Steamboat Willie and The Old Woman Cook
Here's another story about my great grandfather William St. John who was a steamboat captain in the early 1900s on the Ohio, Tennessee, and Mississippi Rivers.
My grandma Mattie, Willie's wife was a devout Christian and kept impeccable records of every family event in her big family bible. She would get a "word from the Lord" sometimes and would always act on it, even if it seemed wierd or silly to other people. She knew that the Lord works in mysterious ways and no matter how strange it might have seemed, it was what the Lord said and so she would carry it out. And most of the time whatever she was told to do was for a good reason and it always worked out for the best.
One such time was when Willy was about to leave for the boat and it had been raining for days and the river was quite high. Mattie had gotten a word of knowledge telling her to make sure Willy took the old family bible with him on his trip. She wouldn't take no for an answer and nothing Willy could say would convince her that it wasn't a good idea to take the old bible and risk anything happening to it. Most of the men on the boat had already heard about Mattie and her whims. He hated the thought of their poking fun at him as he carried the big bible into the bridge. But he went ahead and took it just to make Mattie calm down.
He put the old bible in the buckboard and hitched up the horses to head down to the boat dock and Mattie kissed his cheek and said, Now Willie, you know I wouldn't have you doing this if I didn't trust the Lord to prove his word. Willie said, yes Dear, kissed her on the mouth and laughed as she wiped it off and whispered, You old fool, get going. I'll see you next week.
When he got to the steamboat and climbed aboard he almost forgot to grab the old bible. He knew that hell held no fury that would match Mattie's scorn if anything happened to all the family records and now he felt obligated to babysit it. So he gently laid it down on the desk in his bridge and headed down to the galley to get the report on everything that had happened since he was last aboard.
The old black woman cook was there and as always had a cup of coffee in hand and sat down with him to take a break. She was a good old woman who had worked on the boat for years, but she hated the water and the thought of drowning scared her nearly to death. She couldn't swim and her fear of water was almost an obsession. He often wondered why on earth she had taken the job as a cook on a boat when she was so afraid of the water, but had never really asked her. He guessed that her need for money was stronger than her fear.
Anyways, that night he settled in for a nice restful sleep as the boat rocked gently over the water, and he wondered why Mattie seemed to be so alarmed, because it seemed like everything was fine. Yes the water was a little high but the bridges were plenty high enough for them to pass under and the river traffic was slow and there weren't hardly any other boats around...but things can change pretty fast on the river. You never know for sure what might turn into a dangerous time. So he kept on ear open for any signs of danger and finally went to sleep.
The next day as they made their way to the bigger towns the river was more congested and sometimes it was difficult to navagate through the locks with all the boats around. They had to wait in line for hours to get into the locks and then wait for the water to move before the gate opened to let them pass through. But other than that it wasn't too bad. He'd been through much worse and was confident that nothing was going to happen.
That evening he went to the galley for his evening meal and enjoyed a nice steak, and all the trimmings. He and the old cook had their usual banter and he felt good as he went out to smoke his nightly cigar. Then he looked up and quickly realized that something was wrong. Apparently the dam wasn't doing it's job and the water was too high for them to pass under the bridge that they were coming up on swiftly. The smoke stack was going to hit the bridge and there was no way to turn around and the steam they had built up couldn't be just turned off. The boat would hit the bridge and there was nothing they could do but bail out.
With barely enough time to get word to all the crew members, he ordered one to gather up the life jackets, another to get the word to the rest and then he had to go and break the news to the old cook. He had a feeling he would have to force her out of the boat and he had no idea how hard a task this was going to be. And what made it even worse...there weren't enough life jackets to go around. So he decided that he would give one to her and all that would go around to the crew members, and those who couldn't swim would get the first of them.
With all the mixups and trying to get everyone working together he almost forgot the old bible. Oh no, now he was going to have to figure out a way to get it to the bank safely on top of having to possibly fight the old woman, who was now frantic and screaming for dear life. So he did the only thing he could do, he went to the bridge and grabbed the old bible in hand and hoped and prayed that it would dry out and not be ruined.
He had to stay aboard until everyone else was off the boat, and the old lady refused to budge for anyone else, so after the last man went overboard, he helped her with her lifejacket, assured her that it would be ok and with one arm around her and the other hand on the bible, he jumped overboard. The water was cold, and she was still struggling and fearful, but at least she was safe. And the bible, believe it or not, floated gently on top of the water and helped him to get her and himself to the bank. Once they were safely on land, he examined the old bible and it was as if it had never touched the water. Dry as a bone, every page intact and through it God had kept his word to Mattie and brought her man home again to her.
It was very late when he finally got home, dripping and cold and Mattie greeted him with open arms. She said...ok Willie, now do you believe me? He said, Yes Dear, I'll never doubt you again.
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Years ago, after my grandmother passed on, I was given an amazing gift by my oldest aunt, Louise.
Wrapped up in tissue paper, was an old bible. I opened it up and read the entries into the family events and found that every single marriage, birth and death had been recorded neatly and meticulously...by no one else but Mattie St. John! This is one of the best treasures I've ever owned and it's all because Willy did what he had to do and kept it safe from harm. Now I know that the story is true. And I've been given a way to trace back my roots and learn from all those who passed on before me.
