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A Pioneer Story (Part Three)

The New World

By Dave Henderson
Wednesday, September 5, 2007

The New World

A little, black, steam tug-boat soon neared us and after a long dicker between its Captain and ours in which our passengers were much interested as sum was agreed on, we were taken in tow. We were taken into the mouth of the Mississippi river where we were left at anchor while the tug went out after more tows, and when two more were secured we moved up the river—one large vessel on each side of the tug and a smaller one, a fruiter from Florida, in tow behind. I wish I could give a good description of the dickering between our Captain and the Captain of the tug. Both were genuine yanks.

Our Captain seemed paralyzed at the extortionate demand of the tug Captain. The tug aptain set off at right angles deeply offended apparently at remarks, of our Captain but comes back with another proposition. Our Captain gives him to understand there were other pebbles on the beach. Some of our passengers offer to make up a purse rather than endure the tedium of being shipboard longer, one shrill tongued Scotch woman offering to put up "twa shuillins" her ownself and no doubt her shillings were not over- plentiful.

The tug Captain is off on his ear again and comes back with easier terms at a shorter interval. And so the intervals grew shorter until their hawser is passed over our bow. Of course our first sight of Land is a very welcome sight and the scenery at the mouth of the river was to me very beautiful— long vistas of green level with clumps of trees at intervals, gave it a parklike appearance something like the banks of the Clyde below Glasgow but on a more magnificent scale; then again no roads, no gateways, no magnificent residences that dot the Clyde, no sight of human life on their abodes, in fact a dismal swamp and alligators.

Further up where the banks become defined is the Pilot's village an agregation of houses built on an entire new plan to anything we had ever seen, All built of timber and lumber with large porches and verandas on lower and upper floors and running all around, and all painted white. From the river it looked a fairy picture. Then further up we came to the plantations of sugar cane where the negro life and labor were patent. And here we saw for the first the "Coos putting the Cart" as Bell expressed it, that is a team of oxen. In fact everything was new and curious. As before stated the tug was close alongside and, being lower in the water than us, all the comings and goings of the deck hands and officers were in plain sight.

The Captain and his first mate I think were the only white men on board, the crew being all black fellows. The discipline seemed perfect—orders were given quietly and the men answered respectfully. The meals were served on deck as is the custom on the Mississippi and it was in great plenty, well cooked and inviting dishes, such an white beans, stewed dried apples, sweet potatoes which were new to us. Each man had a tin plate, cup, fork and knife, and they sat cross legged like a tailor at work. The meat was served in milk pans, each man helping himself, and when through what was left was pitched overboard and the tins, cups, etc. returned to the cook's galley.

They sat in companies four or five men in each. I am free to state that nearly half of what was set before them was unconsumed. It looked a great waste to see good food so destroyed.

A First Look at Slavery

We had our ideas of what slavery life was by reading Cowper at school. And here was slavery before our eyes well fed, well c1ad treated with more consideration than our ship Captain treated his crew, fat, sleek, jolly fellows— the very opposite of what we had expected to see. But more of this anon.

In about forty-eight hours we were in New Orleans, a far different city to what we had been used to. We had a levee or earth embankment to land on instead of a granite pier; the people were dressed in straw hats and linen garments in November; drays were used instead of horse and cart; white men with piratical features and many rings in their ears seemed plentiful; numbers of negroes driving drays, handling cotton bales, sugar hogsheads, and in fact doing stevedore worked in gangs by themselves the same as the white men who also worked in gangs by themselves. The negroes seemed to be the merrier, often Laughing and Joking and even singing.

Our stay In New Orleans was short. A large steamboat named the Sultana was engaged and prepared for our voyage up the river to Saint Louis, Missouri. But while their some incidents occurred that I can remember. A party of our passengers in straying around the city came to the slave market, quite a large building in which were many negroes, male and female, for sale. The negroes were quick to take in the situation and extract humour therefrom. "Won't you buy me, massa; I would like to belong to you; I like your looks; I think you could buy me cheap." Such remarks were accompanied by winks and obvious enjoyment of the nonplussed expressions on Mr. Passenger's face.

The Negroes in this market were gathered from Virginia Kentucky, etc. Some were hard cases, idle or vicious, others were bankrupt stock estates foreclosed. A stout young mechanic would bring from fifteen hundred to two thousand dollars, a good field hand eight to twelve hundred, women and children as to their availability. In preparing to go up the river we purchased some provisions from a Scotch baker. My father remarked on the terrible state of affairs that our fellow creatures should be held on the same terms as cattle and horses, but the baker replied thusly: "They are better off than nine tenths of the folks in Scotland. They have plenty of the best to eat; they have comfortable clothes; in case of sickness they have as good attendance as their master; they are never overworked; they have no care for tomorrow. And as to flogging, that was regulated by law. No master dare punish his slave under severe penalty. And even the hardest task master would see to their well being and comfort as the loss of one affects him financially. While in Scotland who cared for the comfort of their employees? If he was not able for a full days work there were plenty others to take his place and he could go hang himselfe for anything anyone cared."

Once on board of the Saltana we had opportunity to observe how the negro was treated by their masters and employers.

The lower Mississippi is low and flat, no rising ground. We passed many fine plantations with fine residences and domain, evidences of wealth and refinement, and other places where the land was worked to get all there was in it for absent owners. Wood was the fuel used on the steamboat, so once or twice per day we tied up at the bank of the river, usually to a cottonwood trees where a purchase was effected of several cords of wood. The deck hands went ashore, each one with a sack over his shoulder on which several sticks of four foot wood was piled, and a string formed from the river bank to the deck where the wood was piled near the boilers, The deck hands were nearly all Irishman or Dutchmen who did this hard work. The Negroes were employed as cooks, waiters, scutitons, etc. The owner doubt had an eye to his chattel not being overworked or serving in any dangerous employment. (Slaves were hired out by the day or month by persons engaged in that business.)

The Sultana being reputed a fast boat we had several trials of speed and usually came out ahead. We heard of barrels of resin and piles of bacon being fed into the furnaces on such occasions, and would not wonder if such occurred as there was always some excitement whenever one boat tried to pass another. The Mississippi steamboats at that time were large flat boats, that hold six to eight feet deep. The hold and the main deck was where the freight was piled. When loaded these boats would be often less than two feet out of the water, when unloaded three to five feet. It was a peculiar sight to see a vast pile of cotton bales afloat, with one or two smoke stacks rising out of the center. When it came nearer you could see every available space occupied with bales of cotton, even the cabins and hurricane deck. We were four or five days on the trip to Saint Louis, and for two days before reaching there the banks of the river became better defined and occasional rising ground could be seen in the distance. The climates became cooler as we approached Saint Louis, an occasional chilly wind being quite a contrast to the hot calms of St. Domingo, the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba and New Orleans of only some two weeks before.

So along in November we landed in St. Louis where our two sisters, Margaret and Agness met us. They were living at Gravois, a coal-mining suburb and Father having no other plans, we went out with them in a coal wagon drawn by two yolk of oxen. There were several Scotch families their, mostly engaged in coal mining, and we were warmly welcomed. Scotch folks are proverbially clannish. And the novelty of the situation no doubt was quite interesting for a while.

To be Continued...

This article was first published on Tuesday, September 4, 2007 at 12:00 am. This article has been viewed 865 times.

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