The riverboat captain is a storyteller. Captain Don Sanders shares the stories of his long association with the river — from discovery to a way of love and life. This a part of a long and continuing story.
By Capt. Don Sanders
Special to NKyTribune
A photograph of the handsome St. Louis steamer MARK TWAIN immediately caught my attention. Initially, the wooden-hulled steamboat built at a Madison, Indiana boatyard in 1873 was christened the ELON G. SMITH. The SMITH served as a local “harbor boat” until local authorities changed its name to the CITY OF ST. LOUIS.
In 1902, the most famous American writer of the Gilded Age, Samuel L. Clemens, returned home to Missouri. Clemens, better remembered by his pen name Mark Twain, visited his hometown, Hannibal, for a final time. In the city best known these days for the glittering, stainless steel, 630-foot-tall Gateway Arch, the aging harbor boat was hastily renamed MARK TWAIN. At a reception aboard the vessel attended by regional dignitaries, including Missouri former Governor David R. Francis, St. Louis Mayor Rolla Wells, and French Royals, the former Mississippi River pilot accepted an invitation to guide the steamboat renamed to honor him.
With the regal guests assembled around him in the pilothouse, Clemens called loudly for a “larboard lead.” With the word passed, down on the left side of the Main Deck came the call:
“Qard-er less tha-reee…” (16½ feet)
The leadsman’s call sent a chill to those unfamiliar with the eerie boatman’s cry.
Then:
“Quatta tha-ree…” (13 ½ feet)
Moments later:
“Mar-ark Ta-Wain…” (12 feet)
“MARK TWAIN!”
The pilothouse erupted with cheers for the writer Mark Twain piloting the Steamer MARK TWAIN on the Mississippi River. But seeing the depth of the river gradually decreasing, the old steersman leisurely turned to the regular pilot, Captain Matt Tulley, and suggested,
“I’m feelin’ a little tired. Guess you better take’ er.”
Following a luncheon served aboard, interlaced with rounds of speeches, French Count Rochambeau grabbed a bottle of champagne. Smashing it on the deck, he announced,
“I christen thee, good boat, MARK TWAIN.”
Once the MARK TWAIN landed, carriages awaited to carry the participants off for further prearranged ceremonies. The following day, the St. Louis Star newspaper headline announced:
MARK TWAIN AT THE WHEEL AGAIN
Mark Twain himself, never stepped behind the wheel of a steamboat again.
The Steamer MARK TWAIN operated along the St. Louis waterfront, keeping the levee clean and serving as a VIP guest boat until the larger, steel-hulled sidewheeler, ERASTUS WELLS, named for the father of Mayor Wells, replaced it in 1907. The MARK TWAIN’s engines and machinery went to the WELLS, an industrial arts school received her lumber, while her doors and windows became nursery hotbeds. The TWAIN’s wooden hull long served as a St. Louis landing boat.
Twain, who outlasted the MARK TWAIN by three years, was fond of saying,
“I came in with Halley’s Comet and expect to leave with it.”
Samuel Langhorne “Mark Twain” Clemens died on April 21, 1910, the day after Halley’s Comet made its closest and most visible approach to the sun.
For a more detailed account of the occasion, please visit:
Captain Don Sanders is a river man. He has been a riverboat captain with the Delta Queen Steamboat Company and with Rising Star Casino. He learned to fly an airplane before he learned to drive a “machine” and became a captain in the USAF. He is an adventurer, a historian and a storyteller. Now, he is a columnist for the NKyTribune, sharing his stories of growing up in Covington and his stories of the river. Hang on for the ride — the river never looked so good.
Purchase Captain Don Sanders’ The River book here
Capt. Don Sanders The River: River Rat to steamboatman, riding ‘magic river spell’ to 65-year adventure is now available for $29.95 plus handling and applicable taxes. This beautiful, hardback, published by the Northern Kentucky Tribune, is 264-pages of riveting storytelling, replete with hundreds of pictures from Capt. Don’s collection — and reflects his meticulous journaling, unmatched storytelling, and his appreciation for detail. This historically significant book is perfect for the collections of every devotee of the river.
You may purchase your book by mail from the Northern Kentucky Tribune — or you may find the book for sale at all Roebling Books locations and at the Behringer Crawford Museum and the St. Elizabeth Healthcare gift shops.
Order your Captain Don Sanders’ ‘The River’ book here.
I can easily imagine old Sam, THE Mark Twain, downright enjoying the writings of Cap’n Don! Thanks for bringing this intriguing tale of Twain to us.
Any fan of the river will enjoy his books–such a prolific writer! Thanks for another great story.
Wow, Thank you,Capt Don for another awesome piece of river history ! I’d not heard this piece & love it so much. You bring to life great people,great boats & great times. It’s Awesome to us “riverrats” now but I’m so glad NKy Tribune is helping make sure future “rats” can learn these great pieces of river history. My Dad was 8 when Samuel Clemens passed but already had a love of his writing & he passed it to me. I survived measles,chicken pox & my tonsils out by hours spent with Dad reading Mark Twain’s “Life on the Mississippi” & his other great tales. He brought them to life as you do. Bless you..
Great read Capt.