One Man's Travels By Water in 1836-- Part 6: Texas Vagabonds "Drinking Bad Whiskey" and the Alligator Incident

In Galveston, Texas, David Crandall observed a sandbar with "tents and a few shanties and the population consisted of Mexican prisoners taken at the Battle of San Jacinto" overseen by "vagabonds in Texas uniform ... who divided their time between drinking bad whiskey, playing poker and tormenting their Mexican prisoners."  (Well, at least the Mexican prisoners were still alive, which was not an option for the Texan defenders of the Alamo earlier in the year.)

Across from an old Spanish village at the head of Galveston Bay, Crandall saw a wide sandy beach "literally covered with water fowl."  He borrowed a a dugout canoe to go on a "shooting excursion" but didn't have much luck.

Intending to crawl under a nearby log to "get one fair shot," he approached slowly to avoid alarming the game.  However, "the log became alarmed and while I was yet thirty steps away, it started for the water at top speed.  ... What I had supposed to be a log proved to be a huge alligator."

--Cootgator

One Man's Travels on the Erie Canal in 1836-- Part 1: A Journal

From the July 23, 2017, Chicago Tribune by Stephanie Reynolds.

As we mark the 200th anniversary of the beginning of construction on the famous Erie Canal, connecting the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, a huge step in American transportation and quite an undertaking without the equipment we have today, here is a look back.

It was 1836, the same year as the Battle of the Alamo in Texas, David Sprague Crandall left his hometown in Lockport, N.Y., to travel on the Erie Canal and the Ohio and Mississippi rivers all the way to Galveston, , Texas.

He took paddle-wheel steamers  and slow-poke line boats pulled by mules on a tow path.  Along the way, he encountered an alligator, a horse race that pitted Tennessee against Kentucky and President Andrew Jackson.

Fortunately for us, he kept a journal of his trip for his 9-year-old grandson, George Lee Thurston II.

Crandall was a journalist and eventually became the owner of the Lockport Courier.  But, on August 8, 1836, he boarded a "shovel-nosed line boat" that was propelled by two mules and a ragged boy."  He was in poor health and going west to seek a change of climate.

he was heading west to Buffalo, NY, at the western end of the canal, at a speed somewhat slower than a person walking.

But, at least he wasn't doing the walking.

--DaCoot

USS North Carolina to Remain in Wilmington

After sitting in the Cape Fear River mud ever since the 1960s, the hull of the battleship USS North Carolina, my favorite all-time warship, is in really desperate need of repair.

The Battleship Commission had considered having the ship towed to either Norfolk, Virginia, or Charleston, SC, to be drydocked, which would have caused the ship to be gone for many months.

Now, they have decided to build a temporary cofferdam around the ship, pump the water out and do the repairs. Not only will the ship remain in place for the tourism, but this will result in s a savings of millions of dollars.

Great idea and at least Charlie the Alligator, the local resident of the basin, won't lose his home.

Glad to Hear It. --Cooter

Battleship USS North Carolina-- Part 3

Of course, the main reason for the battleship's existence today is to honor all who have served their country in war, and especially the veterans of World War II, most of whom are in their mid-80s.

Bragg sees the North Carolina as more and more having to interpret the events of World War II to new generations to whom the conflict is as distant as the Civil War or Revolution. As such, Bragg plans to work with local school districts for field trips involbving math, science, and history.

One lesser-known feature of the ship is its Mark I Ballistic Calculators which were made by Ford in the late 1930s which Bragg calls"the oldest computers in the state." These, I imagine would be for firing the ship's guns.

As mentioned before, the ship is expanding to host meetings (such as a recent regional Home Depot employee meeting) and Halloween haunting.


CHARLIE, THE ALLIGATOR

Large alligators have been spotted by the battleship ever since it arrived. The largest one is always called Charlie. I've seen pictures of employees dangling meat overside and alligators launching themselves a few feet to grab it.

In addition, the memorial's grounds cover 61 mostly undisturbed woodland. The staff has been working with local birders to set up cameras to observe birds of prey on the property.

Then, there is the great view of the moored USS North Carolina from the Wilmington Riverwalk across the cape Fear River.

Thanks June 10th Goldsboro News-Argus.

One of the Best Things the State of North Carolina Did Was to Get This Wonderful Ship for Posterity. --Cooter