Johnson--no relative of hers--who follows the same calling.
The steamer _Grand_ is almost entirely a Johnson family affair. Mrs.
Johnson is captain; her husband, I.S. Johnson is pilot (though Mrs.
Johnson has, in addition to her master's license, a pilot's license, and
often takes the wheel); her elder son, Emery, is clerk; Emery's wife is
assistant clerk, while Arthur, the captain's younger son, is engineer.
Russell Johnson, Mrs. Johnson's grandson, is the only member of the
family I saw aboard the boat who does not take part in running it.
Russell was five years old when I met him, but that was nearly a year
ago, and by now he is probably chief steward, boatswain, or ship's
carpenter.
The regular route of the _Grand_ is from Memphis to Mhoon's Landing, on
the Arkansas River, a round trip of 120 miles, with thirty landings.
I asked Mrs. Johnson if she had ever been shipwrecked. Indeed she had!
Her former ship, the _Nettie Johnson_, struck thin ice one night in the
Arkansas River and went down.
"What did you do?" I asked.
"I reached after an iron ring," she replied, "and clumb on up into the
rigging. She went down about four-thirty A.M. and we stayed on her till
daylight; then we all swum ashore. I tell you it was cold! There was
icicles on my dress; my son Emery put his arms around me to keep me
warm, and his clothes froze onto mine.
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