more' lay moaning or pleading or screaming, while a score of good Sauiaritahs mPv'ed among them doing what they could to relieve their sufferings, bathing their skinless faces and bodies with linseed oil and. lime-water, and covering the places with bulging masses,, of raw cotton, that gave to every" face and form a dreadful and inhuman' •aspect.-' ;■,-.; '■; :\- .; :; :. >; ; „ : A little wee French midshipman of fourteen lay fearfully injured, but never uttered a sound till a physician of Memphis was about to dress his hurts. Then he said — L : ■•■.■:•• ■ "Can I get well? You needn't be afraid to tell me." " No. : J— l am afraid you can not." . " Then don't waste your time with me ; •help those that can get w,ell I , It is not for me to be a girl. I carry the blood of eleven generations of soldiers in ray veins." • ■. ; . ... The physician himself— a man who had seen service in the navy in his tiine--itouohedhis hat to this little hero, and passed on. , / - The head engineer of the Amaranth— a grand specimen of physical manhood — struggled to his feet, a ghastly spectacle, and strode towards his brother, and second engineer, - who was unhurt. ; fle said— •'.You. were on watch— you were Boss. You wouldn't listen to me when I begged you to reduce your, steam. Take that! Take it to my wife, and tell her it comes from me by the hand of my murderer ! Take it, and take my corse with it, to blister your heart a hundred years, and may you live so long !" ,7 And he tore a ring from his ; finger, stripping flesh, and skin with it, and threw it down, and fell dead. The Boreas landed her dreadful cargo at the next large town, and delivered it over to a multitude of eager hands and warm Southern hearts — a cargo amounting by this time to 39 wounded persons and 22 dead bodies, and with these she delivered a list of 36 missing persons that had been drowned or otherwise perished at the scene of disaster. . A jury of inquest was ! 'empannelled, and, after due deliberation and inquiry, they returned the inevitable American verdict, which has been so familiar to our ears all the days of our lives— ' "Nobody to blame."