Mississippi
Voyaging the Mississippi: How flatboats shaped American history
Within the early years of the nineteenth century, huge numbers of small picket boats plied the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Carrying items to market and settlers to the lands past the Appalachian Mountains, these vessels launched America’s western growth. The boats had been recognized by many names however, as a result of that they had a flat backside and a shallow draft, they had been generally referred to as “flatboats.” After the Civil Conflict and the speedy growth of railroads, they regularly disappeared.
Rinker Buck, a journalist with a deep curiosity in historical past and a love of journey, turned fascinated by this little-remembered chapter of American historical past. He determined that the easiest way to grasp this period could be to construct a ship, rent a crew, and journey these legendary rivers himself. He paperwork the journey in “Life on the Mississippi: An Epic American Journey.”
He engaged a small, household boatbuilding firm in Gallatin, Tennessee, to construct the vessel, which was not a precise duplicate of its forerunners. For starters, it had a motor. It additionally had trendy maps, GPS, a marine radio, a lighted magnetic compass, and an electrical bike for getting provides whereas docked. He named it Persistence and declared, “She was as sturdy as a Roman galleon and seemed as jaunty as a … monster truck.”
Nevertheless, the journey didn’t begin effectively. He employed a semi-trailer to truck the Persistence to the launch website in Pennsylvania however the 550-mile-journey over interstate highways was “an epic fiasco.” The truck suffered a dozen blown-out tires alongside the way in which and Buck questioned if he ought to have named his flatboat Calamity.
Buck was effectively conscious that the journey could be harmful as a result of the river is extra treacherous at present than it was 200 years in the past. There are locks, dams, sandbars, cement revetments, rock jetties, and mountains of floating particles to keep away from. Submerged obstacles like boulders and logs might have simply ripped out the ship’s hull.
Extra vital, because of navigational enhancements designed to facilitate barge visitors, the river present is far sooner at present than it was. On any given day alongside the decrease Mississippi, there are “at the very least 820 tugs pushing barges and the everyday fifteen-barge string weighs over twenty-two thousand tons, making it just about not possible for them to change course shortly,” he writes. And the final 50 miles of the Mississippi River earlier than New Orleans is “primarily a industrial sea-lane, congested with giant oceangoing vessels.”
There was no scarcity of individuals telling him that he was nuts. His brothers tried to dissuade him, saying, “You’ll sink the boat within the first storm.” Throughout the journey, with the Persistence moored at docks close to cities, locals got here all the way down to see the boat. They had been appalled that the crew wasn’t carrying firearms. Buck writes, “Upriver, the [white] off-duty cops … implored us to get weapons as a result of the Blacks in Vicksburg and Baton Rouge had been going to pour over the banks to rob the boat. Downriver, the Black children had been satisfied that the rednecks had been going to get us. The race-blind resolution for all was the identical: America, Get Weapons.”
As a substitute, the folks the crew met alongside the way in which had been overwhelmingly welcoming and wanting to be useful. In a time of intense political polarization, it’s uplifting to see so many who had been prepared to assist a contemporary pilgrim on his journey.
In the end, the ebook is each a travelogue and an enticing historical past lesson about America’s westward growth after the Revolutionary Conflict. In fact, the historical past of antebellum America was additionally “profoundly tragic.” Buck recounts the central position the Mississippi River performed within the Path of Tears, which noticed the expulsion of an estimated 100,000 Native People from the Deep South. Later, he writes despairingly of the way in which flatboats had been used to maneuver at the very least a million enslaved folks from the tobacco fields of Virginia to cotton plantations within the Mississippi Valley beneath horrific circumstances. With out river transport, such huge motion of human beings wouldn’t have been doable.
Courtesy of Dan Corjulo/Simon & Schuster
After 4 months and a pair of,000 miles, Buck navigated the jam-packed Mississippi between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and reached his vacation spot, the place he felt “exhaustion, exhaustion, elation, elation.” He additionally reported being “simply possibly extra skilled, and somewhat useless about proving that I might deal with a ship.”
Buck factors out that he ought to have discounted the warnings of doom and trusted his personal instincts and abilities and people of his crew. And he was reminded as soon as once more that American historical past is a narrative of excellent and dangerous, inspiration and disgrace. He repeatedly talks concerning the want to take a look at all sides of the nation’s lengthy and sophisticated previous.
It’s a mark of Buck’s means to put in writing engagingly of his journey that many readers will conclude {that a} journey down the Mississippi could be a romantic journey and a beautiful likelihood to study America’s historical past. However it’s equally the case that few, if any, of them will need to make the journey by flatboat.
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Mississippi high school Athlete of the Week for August25-31. Read through the nominees and cast your vote. The poll will close Sunday at 11:59 p.m. If you would like to make a nomination in a future week, email Tyler@scorebooklive.com. For questions/issues with he poll, email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com.
