Flatboatmen on the Frontier (1941)

it is early in the 1800s back from the Waters of the broad Ohio through a rugged Countryside spread winding tributary Rivers fed by Meandering streams up from the Tranquil Waters of nearby River River and stream lie Forest lands that Echo with a well-known Valley sound now in the Early Autumn you hear it very clearly the sound of sturdy AXS against firm wood you hear it in swelling chorus here where the oak trees grow and every Frontiersman hereabouts knows the reason well Roy Palmer here could tell you why with the coming of fall the sound of swinging ax blades surges through the air echoing down the forests by the streams Tom Morgan here could tell you and so could Charlie James as quiet as you hear this sound and any one of these farmers will readily tell you this you hear it because of the wheat that is now being ground into flow you hear it because of the Corn the Mills convert into meal you hear it because of Valley fruit you hear it because of the fields of hemp because of abundant tobacco crops because of the fattening Hogs you hear it because of the cattle the farmers raise there's produce for the market it's time to build the flat boats to carry it down the river and now the sound of hammer on nail supplants the sound of backs on wood into Timbers cut by hand are driven Nails rough by hand as the cargo carrying flatboat take shape beside the stream and while their fathers build close by sons rip out the heavy planks required for the hull not an easy matter building boats but there's produce for the market and the rivers are the highways of the time one by one the logs are cut cut into planks of ample size to make a sturdy rivercraft yes farmers of the Ohio Valley have to know more than telling the soil or flatboat farm and River go together and as handmade nail after handmade nail is driven home in the growing Hull the young look on to learn the skills that they must one day use little need to tell Doug Palmer the ways that he can be of help he knows as the entire household knows the importance of the flatboat to the welfare of the family Mrs Palmer has helped prepare the pork her husband will take to Market and now with a grinder turned by hand she cuts up the remnants for sausage meat for use in the winter months there will be ham and bacon too but most of it goes to market for Alice Palmer at her ch and for her brother Doug the winter will mean additional tasks while their father is away but duties of present and future are fully known and accepted by all those long familiar with the life of the frontier you do what the job requires whether it's cocking the seams of a flat boat with oakam chisel and wooden mall or whether it's keeping house in a cabin made of logs to Young Catherine Morgan it seems as natural to sweep punching floors in front of a trundle bed as it does to her mother to mend the shirts her husband will need on his flatboat trip down the river on the frontier there is work for all and everyone takes it for granted and now the passing days have brought the flatboat to completion the building over the time for loading arrives sacks of Wheat and cornmeal ground in local Mills form a major part of the cargo that goes aboard the boat and as in the case of the building before so too with the loading now many men take part sacks of grain or boxes of meat each farmer knows which produce is his so too with a bulky Hogs containing hundreds of pounds of tobacco the crops are private the flatboat is shared for here is everywhere on the frontier much that is done is cooperative Palmer and Morgan Farm separately they go to market together with James who knows the river at length the day of days arrives when the trip is about to begin leaking isn't easy for the men who go aboard the boat will be away for many weeks it's a long trip to New Orleans by boat and back along the Overland Trail but that's what these farmer boatmen face now up with the plank thrust of the pole against the shore a swing around of the stern to head the boat Downstream and now with the sweeps in action the trip is underway boys we going and you all yes the men go down to New Orleans their sons and women folk stay behind goodbye goodbye not for many long weeks will the families be reunited but safe aboard the boat are the fruits of the mutual labors of those who remain behind and those who Journey down the river and what the frontier requires those who choose the frontier accept without complaint without lament for those aboard the boat the Vista changes quickly the junction of the creek and the first larger river is a vivid indication that home farm and family are being left behind but the handling of the boat and the adventures that lie ahead promise too much excitement to permit of loneliness yet and drifting down the river yields Novelties all its own perhaps along the passing Banks a farmer may be spied and farmers who remain ashore provide fair game for The Boatman that the best H you can grow how's that I say is that the best H you can grow looks better than that flat boat thr that away where we come from where are you from Brimstone what your captain's name wetstone what you loaded with Millstone ought to be around your necks be better farming land like that banter is is always welcome to relieve the heavy monotony of traveling down the rivers often there is nothing to do but drift and watch the passing Shore but there are times in the course of the trip when Junctions with larger Rivers offer diversion and Danger watch The Sweep boy yes there is Need for caution when a junction presents the Peril of conflicting river currents but careful handling of of the sweeps keeps the boat away from the bank and out where the going is safe the journey is not unbroken and frequently along the way stops are made for the night at likely spots along the bank and the feel of solid ground is always welcome aure for a meal a campfire and sleep when we come down the river 95 we run into plug gang didn't get you did he no we got PL [Music] another day and again our boatmen proceed on their Journey Southward varied is the scenery that lies along the Route here Rocky Palisades ahead of them falls in the river rolling Foothills and at length the low and level shores of the Mississippi Delta but before their destination is reached there is arduous work for for all especially for James who mans the stern the cargo that is stored aboard is precious and whether at work with their sweeps or drifting along with the current all are ever alert steadily they move Southward and one day the shores of the Ohio Loom before the eyes of the crew this is a welcome sight for now the travel is swifter but here as everywhere snags are a constant Danger yet the broader River allows more time for rest at last the Mississippi that will carry them down to New Orleans a fit occasion for [Music] music down the river they go Boatman cargo and music with them on the their Journey travels the strength and the the spirit and the faith of the [Music] frontier