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The Mississippi’s Most Colorful;
■ Steamboat Captain v -
$§ After this column, on June 23 rc- Captain Leathers 'waa constants fjirl	counted	the	story	of	the famous Y-ly in some sort* of- businesr
K/UHQCu On ***" r'o	J ^0 lO-Trt t^nm* *>n .Vuitntoan f^a TJa*-— 1 tinffln nn44lnif n	.	11mA	nli
sing slave-pro-i and tobacco, fid not have
d curing sugar abor, go many
1870 river race between the Nat-battle, cutting a rival’s time or chez and the Robert E. Lee, var-	dropping rates to,drive him out.
lous readers asked for more in-..(,,of, business. He 'liked to crowd-i	formation	about, Captain. ■ :Tom <• other boata, ■ give them a start'
Leathers Of the Natchez who, for r.,and then pull ahead to the delight over haU r ----------	. -	.
■.	.	.	-vi	over uuu a century was prob-
tweetenlngs	ably the .most popular -and	pic-
exerted	no	turesque steamboat ctain on	the
^	Mississippi. ..	,e
:■ of his passengers, often acconv1' : .pushing his purpose by dro ; a tub of lard Into th* fire,:
?' lor .an,, Unexpected sprint.- Anotfi-' !-. er favorite stunt was to cut across a competitor’s path by: adroit'
;r, so, as the ;y sent agents >eclally Missis-n. produced amazing how wners in Mis-;:
ginned cottoi. that..mmi which*he' ODerated In- , tricks—all of which endeared him"1
Kentucky bom Thomas P. Leath-ers began steamboatlng' on the
Yazoo River with the Sunflower in. maneuvering . at * the I. curve* -In' 1836 when he was 20 y<ars old; ' 'the river.’ He would fire his can-By 1840 Captain Tom had built-. non . across , the .. bow:. of other ‘ the Princess, the first - of five steamers- as he passed.' He wk»_ •Leathers’ owned steamboats . ,by 3 . colorfid; ;boisterous and full of-E ,	.	that-rami which*he' operated In- , tricks—all of
the New Orleans-Vicksburg trade.' to- the passengers and people ’of Few people realize it, but there the . Mississippi River-but hd;
Annual report.!	----- .CL seven Leathers’ owned ■ never endangered the safety of,
his boat or of the passengers.
After the Civil War, which had practically wiped out the . steam-', boats of the South-, Captain Leathers returned to the trade' with.
, the Sixth Natchez which he built 'caught "in 'the' flames and burned- 'jn 1869.-Its fep^ed and its grace on to death, Captain Tom 'and his ' {he water aroused the competitive^ young wife barely escaping with' ' ire’of Captain Cannon'of the Rob-their'lives. The fifth Natchez had	ert'E. Lee—and as a result the'
been in'service only a few months	race' was arranged.'’'' ’ '
when	° In -1870 when hiTsbrth Natchei'
to escape capture. The Confeder- ,. ^fna,the^8	",	^
ates converted it into a ramk- -	ZfZl
Yn^kees^11^^	l^fn^de^$4QW)
•*_	/,/	./•.•-i*' •■'■’J'	hi •> ■•!-Vtrip'..he raced. the.-;Lee) but', <ie
The sixth Natchez was, built in couldn’t afford .to craih or' bum. 1869 after the War, just one year ’ - j^ the 9Vi years the sixth Natch-before its historic-race. It .was as	ez-opefat^fl the.''"^iV'terj ‘ she.'.mada
401 .'.safe;;* roiind trips", between
PsSi
fmm,
'vj ? W-Ji|- i
-W
■S'U
lelphia Associa-j'T; Ust ■chase only freely >tton they sen 1 Of the North-isfiSsippl whe
I-rv
JtS
•IH
J1S.
■ould not afford! ives, but. others^ ave labor as a le, '	,	;.
ad no difficulty Ji cotton, un-mch of slavery, in required. Aiwa s set up .localities they sit, they had no hofr buys since oni .In the pur-jLt.ey, carped, .the
neilx! orted that thous-s of free labor procured in Mis-iot for the slave the ginning and , in Yal abusha , ginner In 1847 ■nish the Associa-Df free labor cot-ill ginned by free , for per-
i :rtun an agent M.-irs'nall County, id that only three : in the whole slaves. At Holly across a Method •ho owned a gin lite labc> ?rs. The d at firri at the •■•intion refusing
■mm
jVicksburg and; New.OrleinJ, often
out he built the seventh. But tha plush . days of sfeatAboating were over and Captain ,'Leathers had to lay her up in 1887 TieCause there Wa3 not enough, business to keep operating. The' railroads had into the steamboat business drastically.•
After braving and surviving . •y,j«r-j -j.ney were Bwiikr-.mu vu	A~1	.of the hazards of the river for
:>ule	and	no	detail-was-overlooked	60,-years, Captain-Tom Leathers
l^fgfcjiwVto guarantee the;''safety Of their'-; in his. 80th 'year/ died a landlub--cargo and passengers. .Along, with.''..ber’s .death.'-.He '.was 'knocked ’his	reliability	and	honesty.	Cap-	down by a “scorcher” which was
U»«'<5-j<-'t^a'.'tajn	possessed	.a	wids	the	hams.for a hit:.and.run bicy-
mm
streak of showmanship. For ex- " _cle rider in ]89G_ and shortly after-
/J,/.
Vi/
ampte, his tall smokestacks werfe painted a fiery red, enabling anyone to pick 16iit"‘.'the current Natche2 from the forest of drab smokestacks that usually lined the New Orleans waterfront. ;
' Captain Tom was a huge man. hoarir six feet four and wcl/Jhed over 2'>? pounds. To the iini>re5-siveness of his size, ,a heavy head of hair and a distinguished beard, were added his usual apparel a while silk ruffled shirt, decoratr .ed .wilh a diamond cluster" pin;-, and a suit of Confederate gray.
’svards died of his injuries.
(KNOW -------------------
an article in Americsn
nett Kane’s ' book Natchez data contained In today’s column, Copyright 196*2 'Raj- 'Thompson
T
for Captain Leathers was a rabid
. . i .	-	•	J-	«v
Rebel. lie refused to fly the Amer- '}'Vv*‘	*	'.1'f‘/i	^
ican flag on any of his boats until V.v -v\V:'i v ■ V '4'/• f-^ '	"	"
1885, twenty years after the Soulh surrendered. In that year, in celebration of a Democratic election victory, Captain Tom finally hoist: ed the Stars and Stripes and of- .,
.., < ficially declared the War was oveh . r» , ■
He would wave his cigar around jt'	/[r„	,
like a baton in giving orders, was I- /!;</y/ respected by the roustabouts as fyr^*;
the “best' cusser on the Mississip-. j’^	.	■	"i,
pi,” but was- the soul *	...................
tesy to his passengers dies.:
Captain Tom adopted Natchez y,r	n-n’in.i;	'■even	of
li 11
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