The Omaha Daily
Bee.
THE OMAHA DEE
Is the rmt owrrfl bunlrtrM
petlcr In the tmt, because It Roe
to the horue9 ol pour and rich.
U EDITORIAL
VGZi TO II.
VOL. XXXIX-NO. -7U.
OMAHA, TUESDAY MOKXIXd, MAY 31, 1010.
SINGLE COPY TWO I'KXTS.
f X
1
We say by all
means buy land!
Don't wait.
Some temptin
offers are made in
the Farm and
Ranch columns of
The Bee.
You can acquire it on
liberal terms
Every young man should
be a land owner.
The Bee can give information
about all of the
land listed in its columns
twill MfMpf '
rate M '
1 . ; -
t ;
Hie.. S(Eiiii real
Buy it now!
The day may
come when there
will 'be no
bargains in land
offered.
Read the land ads
in today's Bee.
Don't hesitate.
Do it!
Wouldn't you be rich today
if you had
bought land ten years ago?
There is no possible way for
you ever to regret it.
1
te paper
ofi ttie west.
' fyD TIMES OS THE RIVERS
, When Business Boomed on Missis
sippi,, Ohio and Missouri.
1 1
PILOTS WERE THE BIO CHIEFS
' Recollections of Great Rim
rirarr.qa Traffic .(
Half a Centary
Ago.
Noriiiat Mark Twain It con thr. la a
, treat' telling aver of old steamboat yarni
out on th bit river which gav. him hla
name. Old daya on the Mississippi and
thfe Ohio had a plctursquenes which can
nntf be duplicated anywhere today.
Th. lev. In thoa. tlroea resembled a tnod
.rn union atatlon In an Important railway
center. Dally packeta were constantly
I arriving and departing for all points up
and down th. river. Fin. boats ran be
tween Cincinnati and New Orleans, but St.
Louis waa th. center of th. steamboat
If IVf'o.
'I I.
''ally packeta ran to Omaha. Sioux City.
Council Bluffs. St. Joseph. Kansas City.
I 8t" 1UDU1U. Chester. Cairo. New
i Orlc Kaahvllle and. all other Important
river iiwm. In IK there arrived at th
I levee J siesmboaU. in 1R41 there was a
lncrl to 1106. while throuah th. month
j (t .!, ism, tber. waa an average of
twelve arrivals each day, not Including the
regular packeta almost dally from Alton.
I'ilols at thla time were of special conse
quence. Every rourtesy waa shown them
by captains and crews and extreme defer
ence by th. negro barbers, waiters and
roustabouts Their wagea were high. As
general rule the acal. was about $400 a
month, but during the flush Kansas trade
on th. Missouri river a good pilot received
a much as $900 a trip, which amounted to
11,800 a month; but a pilot only mastered
his trade after long experience and close
application.
lie had to be well versed In his vocation,
for In those daya there were no snag and
dredge boata, beacon lamp or powerful
searchlights to play ahead of the vessel,
Th. pilot must have a mental map of the
river, remembering th location of every
snag, sandbar, shallow and other danger.
not only on clear days and nlghta, but also
In th. darkneaa, fog, sleet and anow.
' S Reeklesaaeaa mut Disaster.
No danger must b. considered. In fact
many of th. steamboat disasters were due
to sheer foolhardtness, l"p to 18W) there
wer. 678 steamers lost on the two rivers.
In th. year lSttt there were 119 steamboats
partially wrecked and 130 wholly lost The
explosion on th. Sultana in 1S64 killed 1,647
soldiers .and civilians.
Although at first It may seem an un
reliable statement, tho great steamboat
races In those days were less dangerous
than during ordinary trips, for during that
exciting period greater precautiona were
taken to avoid an accident, and besides
only a certain number of pounds of steam
was permitted. Racing was never popular
with the public at large, but to the people
of the valley skirting the river and the
steamboat men themselves it was a great
event. The advance advertisement of u
rare between two popular boats set the
entire river country talking. Cotton and
the tariff became side Issues, betting began
on the favorite .and th. rare was snxlously
awaited.
While discussions and wagers were going
on th. captains of the rival steamboats
made contracts wl.h wood boata and coal
flats, which wer. to be stationed at various
points up th. river with th. crews ready to
lay alongside and transfer the cargo of
fuel on the move. Also th. ateamera must
be completely overhauled and all spars re
moved, as well as all dispensable weight
and equipment. x
If a boat ran faster at a certain ballast
It must be loaded to that depth. The ser
vices of a good pilot must be secured, for
his knowledge of the stream and manage
ment of the vessel meant the gain or loss
of valuable time, and perhaps of the race.
Few passengers wers taken and only short
stops made.
A Famow. Race.
The greatest rare ever run was between
th. Natches, a boat built In Cincinnati and
commanded by Captain T. P. Leathers,
and a New Albany boat, the Robert E
Lee, under Captain John W. Cannon.
There was spirited rivalry between th. two
vessels, and when th. Natches made the
fasteat time on record between New Or
leana and 6t. Louta (l.TTS miles In three
days twenty-cne hours fifty-eight minutes)
Captain Cannon resolved to beat It. He
engaged th. steamer Frank Fargoud and
various fuel boats and arranged for them
to meet him at varioua points up tho river
with wood and coal. , Then he had - his
boat cleared of all Its upper works likely
to catch the wind and mado the vessel
heavier.
