MEAN MUDDY RIVER!
© KENNETH. E. HALL OCTOBER 24, 2018 HOUSTON
♫"Oh, LAWD! Oh, LAWD!
You a MEAN, muddy river -
A mean, muddy river!
How much-a sorrow does a po' man need?
Lawd, Lawd! How much-a sorrow does a po' man need?
You a MEAN, muddy river -
A mean, muddy river!
...Mean ol' river drowned my little child!" ♫--- old blues song
Mark Twain once wrote: “This creature's career could produce but one result, and it speedily followed. Boy after boy managed to get on the river. The minister's son became an engineer. The doctor's and the post-master's sons became 'mud clerks;' the wholesale liquor dealer's son became a barkeeper on a boat; four sons of the chief merchant, and two sons of the county judge, became pilots. Pilot was the grandest position of all. The pilot, even in those days of trivial wages, had a princely salary—from a hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty dollars a month, and no board to pay. Two months of his wages would pay a preacher's salary for a year. Now some of us were left disconsolate. We could not get on the river —— at least our parents would not let us.”
― Life on the Mississippi
Who knew the rivers and steamboats better than Sam Clemmons? He wrote many books about life on the river and would take his very pen-name from shouts he heard on that mean, muddy river ---
Like Mark Twain and the young boys he wrote about, thirteen-year-old Billy would often see steamboats. Why wouldn't he? He had lived his short life in the bustling city of New Orleans, and steamboats, Schooners, flatboats - vessels of all sizes, shapes, and descriptions could be seen in great numbers. But Billy was not free like Mark Twain and his alter-ego Tom Sawyer. Billy was a slave.
His master was a German Immigrant with the almost whimsical name of ¹John Goldenbow. John lived in the French sector of the multi-national city of New Orleans. It was 1835 - The great and famous "Battle of New Orleans" was only two decades ago, and Billy's master still delighted in talking about his adventures as a soldier in the New Orleans Militia.
"That was a good time to be alive," John would reminisce, "We were all different, but we all fought on the same side!" There were Choctaw Indians, Kentuck riflemen, regular city businessmen - even PIRATES took part in the fray, and helped us win the battle, too!
That was then. John was now in his early 50's, and enjoying the fruits of his business ventures, as well as the nearly-free labor of indentured servants and a couple of slaves whom he paid nothing. It is easy to get rich when others work for you for free.
Little Billy did not seem to mind, though. He had heard of those poor unfortunates who toiled in the cotton fields and in the sugar plantations, through the blazing-hot summer days and chilly winters - all day long, every day. He had it good, he might have thought - it's no fun to be a slave - to belong to someone else - but if that was your lot in life, working in a tailor shop or cleaning up a house was preferable to the backbreaking hard labor others still performed not too far from the city.
His Master, John, was, among other things, a ship agent, and so he knew what ships sailed to where and made good money managing their affairs while in port. He knew many ship captains by name, and was even able to book passage to his native Germany for a song, returning with his young bride, the former Augusta Ehrich.
It was this very connection to the maritime industry that lead to Billy's sister asking if she could go visit her family in ²Natchitoches, La., a far piece from New Orleans. She had worked for John for as long as she could remember, and he knew that after the visit, the young girl would return and resume her domestic duties, so he booked her passage on a paddlewheel steamboat for the long journey up the mighty Mississippi to the Red River, and from there to the well-established city the locals called "na-ka-tish" but what the Native Americans probably called: "Na-chee TOSH".
Billy's sister showed up at the port where the ³Lady Washington was beginning to board. All around her was a bustling place - barrels of sugar, bales of cotton, nutria pelts, and goods of all sorts were being loaded and unloaded from several dozens of ships and steamboats that plied the muddy river. Stevedores and slaves toted barges and lifted bales of cotton like they weighed nothing. It was a mighty sight to see.
As she walked up the gangplank, nobody took any notice of her. There were free persons of color, and even slaves who were trusted who took occasional trips on their masters business. Nobody questioned the young slave boy who calmly walked aboard as it he was supposed to be there ... but he wasn't.
