Hello, steamboat enthusiasts around the world!
It’s Bodine Balasco here again, your friendly riverboat gambler, reporting once again from onboard the legendary Delta Queen Steamboat.
This particular entry is a brief report from Natchez-under-the-Hill, Mississippi.
In its day, 165 years ago, Natchez-under-the-Hill was the most notorious river landing on the entire Mississippi River. In my last posting I mentioned the knife fights and killings that were part of everyday life at this lawless location on the river. It was also notorious for a row of saloons built on stilts over the river, called “trap-door saloons.” Naïve travelers who wandered into one of these saloons were often clubbed to death and robbed of their belongings; their bodies dropped into the river thru trap doors in the floor of the saloon! Can you believe it?! Strange but true.
One of my favorite bars in the world, where I’ve shared many a drink over the years with my friends onboard the steamboats, is right there near the river’s edge at Natchez-under-the-Hill. The Natchez-under-the-Hill Saloon is the last tame reminder of the outrageous history of this once violent and thriving river landing. To this day, at this bar, for $60 you can buy a genuine Bowie knife that is as wicked a blade as I have ever seen. It’s a souvenir, of course, but quite a reminder of the history of this place.
It was often the case, during the 1840’s & 1850’s, if you got into trouble with the law in New Orleans, you’d take a steamboat up river to Natchez-under-the-Hill to “hide out” until it was safe to return to the Crescent City. The police never ventured to the river landing at Natchez-under-the-Hill. It was just too dangerous.
Today it’s a simple landing for the Delta Queen Steamboats, below the bluffs of the once thriving plantation community of Natchez, Mississippi. The tour of the old antebellum homes of the city of Natchez is not to be missed. The opulence of the wealthy class of the “Old South” is still on display and is a sight to behold.
While traveling up river yesterday I was invited up to the pilot house on the Delta Queen. It’s a very special place; a small little room perched on top of the boat, with windows on three sides. It is, of course, where the pilots steer the steamboat. Captain Harold Schultz was on duty, piloting the Delta Queen up the Mississippi River which is running very low this year.
The first thing you notice when you enter the pilot house is how very calm and tranquil it is, so very peaceful. It’s an ambience that allows the pilots to concentrate on their task at hand. I could stay up in the pilot house all day. I love it up there.
In Memphis I’ll be transferring to the Mississippi Queen, to entertain the passengers over there. I love boats, but I’ll miss the Delta Queen. It’s an amazing experience to travel onboard this truly legendary steamboat. I have friendships with some of the entertainers onboard the Delta Queen that have lasted more than 25 years. Many passengers come back over and over again to enjoy the special charms of the Delta Queen and her warm & friendly crew. John & Rita Kunkleman are onboard with us enjoying their 24th ride onboard the Delta Queen. Once experienced, the river and the Delta Queen truly have a way of calling you back.
