viands having been brought from the steamboat. But we came
off poorly, and were fain to get rowed back to the Sam Ward,
there to dine easily. All sorts of speculations about our sticking
fast. About the Baltimore steamer that is expected to follow
in our track, whether we shall lie here until she tows us off.
Canoes with Lewis & cosmopolitan Frisell, Hacker & Sedgwick
have gone lake-wards, also Northberry. Despondent and joyous passengers. All the
wood has
been thrown overboard; and the coal is being transported ashore in I meet one
gentleman in varnished shoes who s very dismal indeed, and inclined to look
upon our Captain as a miscreant.
boats, everything superfluous disposed of, by way of lightening the
vessel. Such passengers as are not ashore are incessantly occupied
in rushing from one side to the other, hauling ropes and howling.
I remain in cabin. Supper time, previous to which I join in ano-
ther unsuccessful attempt to roll the vessel. Another after supper,
the ladies joining above, enthusiastically. Every body aboard rushing
frantically, stamping, jumping and howling, till in a confused
mass they reach the opposite side, where they look up at the pretty
faces above who have emulated them, in the race. The great
object is effected. The vessel rolls is clear ! Scouts come back. Strange men appear
aboard.
One, a six feet, red shirted, rough spoken, bearded, capped Lake
man hight Gassy Jack . worth looking on. He appeared to wish to make up for his,
stupidity by profanity. I hear of the afternoons spree-ings on
the shore. Fires built, champagne and brandy drank.
Fellows drunken, others holding pow-wows and doing Ojib-way
dances round em. Burying the one in the blanket-coat, Indian fashion. Lewis is back,
with a branch of [Kinikinit?]
which the Indians use for smoking. Remarkable sunset. Frisell & the others are
back, much later, having paddled to the Lake, and visited
a lodge of Indians, two returning with them in Mackinaw boat
belonging to the Steamboat. They describe the view as seen from
| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Six: page eighty-eight |
| Description: | Describes finally getting the steamboat ''Sam Ward'' unstuck from a sand bar on the Fond du Lac River. |
| Date: | 1853-08-19 |
| Subject: | Estabrook, Captain; Frisell; Gassy Jack; Great Lakes (North America); Gunn, Thomas Butler; Hacker; Lewis (passenger); Northberry; Sam. Ward (Ship); Sedgwick (passenger); Travel |
| Coverage (City/State): | [Wisconsin] |
| Scan Date: | 2011-02-02 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Six |
| Description: | Includes descriptions of Gunn's writing and drawing work in New York, a visit to the Catskill Mountains, attending the wedding of his friend Charles Damoreau (Brown), a visit to the Crystal Palace in New York, his friend Lotty's difficult marriage to John Whytal, a sailing trip around Lake Superior, a visit to Mackinac Island in Michigan, a visit to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, and a journey by horseback from Kentucky to Louisiana with friends. |
| Subject: | African Americans; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Marriage; Native Americans; Publishers and publishing; Slavery; Travel; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, New York; Michigan; Wisconsin; Ohio; Kentucky; Mississippi; Alabama; Louisiana |
| Note: | Thomas Butler Gunn was born February 15, 1826, in Banbury, England, and came to New York in 1849. During the Civil War he worked as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and the New York Evening Post. He returned to England in 1863, and died in Birmingham in April 1903. The collection includes twenty-one volumes of his diaries, including newspaper clippings, letters, photographs, sketches, and various other items inserted by Gunn. Diary entries date from July 7, 1849, to April 7, 1863, and include his experiences with the New York publishing and literary world, his descriptions of boarding houses, his travels throughout the United States, and his experiences traveling with the Federal army as a Civil War correspondent. |
| Publisher: | Missouri History Museum |
| Rights: | Copyright 2011 Missouri History Museum. |
| Source: | Page images, transcriptions, and metadata of the Thomas Butler Gunn diaries have been provided by the Missouri History Museum. |