On Thursday, June 20, 1970, at 4:45 p. m.
tho Robert F. Lee.atcamcd out of New
Orleans. The Natches followed five min
utes later. The race had been advertised
In advance and -was now . awaited with
gathering interest at all tho liver towns.
Large crowds were assembled at Natches,
Vlcksburg, Helena and other large places.
Telegram reports . were sent out from va
rious points, some even to Europe.
Between Cairo and St. Louis the Natches
afterward claimed to have lost seven hours
and on. minute on account of a fog and
broken machinery. . The . Robert E. Lee,
however, was not delayed and arrived. In
St. Louis thirty-three minutes ahead of
th. previous record established by Its com
petitor. Fifty thousand people' from th.
housetops, tho levee and the decks of
other steamers welcomed the winner ss It
steamed Into port. Captain Cannon was
th. Hon of th. hour. The business men
gave a banquet In his honor.
Soma steamboats like the John Stmonds
during th. busy season did a 110,000 busi
ness every round trip. This, however, was
exceptional. ' As a general rule steam-
boating was not a paying Industry, th.
most fortunate owners making but per
cent on the money Invested.
Many a hungry mouth did th steamboat
business fill In those days. In 1S33 the
number of men earning their living In the
various department of 'th. trade has been
estimated at 90.000; ten year later, count
ing only the laborers, engineers, pilots, re
pairers and others of actual crews, there
were about IHO.000 men employed. In 1S30
there was $3,000,000 invested In steam
boats, with a yearly expense of 1,671,M0
for , wagea, $1,393,200 for wood, $835,S30 for
provisions and $743,040 for other expenses.
In 1S39 almost $2,000,000 was spent for wood
alone along tho shores of western rivers.
The steamboat age began about 1S21 and
flourished for fifty years. As early as
1834 tho number of steamboats Is estimated
at 230, and In 1842 there were 4S0 vessels,
with a value of $25,000,000. But the golden
era was from 1848 until the war, Never
did the valley and steamboating prosper
more than then. Thousands of bales of
cotton were annually shipped to southern
markets, and the wharves of St. Louis
and Memphis and Vlcksburg and other
large ports were stacked with piles of mer
chandise and lined with score of steam
er. But the war cam. on, cutting off com
munication between th. north and south
and sweeping th. trade away. Ironclads
built from former packeta policed the
mighty river. It waa a period of storm
and stress that chloroformed prosperity
on th. Mississippi. When peace was finally
declared the surrlvort of th old steam
boat daya wer. dead or engaged In other
industries. Travel Magaxine.
Foreigner Catch It.
AMOY, China, May 29. The price of lice
ha risen 50 per cent and the poor are
II unable to buy food. Aa a consequence of
this an anti-government demonstration
look plac today at Ctiajig Chow,
London's Social
Set Gossips Over
'Frisco Widow
Engagement of a Bich American
Woman to Lord Innesker to Be
Announced Soon.
l
LONDON, May SO. Certain circles of in
ternational society are gossiping over the
evident attachment of Lord Robert Innesker
for Mrs. Miller Graham, a wealthy widow
of Ban Francisco, and It Is said that an en
gagement may be announced shortly. Mr.
Graham 1 reported to be worth over $1,000.-
000.
Lord Robert Is th. younger brother of
the duke of Roxburgh, who was married
to Mis May Ooelet of New York. Three
years ago the duke's other brother, Alastair
Robert Innesker, married Miss Anne
Brexe, also of New York. Lord Robert
went to America last year and it was
freely gossiped that he went In search of
a wife, but hi quest was fruitless,
Mrs. Graham entertains aumptously here.
She rent the houso of Lord Nunbufcnholrne
on Grosvencr square, not far from th
palatial new mansion of Mr. George Kep
pel. For several years she enjoyed the
friendship of a number of King Edward's
social circle. She was presented at court
In February two year ago, and was the
j guest of King Edward at Marlenbud last
lias
youthful son and
winter. She
daughter.
One of the features of a recent dance
given by Mrs. Graham was the rolling of
a huge watermelon Into tho ball room.
Tho melon was cut open and a little pick-
unnlny Jumped out, throwing flowers at
the dancers. The small negro, however,
was white, with a complexion of burnt
cork.
BANK P0RTERUNDER ARREST
Man Working; at .10 Per Month
Handle Thousand of Dollars!
Rome Sticking- to Finger.
MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 30. Charles
Swank, a negro 29 year of age, porter
at the Central Bank and Trust com
pany, drawing a mere salary of $33 per
month, was locked up Saturday morning
at Central police station by Detectives
rihea and Masoney, on a charge of larceny,
to which, he admitted guilt. In Swank' ar
rest a systematic theft of money was un
covered. How much he ha stolen is not
known. It Is not considered possible that
the sum Is large. According to th. negro's
admission, he had handled aa high a $5,009
at one time for the bank people and the
temptation to steal wa too great.
"You know how It Is to be poor and
working for a little money, and seeing all
that money every day," (aid Swank to the
police.
A I.lfe Sentence
of suffering with throat and lung trouble
Is quickly commuted by lr. King' New
Liscovery. UK- and $1 oa For sale by
Ucaton Drug Co. . ,-r f rtt.,,
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