Four Months In A Sneak-Box
Nathaniel H. (Nathaniel Holmes) Bishop
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FOUR MONTHS IN A SNEAK-BOX.
FOUR MONTHS IN A SNEAK-BOX.
TO THE OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE LIGHT HOUSE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED STATES This Book is Dedicated BY ONE WHO HAS LEARNED TO RESPECT THEIR HONEST, INTELLIGENT AND EFFICIENT LABORS IN SERVING THEIR GOVERNMENT, THEIR COUNTRYMEN, AND MANKIND GENERALLY. EIGHTEEN months ago the author gave to the public his "VOYAGE OF THE PAPER CANOE:—A GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNEY OF 2500 MILES FROM QUEBEC TO THE GULF OF MEXICO, DURING THE YEARS 1874-5." The kind reception by the American press of the author's first
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MAP SHOWING RIVER AND PORTAGE ROUTES ACROSS FLORIDA FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 5. ROUTE FOLLOWED BY THE AUTHOR IN PAPER CANOE "MARIA THERESA," IN 1875. . . . OPPOSITE 319 [MAP OF ROUTES FOLLOWED BY N. H. BISHOP IN PAPER CANOE "MARIA THERESA" AND DUCK-BOAT "CENTENNIAL REPUBLIC" 1874-1876]
MAP SHOWING RIVER AND PORTAGE ROUTES ACROSS FLORIDA FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. 5. ROUTE FOLLOWED BY THE AUTHOR IN PAPER CANOE "MARIA THERESA," IN 1875. . . . OPPOSITE 319 [MAP OF ROUTES FOLLOWED BY N. H. BISHOP IN PAPER CANOE "MARIA THERESA" AND DUCK-BOAT "CENTENNIAL REPUBLIC" 1874-1876]
Four Months in a Sneak-Box THE READER who patiently followed the author in his long "VOYAGE OF THE PAPER CANOE," from the high latitude of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the warmer regions of the Gulf of Mexico, may desire to know the reasons which impelled the canoeist to exchange his light, graceful, and swift paper craft for the comical-looking but more commodious and comfortable Barnegat sneak-box, or duck-boat. Having navigated more than eight thousand miles in sail-boats, row-boats, and canoe
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THE START FOR THE GULF.— CAUGHT IN THE ICE-RAFT.— CAMPING ON THE OHIO.— THE GRAVE CREEK MOUND.— AN INDIAN SEPULCHRE.— BLENNERHASSET'S ISLAND.— AARON BURR'S CONSPIRACY.— A RUINED FAMILY.
THE START FOR THE GULF.— CAUGHT IN THE ICE-RAFT.— CAMPING ON THE OHIO.— THE GRAVE CREEK MOUND.— AN INDIAN SEPULCHRE.— BLENNERHASSET'S ISLAND.— AARON BURR'S CONSPIRACY.— A RUINED FAMILY.
UPON arriving at Pittsburgh, on the morning of December 2d, 1875, after a dreary night's ride by rail from the Atlantic coast, I found my boat—it having preceded me—safely perched upon a pile of barrels in the freight-house of the railroad company, which was conveniently situated within a few rods of the muddy waters of the Monongahela. The sneak-box, with the necessary stores for the cruise, was transported to the river's side, and as it was already a little past noon, and only a few hours of d
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
ABOUT this time the selection of resting places for the night became an important feature of the voyage. It was easy to draw the little craft out of the water on to a smooth, shelving beach, but such places did not always appear at the proper time for ending the day's rowing. The banks were frequently precipitous, and, destitute of beaches, frowned down upon the lonely voyager in anything but a hospitable manner. There were also present two elements antagonistic to my peace of mind. One was the
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
MY floating home was now upon the broad Mississippi, which text-book geographers still insist upon calling "the Father of Waters—the largest river in North America." Its current was about one-third faster than that of its tributary, the Ohio. Its banks were covered with heavy forests, and for miles along its course the great wilderness was broken only by the half-tilled lands of the cotton- planter. From Cairo southward the river is very tortuous, turning back upon itself as if imitating the con
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
DURING the afternoon, while rowing out of the cut-off behind an island, I caught sight of a flatboat floating in the contour of a distant bend. There was something familiar in her appearance, and, as I drew nearer, I recognized the pile of nets, the rusty stove, and the civil but silent crew. She was the same flat which had left Hickman, Kentucky, the morning I had departed from that town with my basket of pies. This time the crew seemed like old friends. River life makes all men equal. A pleasa
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CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
THIS was my fifth visit to New Orleans, and walking through its quaint streets I observed many changes of an undesirable nature, the inevitable consequences of political misrule. As the past of the city loomed up before me, the various scenes of bloodshed, crime, and misery enacted, shifted like pictures in a panorama before my mind's eye. I saw far back in the distance an indomitable man, faint and discouraged, after the terrible sufferings of a winter at a bleak fort in the wilderness, drag hi
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CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
ONE of the chief charms in a boatman's life is its freedom, and what that freedom is no one knows until he throws aside the chains of every-day life, steps out of the worn ruts, and, with his kit beside him, his oar in his hand, feels himself master of his time, and FREE. There is one duty incumbent on the voyager, however, and that is to keep his face set upon his goal. Remembering this, I turned my back upon the beguiling city of New Orleans, with its orange groves and sweet flowers, its old b
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
ON the morning of February 8 we left Biloxi, and launching our boats, proceeded on our voyage to the eastward, skirting shores which were at times marshy, and again firm and sandy. At Oak Point, and Belle Fontaine Point, green magnolia trees, magnificent oaks, and large pines grew nearly to the water's edge. Beyond Belle Fontaine the waters of Graveline Bayou flow through a marshy flat to the sea, and offer an attractive territory to sportsmen in search of wild-fowl. Beyond the bayou, between We
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MR. L. H…………………………… DR.
MR. L. H…………………………… DR.
To State Taxes proper,——- .70 on - - $100.00  General Sinking Fund,——- .30 " - - 100.00  Special Sinking Fund,——- .16 " - - 100.00  General School Tax,———- .10 " - - 100.00    _______________________ Total State Tax,— 1.26 " - - 100.00 To County Tax proper,——- .50 " - - 100.00  County School Tax,———- .50 " - - 100.00  Special County Building Tax,.35 " - - 100.00  County Specific Tax,—— 2.00 " - - 100.00                         _______________________ Total County Tax,—- 3.35 " - - 100.00 Total S
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