Seems as though his sister was given leave to go to Natchitoches ALONE, and Billy was to remain in the city. Thirteen-year-old boys don't always do what they're told, and the possibility of getting just an hour's ride on a real steamboat was worth the certain flogging either by the captain or his master - or maybe by BOTH! All Billy had on his mind was adventure - the kind only Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer dreamt about.
The whistle blew long and loud - white steam shooting high into the air, and the sound throbbed deeply in everyone's chests. The ramps were pulled back and the stevedores removed the ropes tying the vessel up to the dock and the huge paddle wheel began to turn. Slowly the great boat began to move and separate itself from the dock - and soon it was in the middle of one of the world's greatest - and also the most unforgiving rivers. The adventure had begun!
Billy's sister went to an area of the boat where colored people were allowed. She, too, was excited. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to see her younger brother standing there!
"Dis-donc! She exclaimed in French, "Qu'es-ce que tu fais là?" My goodness - what are you doing here??
I got away - Massa John don't know it yet!
"Massa gon' flog you GOOD!" she warned the lad, but he was not listening. Been known to happen.
Big sister was worried, and well she should have been. A slave running off without permission was a serious offense. The first thing she thought was how to hide her kid brother until they got to Natchitoches.
As fate would have it, help was close at hand! The black cook in the kitchen just happened to be related to the peripatetic pair, and offered to help. Her idea was nothing short of a stroke of genius: Billy could hide in plain sight!
Having the run of the galley and being well-acquainted with the other cooks, she quickly put the 13-year-old stowaway to work in the kitchen! She realized that the rich folks on the Promenade were more interested in having Mint Juleps and smoking Havana cigars than worrying about a little colored boy. It was such a good idea that they even fooled the crew - and for the same reasons.
It got even more brazen as little Billy was pressed into service making deliveries to rich folks in their cabins! As the day wore on, Billy looked and acted as part of the crew, fooling all that didn't know differently.
The day wore on and the Washington Lady plied arduously against the mighty current, winding her way past small farms and large plantations. Back then there were no high levees to keep back the spring flood waters, so passengers and crew got a good look at fields of sugarcane and occasionally tobacco fields, as well as dozens of huge, majestic plantation homes with their lovely columns. Hidden from their view were the slave shacks out back.
Every once in awhile, another vessel heading downstream would be saluted by the blowing of a loud steam whistle, and the other craft would reply in turn. Among the flotilla of craft were rafts - homebuilt things which drifters used as free transportation to New Orleans, where they made a quick buck and many met a quick death.
Some bombastic old gentleman with a white goatee was overheard to exclaim, as he saw several rafts full of Cajuns, blacks, and others⁴"Those in authority in this neck of the woods have only the interest of friends and political henchmen at heart. The transients, negroes and the Boogalees all flock here for this Crescent City is the haven for all idle and lazy drifters."
The passengers, all dressed up in formal attire, gazed upon the estates of some of Louisiana's richest people, all of whom amassed vast sums of money because of the cost-free labor of the hundreds of the enslaved human beings who toiled on their behalf.
A stop was made at Baton Rouge to let off some passengers and take on new ones. Supplies were also brought on board and Billy even helped bring up a canister of fresh milk. He walked up the gangplank, and passed right under the noses of Captain Wright and his first mate, who were greeting a new river pilot who has just come aboard. The men gave the young man no heed whatsoever. Billy had no idea how close he had come to getting caught - every ship's captain meets and interviews his crew, and a strange face would immediately be questioned.
The cool, refreshing breeze blew across the deck of the sidewheeler, while below deck, in the colored section, sat Billy's sister - still a bit worried that the cook's little scheme might at any minute be discovered.
That was not to happen.
Some time after departing Baton Rouge the boat tied up once more at the bustling port of⁵ Bayou Sara. Again more passengers embarked and disembarked, and a few more supplies, mail and even some cargo were on-loaded and offloaded. Again young Billie was pressed into service and all thoughts of discovery had fled from his mind. A few men cheered as Billie brought aboard a wooden cask of rum!
