to the city with general freight. Ships drawing over
twelve feet of water could not go up the river, consequently they had to
receive and discharge in the lower bay, thirty-five miles from the city.
I was on the barge for two months and then shipped on the schooner
Pennsylvania, at thirty-five dollars a month. For a few weeks we brought
salt to the city from the ships in the bay. Then my wages were reduced
to eighteen dollars a month, as we were to take a cargo of pine lumber
to Havana, Cuba. The schooner was towed up the Alabama River to a new
sawmill.

During the daytime we would load timber and at night all hands would go
'possum-hunting. A few pine-knots for torches and a couple of dogs were
all that was required for the sport. As soon as a 'possum was caught he
would be as dead as a door-nail, to all appearances. They were put in a
bag as fast as captured. On returning to the schooner, we dumped them
all into an empty barrel. In the morning they would be as lively as
crickets. When the barrel was hit hard with a stick, the whole lot would
pretend to die a most tragic death.

When the schooner was loaded, we sailed for Havana. On our arrival in
that port, the lumber was discharged. The captain, as a speculation,
bought a car of oranges and bananas. The fruit was perfectly green when
brought on board. We immediately set sail for Mobile. Much to the
captain's disgust, the trip was a long one of calms and head winds and
great trouble. The weather was intensely warm. The oranges ripened very
quickly and then rapidly decayed. The fruit venture proved very
unprofitable. On our arrival in Mobile, only the bananas were fit for
sale. We had a nice job to clean the rotten oranges from the hold. I
never see a mouldy orange but that my memory goes back to that
remarkable trip.

We were towed up to the sawmill for another load of lumber.
'Possum-hunting occurred at nights as before. One of the sailors and
myself wanted a pet to take to sea with us. So we went on shore on an
expedition by ourselves. We at last found a big "razor-back" sow with a
litter of pigs. Each of us decided that two little pigs were just the
thing needed on the schooner. Then the fun commenced. "Scotty" and
myself learned the fact that the pigs could do some good sprinting when
there was occasion for it, and just then was one of the occasions. For a
half hour we tried all sorts of tactics. It was of no use. What the
little pigs didn't know the old sow d