A passing thought, while watching a movie on television, developed into the interesting story that follows.
Several days ago, the local public television station aired the 1951 MGM production of Show Boat, starring Ava Gardner, Kathryn Grayson, and Howard Keel. I've always been fascinated with the era when steamboats plied the waterways of northwest Louisiana, carrying passengers and goods from New Orleans and ports beyond up the Mississippi and then Red River to Shreveport, the area's hub of commerce. From there, they would travel farther up Twelve-Mile Bayou and Caddo Lake on to Jefferson, Texas - once a significant port in that state.
Questions came to mind: If vessels dedicated to commerce traveled local waterways, did likewise showboats, floating theaters providing a variety of entertainment, also follow the path ? And if so, did any visit Mooringsport, then an important area port on Caddo Lake between Shreveport and Jefferson?
The short answer to my questions? Shreveport, yes; described below. Mooringsport, unfortunately, not, at least in the instance found; due to questionable actions taken by a U. S. Marshal. It's not known if any other showboats ever made the trek.
The (Alexandria) Louisiana Democrat 09-Feb-1881, Page 2
Background
Champion No. 9 was a sidewheeler 202 feet long by 36 feet wide, and built in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1875.
List of Merchant Vessels of th United States 1885, Page 312
A. J. Bird, listed as clerk on this 1880 waybill when it carried passengers, was identified as captain and head of the performing troupe when the steamer visited Shreveport in 1881.
The floating palace described.
Chicago Tribune 23-Feb-1879, Page 11
Further details, noting then new electric lights were used to navigate.
Hickman (KY) Courier 22-Oct-1880, Page 3
Dan Rice was a 19th Century American showman described in a biography by David Carlyon published in 2001 as the "The Most Famous Man You've Never Heard of." His popularity was such, he even ran for president in 1868.
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| Dan Rice in the 1840s |
Another account of the vessel describes some of the acts:
The Role of Riverboats in the History of Jazz, Dr. Karl Koenig
Another performer identified was a Mrs. Nevarro - an actress, reported to have been earlier wounded when drunken residents of Bayou Shene (sic) (Chene) on the Atchafalaya River in southern Louisiana fired gunshots at the vessel, intended for Dan Rice, because of an undisclosed past experience with the showman. She was later treated in Shreveport. The Campbell Sisters and Phillips Brothers were with the company when it appeared afterward on the Ouachita River a few weeks later, so presumably they performed in Shreveport.
Appearance In Shreveport
Traveling up the Red River, the floating opera house and museum would have an earlier date in Alexandria. It additionally stopped at smaller ports along the waterway to give teases of the full show.
Shreveport Times 18-Feb-1881, Page 4
Accompanying Champion No. 9 was a tug named "Star Of The West," used to serve as advance party, announcing the approaching showboat, and presumably assisting its larger companion to navigate tight spaces and turn around in narrow or congested channels it might encounter.
Shreveport Times 20-Feb-1881, Page 4
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An advertisement for the show's planned appearances in Shreveport. One show was scheduled prior it traveling to Jefferson, with two more to have taken place several days later as it returned downstream.
Shreveport Times 23-Feb-1881, Page 2
[BONUS: For the secret of Roy Alphonse's water walking trick, go to the end of this article]
A recap of the upstream performance.
Shreveport Times 25-Feb-1881, Page 4
Shreveport Times 26-Feb-1881, Page 4
However, shortly afterward the boat was seized, on orders of a U. S. Marshal Wharton in New Orleans. It seems Dan Rice had filed suit, claiming $5,000 damages due to association of his name with the show. Bird and Rice had been business partners, but had a falling out. Bird bought out Rice and claimed the latter agreed to allow continued use of handbills and advertisements bearing his name.
Shreveport Times 25-Feb-1881, Page 4
Unable to perform on their vessel, the troupe gave performances at Talley's Opera House, situated a few blocks from the river on Milam Street.
Shreveport Times 08-Mar-1881, Page 6
Below is a 1953 pic of Talley's Opera House, by then long past its prime.