Slowly the wooden vessel plied upstream. The work had subsided and the daylight had turned now to dusk. Billy, who had been sent on yet another errand, was indeed earning his keep. However, he had taken more time than expected to return to the kitchen. At first the cook took little note of this - she had pots, pans, dishes and all to wash and put away, and if she gave any thought at all to Billy, it was to believe he had gone below decks to visit his sister.
She inquired of her coworkers, and they hadn't seen Billie since just after pulling out from Bayou Sara. A quick trip down below led her to inquire of Billie's sister - but she had not seen Billie since they left Baton Rouge. Then, more of the crew and even a few passengers were discreetly questioned. Soon enough, word got to the Captain that a negro stowaway - possibly a runaway slave - had been discovered aboard the boat - but that that discovery had not been reported to any of the officers until the young man went missing.
In cases such as this, there was a law on the books that all vessels plying the waters of Louisiana must complete a search for stowaways PRIOR to shoving off from the vessel's home port. Special emphasis was placed on locating runaway slaves. Were any discovered they would immediately be turned over to the ship's agent who would see to it that the slave/slaves were returned to their masters as quickly as possible. Were any runaways discovered while the vessel was on the river between ports, it was the duty of the Captain to make speedily for the nearest port, where the local constabulary or authorities would be charged with returning said runaways.
Upon learning of the disappearance of the lad, the Captain immediately pulled the boat toward the riverbank and anchored there for several hours. A few crewmen were dispatched downstream in a launch to search for Billy, but no sign of him was ever found. He just disappeared!
Billie was presumed drowned - all who knew the Mississippi well knew that those who fall overboard in midstream are highly unlikely to be able to survive those murky, turbulent waters. His sister sat just outside of the Captain's quarters, and she wept bitterly. She visited her family in Natchitoches, and returned to New Orleans and bondage under Massa Goldenbow - and she had to tell the tale of her brother's misadventures, and of his disappearance.
Nothing was mentioned about the incident in the local papers, and no funeral was held - there was no body to bury. His survivors grieved in quiet solitude, and then went on with their work.
One person who was most upset by the boy's drowning was John Goldenbow. It seems he had paid some $600.00 for Billy, and that was a sizeable sum back in the 1830's. Eager to recoup some - if not all - of the monies invested, a lawsuit was filed in the Municipal Court.
⁶ ⚖ January 19, 1835 - The suit: “John Goldenbow vs Captain Isaac Wright” began, and it was one of the more unusual cases. John Goldenbow sued the steamboat's CAPTAIN - Isaac Wright, for the sum of $600.00 plus court fees and interest, for the loss of his young slave.
Of course Captain Wright was furious over the whole incident and the lawsuit added insult to injury. Naturally he protested vigorously and got himself a good lawyer. But the law was clear that the crew of the Lady Washington had not conducted a pre-departure stowaway check. Moreover, the cook had failed to notify the Captain of the presence of the stowaway, as per the Maritime Law. Furthermore, in accordance with Maritime Law, the Captain bears ultimate responsibility for the actions (or inactions) of his crew while at sea or on the river.
The court ruled, after two long years of trial and deliberation, in favor of the plaintiff. It ruled that the Captain must pay the sum of $600.00 to John Goldenbow forthwith.
This was more than the Captain could stand, and immediately after the decision was read, a motion of Appeal was filed and the matter was brought before the Louisiana State Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court's decision - reaffirming the Captain's responsibility for the actions of his crew. The court ordered Captain Isaac Wright to pay the initial $600.00 demanded by the Plaintiff, but not the interest. I guess there's limits to everything.
What of young Billie? What happened to him? Was he playing around and slipped and fell overboard? Did he get into a fight and was tossed into the river? Did he try to escape by diving into the turbulent waters only to be sucked under like so many before him? Or did he succeed in swimming to the riverbank and make it to safety... perhaps trekking his way North - to freedom?
Only the Mississippi River knows what happened to the boy I called Billy. Nobody really knows his name - it was never recorded - and he died nameless somewhere, with no one to mourn and to grieve. Did he drown, or did he make it to freedom? Don't bother to ask Ol' Man River... he knows, yeah he knows, but he ain't sayin'.