My grandma Mattie, Willie's wife was a devout Christian and kept impeccable records of every family event in her big family bible. She would get a "word from the Lord" sometimes and would always act on it, even if it seemed wierd or silly to other people. She knew that the Lord works in mysterious ways and no matter how strange it might have seemed, it was what the Lord said and so she would carry it out. And most of the time whatever she was told to do was for a good reason and it always worked out for the best.
One such time was when Willy was about to leave for the boat and it had been raining for days and the river was quite high. Mattie had gotten a word of knowledge telling her to make sure Willy took the old family bible with him on his trip. She wouldn't take no for an answer and nothing Willy could say would convince her that it wasn't a good idea to take the old bible and risk anything happening to it. Most of the men on the boat had already heard about Mattie and her whims. He hated the thought of their poking fun at him as he carried the big bible into the bridge. But he went ahead and took it just to make Mattie calm down.
He put the old bible in the buckboard and hitched up the horses to head down to the boat dock and Mattie kissed his cheek and said, Now Willie, you know I wouldn't have you doing this if I didn't trust the Lord to prove his word. Willie said, yes Dear, kissed her on the mouth and laughed as she wiped it off and whispered, You old fool, get going. I'll see you next week.
When he got to the steamboat and climbed aboard he almost forgot to grab the old bible. He knew that hell held no fury that would match Mattie's scorn if anything happened to all the family records and now he felt obligated to babysit it. So he gently laid it down on the desk in his bridge and headed down to the galley to get the report on everything that had happened since he was last aboard.
The old black woman cook was there and as always had a cup of coffee in hand and sat down with him to take a break. She was a good old woman who had worked on the boat for years, but she hated the water and the thought of drowning scared her nearly to death. She couldn't swim and her fear of water was almost an obsession. He often wondered why on earth she had taken the job as a cook on a boat when she was so afraid of the water, but had never really asked her. He guessed that her need for money was stronger than her fear.
Anyways, that night he settled in for a nice restful sleep as the boat rocked gently over the water, and he wondered why Mattie seemed to be so alarmed, because it seemed like everything was fine. Yes the water was a little high but the bridges were plenty high enough for them to pass under and the river traffic was slow and there weren't hardly any other boats around...but things can change pretty fast on the river. You never know for sure what might turn into a dangerous time. So he kept on ear open for any signs of danger and finally went to sleep.
The next day as they made their way to the bigger towns the river was more congested and sometimes it was difficult to navagate through the locks with all the boats around. They had to wait in line for hours to get into the locks and then wait for the water to move before the gate opened to let them pass through. But other than that it wasn't too bad. He'd been through much worse and was confident that nothing was going to happen.
That evening he went to the galley for his evening meal and enjoyed a nice steak, and all the trimmings. He and the old cook had their usual banter and he felt good as he went out to smoke his nightly cigar. Then he looked up and quickly realized that something was wrong. Apparently the dam wasn't doing it's job and the water was too high for them to pass under the bridge that they were coming up on swiftly. The smoke stack was going to hit the bridge and there was no way to turn around and the steam they had built up couldn't be just turned off. The boat would hit the bridge and there was nothing they could do but bail out.
With barely enough time to get word to all the crew members, he ordered one to gather up the life jackets, another to get the word to the rest and then he had to go and break the news to the old cook. He had a feeling he would have to force her out of the boat and he had no idea how hard a task this was going to be. And what made it even worse...there weren't enough life jackets to go around. So he decided that he would give one to her and all that would go around to the crew members, and those who couldn't swim would get the first of them.
With all the mixups and trying to get everyone working together he almost forgot the old bible. Oh no, now he was going to have to figure out a way to get it to the bank safely on top of having to possibly fight the old woman, who was now frantic and screaming for dear life. So he did the only thing he could do, he went to the bridge and grabbed the old bible in hand and hoped and prayed that it would dry out and not be ruined.
He had to stay aboard until everyone else was off the boat, and the old lady refused to budge for anyone else, so after the last man went overboard, he helped her with her lifejacket, assured her that it would be ok and with one arm around her and the other hand on the bible, he jumped overboard. The water was cold, and she was still struggling and fearful, but at least she was safe. And the bible, believe it or not, floated gently on top of the water and helped him to get her and himself to the bank. Once they were safely on land, he examined the old bible and it was as if it had never touched the water. Dry as a bone, every page intact and through it God had kept his word to Mattie and brought her man home again to her.
It was very late when he finally got home, dripping and cold and Mattie greeted him with open arms. She said...ok Willie, now do you believe me? He said, Yes Dear, I'll never doubt you again.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Years ago, after my grandmother passed on, I was given an amazing gift by my oldest aunt, Louise.
Wrapped up in tissue paper, was an old bible. I opened it up and read the entries into the family events and found that every single marriage, birth and death had been recorded neatly and meticulously...by no one else but Mattie St. John! This is one of the best treasures I've ever owned and it's all because Willy did what he had to do and kept it safe from harm. Now I know that the story is true. And I've been given a way to trace back my roots and learn from all those who passed on before me.
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