"What did the roust-about have to do?" asked a neighbor lad who had come
into the room. "The roust-about is no better than the mate that rules
him. If the mate is kindly disposed the roust-about has an easy enough
life. The negroes had only a few years of freedom and resented cruelty.
If the mate became too mean, a regular fight would follow and perhaps
several roust-abouts would be hurt before it was finished."

Uncle George said that food was always plentiful on the boats.
Passengers and freight were crowded together on the decks. At night
there would be singing and dancing and fiddle music. "We roust-abouts
would get together and shoot craps, dance or play cards until the call
came to shuffle freight, then we would all get busy and the mate's voice
giving orders could be heard for a long distance."

"In spite of these few pleasures, the life of a roust-about is the life
of a dog. I do not recall any unkindnesses of slavery days. I was too
young to realize what it was all about, but it could never have equalled
the cruelty shown the laborer on the river boats by cruel mates and
overseers."

Another superstition advanced itself in the story of a boat, told by
Uncle George Arnold. The story follows: "When I was a roust-about on the
Gold Dust we were sailing out from New Orleans and as soon as we got
well out on the broad stream the rats commenced jumping over board. 'See
these rats' said an old river man, 'This boat will never make a return
trip!'"

"At every port some of our crew left the boat but the mate and the
captain said they were all fools and begged us to stay. So a few of us
stayed to do the necessary work but the rats kept leaving as fast as