A song about steamboats and hard work tells of that Ol' Man River:
⁷ "Let me go 'way from the Mississippi,
Let me go 'way from de white man boss;
Show me dat stream called de river Jordan,
Dat's de ol' stream dat I long to cross.
Show me dat stream called de river Jordan,
Dat's de ol' stream dat I long to cross.
O' man river,
Dat ol' man river,
He mus' know sumpin'
But don't say nuthin'
He jes' keeps rollin'
He keeps on rollin' along!"
_____________________________________________________________________
SONGS CITED:
Ol'Man River - from SHOWBOAT - 1936 * 100 years after this story took place
Sung by Paul Robeson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh9WayN7R-s
Mean. Muddy River - by Tip & Tinker:Dat ol' man river,
He mus' know sumpin'
But don't say nuthin'
He jes' keeps rollin'
He keeps on rollin' along!"
_____________________________________________________________________
SONGS CITED:
Ol'Man River - from SHOWBOAT - 1936 * 100 years after this story took place
Sung by Paul Robeson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh9WayN7R-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkK04t0NQgU
NOTES & SOURCES:
¹JOHN GOLDENBOW was a real person. He was my 4th Great-Grandfather.
He was born in Mecklenburg, Germany and fought in the Battle Of New Orleans. This story is based on real persons and a real event on the Mississippi River, which brought about a lawsuit that wound up in the Louisiana Supreme Court.
²The town of Natchitoches, LA was first settled in 1714, and was incorporated February 5, 1819. According to Wikipedia: It is the oldest permanent European settlement within the borders of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase," predating the settlement of New Orleans by some 7 years.
³The LADY WASHINGTON was a side-wheeled steamboat completed at Wheeling, VA (now West Virginia) in 1832. Displacement: 96 tons. First home port: Cincinnati, Ohio. Engaged in the Bayou Lafourche trade under the command of Captain Reed, January 1835. Snagged at Natchez. MS, January 9, 1836. Sources: Lytle List, 109, 216; New Orleans Bee, January 3, 1835."
Steamboats on Louisiana's Bayous: A History and Directory
By Carl A. Brasseaux, Keith P. Fontenot"⁴Dictionary of American Regional English is the source of this quote, dated 1834, around the time this story took place. The word Boogalie, origin unknown, was a pejorative for "Cajun" or Acadian.
⁵"Bayou Sara had been established by French colonists in the early 1790s. It was at one time the largest antebellum Mississippi River port between New Orleans and Memphis, but was superseded by Natchez. The settlement was gradually destroyed by repeated flooding and fires, and nothing exists of Bayou Sara today."- Wikipedia
⁶Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Louisiana Supreme Court - https://books.google.com/books?id=06tLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA236&lpg=PA236&dq=Goldenbow+wright+%22Lady+Washington%22&source=bl&ots=AgGSXoATdW&sig=JdulSrRv4YMgAVn49656eQB1dMI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBi9G77qHeAhVNuFMKHeRhAyYQ6AEwAXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=Goldenbow%20wright%20%22Lady%20Washington%22&f=false
⁷ "Ol' Man River" (music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II) is a show tune from the 1927 musical Show Boat that contrasts the struggles and hardships of African Americans with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississippi River. It is sung from the point of view of a black stevedore on a showboat..." - Wikipedia
Illustrations by Currier & Ives ( Lithograph Prints courtesy Library of Congress)
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If you enjoyed this story, you might find these interesting also:
http://kennyduke.blogspot.com/2018/09/black-like-me.html
http://kennyduke.blogspot.com/2016/07/no-return.html
http://kennyduke.blogspot.com/2018/08/genealogy-is-fun.html
http://kennyduke.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-old-rocking-chair.html
https://kennyduke.blogspot.com/2018/10/i-must-not-speak-french.html
...And please check out my WELCOME PAGE which lays out the overall theme, aims, and purposes of my Blog and directs you to many other stories that come from the heart!
http://kennyduke.blogspot.com/p/welcome.html
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