His clothes were recovered; but it was some time before
Michael was inclined to calculate how many cubic feet of bread Paul
would consume in a week, or to reckon how much time he lost from his
studies by going into the water, as had been his custom. It is needless
to add that it was many moons ere Michael went swimming again.
It was the custom then, as it is at present, to run enormous tows of
coal barges, propelled by a powerful tug, from Pittsburgh to New
Orleans. These grim and heavily loaded fleets had an intense fascination
for young Paul. Many and many a day he spent in assisting the inland
sailors in lashing boat to boat and diving overboard after spars, etc.,
that had slipped into the river. He often dreamt of the time when he
would be large enough to go down the mighty Ohio and the great
Mississippi. He made many friends among the coal men and eagerly
devoured their stories of danger, of voyages down the river and of the
comical "darkies" in the far off south. Time after time he implored
permission from his mother to go away on one of those barge trips, but
she would never consent. One day while assisting as usual on a fleet
that was about to depart, a great, dark whiskered man named Tom, who
was his particular friend, said: "Why don't you come with us, Paul? We
will take good care of you and bring you safe hme again.
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