Shreveport Times 30-Aug-1953, Page 6-B
The hold order was released after several weeks, but instead of proceeding to Jefferson as originally planned, the boat headed south and later turned up the Ouachita River to visit points along that waterway.
Shreveport Times 26-Mar-1881, Page 4
Afterward, Captain Bird stated his intention to sue Marshal Wharton for damages caused.
Shreveport Times 31-Mar-1881, Page 4
Here Bird charged the original Rice suit frivolous.
New Orleans Times-Democrat 30-Mar-1881, Page 1
With its legal issues apparently settled (or at least no longer a hindrance), the vessel and entourage left Shreveport on 31-Mar-1881.
Shreveport Times 01-Apr-1881, Page 4
EPILOGUE
Captain Andrew Jackson Bird (1852-1928)
Captain Bird later moved to Tampa, FL where his obituary states for many years he was captain of a steamboat running between Tampa and Sarasota, Florida. He is buried in Saint Louis Catholic Cemetery in Tampa.
Dan Rice (1823-1900)
In an 1883 interview about his life and career as a showman, Rice described the founding of the floating palace originally bearing his name, and demonstrated contempt for his one-time business partner; stating Bird was "born rich, but with no brains."
Roanoke News (Weldon, NC) -2-Aug-1883, Page 1
He died in 1900 and is buried in Old First Methodist Church Cemetery in Monmouth County, New Jersey.
Demise Of Champion No. 9
The steamboat was scheduled to be in Vicksburg on May 3 for a performance. It nearly grounded at Friar's Point, MS (south of Memphis) on May 20, but by June 1 was back in Cairo, IL, its once base of operations.
Just over a year after visiting Shreveport, the steamer, then owned by a Captain Woodward, was lost due to a storm at East St. Louis, Illinois.
Indiana State (Indianapolis) Sentinel 21-Jun-1882, Page 8
Another source provides additional details.
Annual Statement of the Trade and Commerce of St Louis for the Year 1882 Page 60 (Champion No 9 loss)
Several years later, a similar though grander floating opera house and museum made its way up the Red River at least as far a Alexandria. There was apparently no connection to the Rice/Bird operation.
Alexandria (LA) Weekly Town Talk 14-Dec-1889, Page 3
Source (link)
Nothing has turned up so far to indicate that this splendid train of watercraft continued on to Shreveport, however Eugene Robinson did later bring land-based theater to the city's Grand Opera House in 1892 and 1895, with productions of "Paul Kauvar" and "A Fatted Calf" respectively. The latter listed a young John Barrymore among its cast.
All Aboard And Farewell!
To end our show boat saga, here's the reprise of William Warfield 's performance of 'Old Man River" from the end of the film Showboat.
BONUS: Roy Alphonse's Water Walking Act Explained
For those wondering how Mr. Alphonse was able to stroll on bodies of water, including the mighty Mississippi, walking as far as three quarters of a mile per one newspaper article. An account of the 1881 Memphis Mardi Gras celebration described a performance by Mr. Alphonse, albeit one cut short by a malicious prank that likely proved more entertaining to the crowd watching than his normal act.
Alphonse would be set from a tug boat, likely out of or far from public view, and appear to walk around on the water. He was described though as not really walking - not taking actual steps, but rather gliding on the surface of the water. This sounds like his motion was similar to that of a cross-country skier. Occasionally he might stagger due to a disturbance on the water's surface, but remained upright, steadied somehow by an iron bar. A described "fiend" on the boat from which he departed had however tied a string to one of Alphonse's shoes. As he "walked" toward the audience on the shore. the string was let it out until a point where he reached the end and the jolt toppled him into the water, revealing floats that had been keeping him buoyant. The fall produces great laughter from the crowd said embarrassed to look at one another until regaining composure.
This article from a performance the prior year revealed the secret of his buoyancy - shoes made of cork that were 30 inches long, eight inches wide, and and eight inches tall.They were likely fashioned precisely to be able to hold his feet out of the water while sinking beneath to not be seen.