Editor’s note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
Kohl Bradley, DB, George County: Racked up 17 tackles and returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown in a 33-7 win over East Central.
DaJuan Colbert, DB, Natchez: Recorded 15 tackles, forced one fumble and returned another one 75 yards for a touchdown in a 58-50 win over Hancock.
Garrison Davis, QB, Holmes County Central: Completed 14 of his 21 pass attempts for 375 yards and three touchdowns in a 20-6 win over Vicksburg.
Xzavion Gainwell, DB, Yazoo County: Recorded nine tackles, an interception and an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown in the Panthers’ 20-16 win over South Delta.
Elijah Jones, RB, West Jones: Had 24 carries 226 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-6 win over Laurel.
Kingi McNair, WR, Pearl: Caught four passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-20 win over Neshoba Central.
Ashton Nichols, DB, Clinton: Recorded six tackles to go with two big pass breakups, a blocked punt and a return for a touchdown in a 26-20 win over Warren Central.
Ethan Prater, RB, Pisgah: Rushed for 132 yards on 27 carries with three scores and caught a 60-yard touchdown pass in a 33-32 win over North Forrest.
Glen Singleton, RB, Madison Central: Rushed for 174 yards on 18 carries with all four touchdowns in a 27-20 win over Ocean Springs.
Damarius Yates, RB, Kemper County: Rushed for 193 yards on 17 carries and returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown in a 38-15 win over Kosciusko.
Mississippi
‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – It’s been one month since Thalia Mara Hall closed its doors due to a mold outbreak.
Innovation Arts and Entertainment is the company responsible for bringing Broadway productions to Jackson.
Representatives from the company visited Jackson after hearing the building had been closed.
CEO Adam Epstein says the City of Jackson did not inform them of the news.
“We did not find out from anybody within the city. We found out by reading news clippings forwarded to us by other people in Jackson,” Epstein said.
Certified Industrial Hygienic Testing reported visible dirt, debris, and suspected mold growth on many surfaces.
Epstein fears this could change the possibility of bigger shows coming to the capital city.
“They’re going to skip over us because of this mess. We need to show as a community that Jackson cares about this valuable asset and that we demand our elected leaders to support and treat this really, incredibly valuable asset with the TLC it deserves,” he said.
Thalia Mara Hall is the only venue in the state that can host a Broadway production due to the technical needs and accommodations required.
“Touring theatrical shows. If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all,” he said.
Broadway in Jackson is not only a great source of entertainment in the city, but it’s also beneficial economically.
“Those other businesses don’t benefit. The city doesn’t earn tax revenue from events that we present. They don’t earn rental income from the events we present. They don’t earn facility fees from the events we present. This is a real tragedy. It’s unacceptable.”
The well-being of the potential audience is the company’s main priority.
“I will not risk our ticket buyers’ health and safety and comfort. Our shows can and will cancel before we’d ever put somebody in jeopardy. We’ve issued a 100% guarantee of a full refund if the venue is not given a clean bill of health,” Epstein said.
All shows will be canceled on a case-to-case basis.
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Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are conducting a probe into Saturday’s crash that killed seven and injured 36 people.
The deadly bus crash in Mississippi that killed seven people and injured dozens of others early Saturday occurred after the vehicle experienced a tire failure, causing it to run off the road and overturn, officials and authorities said.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board, in coordination with the Mississippi Highway Patrol, are conducting a probe into Saturday’s crash that left seven people dead and another 36 people injured. The collision occurred at about 12:40 a.m. on Interstate 20 near Vicksburg, Mississippi, when the bus left the roadway and overturned.
The bus, which authorities described as a 2018 Volvo commercial passenger bus, traveled westbound when its left front tire failed, NTSB member Todd Inman said at a news conference Sunday. The bus then moved onto an embankment and rolled over on its left side.
Inman added that investigators will be at the scene for at least another week and are looking into several factors of the crash, including the vehicle’s mechanical condition, motor carrier safety, the condition and experience of the driver, and environmental factors.
According to U.S. Department of Transportation records, the bus was operated by Autobuses Regiomontanos. Records show that in the 24 months before Saturday, the transit company’s vehicles were involved in one fatal crash, two injury collisions, and a crash requiring a tow truck.
The transit company has over 20 years of experience and provides trips between more than 100 destinations throughout Mexico and the United States, according to Autobuses Regiomontanos’ website.
“Everyone at the NTSB sends their expressions of sorrow for everything that the survivors and victims of this crash went through,” Inman said.
7 killed, 36 injured in bus crash
The bus carried a total of 41 passengers and two drivers, according to authorities. It was traveling from Atlanta to Dallas when the incident occurred.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash, according to Master Sergeant Kervin K. Stewart with the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Six people were pronounced dead at the scene and another person died later at a hospital, Stewart said.
Another 36 people were transported to area hospitals.
Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey said two victims killed in the crash were identified by their mother as a 16-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, according to The New York Times. Authorities were working to identify the other victims.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
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