Sea History 043 - Spring 1987

Page 19

The license of Captain Mary L. Greene was there , dated April 1912. It stated that she was " a skilled master of river steam vessels on western and southern rivers between Pittsburg, Pa. and Parkersburg , West Va. " Greene lived from 1868 to 1947 and a sepia-tint photo of her was hung next to those of several other Greenes. Also on di splay were prints of several river paintings by the noted marine artist , John Stobart. The Great Steamboat Race of 1981 was plugged each day on both boats. Aboard the Delta Queen a blackboard wi th the day 's score stood outside the beautiful old-fashioned window of the purser' s office. Vic Tooker made frequent references in his concerts and evening entertai nments and referred to the Mississippi Queen as " that big rusty thing following us." Similar comments were doubtless made about the fifty-fiveyear-old lady trying to beat the new fl agship which had already won two previous races in 1979 and 1980 . We tied up at St. Francisville , Louisiana , the following day where the Delta Queen was bested in two events, the crew relay race and a rollicking duel between the two steam calliopes. With Delta Queen behind in points, things were quite heated at dinner that evening. One woman of seventy years or more stopped at my table, glared down at me and demanded that the rules be changed! As my sympathies for the Delta Queen were aroused , I began to feel less and less the impartial judge. That night , preparations were made for the " floosy" competition to be held on the front porch of the Cock of the Walk Restaurant, owned by judge Weeta Colebank. This colorful eating place was located " under the hilJ " at Natchez. This was the part of town where brawling , vice and high living were the order of the day in the years following the Civil War. It was known especially for its floosies or prostitutes. Eight passengers from each boat had volunteered to don their finery and strut their stuff to the hoots, whistles and thunderous applause of their fellow passengers. Led by a seventeen-year-old beauty named Tammy Vredevelt who won the title " Miss Natchez Under the Hill ," the Delta Queen soundly beat her rival. At Vicksburg , there was a watermelon eating contest between passengers of the two boats and tug of war between the crews. The outcome of these saw Mississippi Queen once again ahead in points. Past Vicksburg we had two days of steaming to Memphis . A kite-flying contest-a tradition on the riverboats-was decided in a draw . Then came the first of the three real races, a competition of piloting skill on a course between Kangeroo Point and Helena Casting Field in Arkansas . This race was done at a set speed which the judges assured. Captain McArthur and his pilot Captain Lexie Palmore were in the pilot house. Although an attempt to take a short cut put us in a part of the ri ver with only two feet of water under our bottom , Captain McArthur ordered full reverse just in time and we took the longer way around . Nonetheless, there was a victory for Delta Queen , and there were smiles and cheers in the dining saloon that night. Later on, we had a chance to learn something about piloting from our staff pilot, Captain Palmore. She told us how after getting her master's degree in art she had fallen in love with steamboating and secured a job as maid on the Delta Queen and slowly worked her way through the ranks. Encouraged by the Delta Queen Steamboat Company she attended the National River Academy at Helena, Arkansas. She studied there for nearly two years before signing on as a deck hand . After two years of this she got her license as mate . To qualify fo r her pilot's license she had to memorize the ri ver and be able to draw it freehand indicating all the aids to navigation , all the bends, all the shifting sands and the shore points . At first her license was valid only between New Orleans SEA HISTORY , SPRING 1987

)

•/

•r\, V'·

DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOR .

and Cairo, Illinois. In time she extended it to St. Louis and then on the Ohio Ri ver as far as Kentucky Lake . Her talk explai ned how the river constantl y changes : buoys shift from their position , storms alter sand banks and bars . These changes are constantly monitored and announced in bulletins issued by the Coast Guard. Only the night before, she had noticed a new " hump" in the river and reported it. Before morning she was notified that the Coast Guard had put a buoy there. Captain Palmore has also continued her art career doing sketches of steamers, places and ri ver people. She also did the splendid mural that adorns the Delta Queen's saloon . Pass ions continued to rise on both steamers. At Memphis there would be the second race , a side-by-side competition . The previous year one boat had cut off the other and it had been decided to make them race in lanes, even though everyone knew that the boat in the lane on the Arkansas side would be sure to win. Captain McArthur, being the senior skipper called heads as Mayor Chandler flipped a coin . Though it landed heads, it fell and the Mississippi Queen's Captain Gabe was quick to call for another toss. Like a gentleman , Captain McArthur agreed. This time it landed tails, and the Mississippi Queen won the favored position . Captain McArthur did his best to drag victory out of certain defeat. He ordered all passengers as far forward as possible during the race to raise the stem and make less drag for the paddle wheel. Captain McArthur managed to give Delta Queen a slight edge by starting from farther back and coming up to the line with steam on . Slowly, however, the currents counted and Mississippi Queen edged into the lead , her passengers shouting and waving, and her waiters dancing outside the dining saloon. Near the end , she briefly faltered and Delta Queen almost caught up . But the day was theirs, and a flare from a Coast Guard boat on the finish line signalled their victory . 15


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.