Currier and Ives

The Greatest Race of All!

The Race between the Steamers "Natchez" and "Robt. E. Lee"

An interpretive narrative, and mostly historical, by Robert Rydman.
Who won the great steamboat race between The Natchez and The Robt. E Lee?

Well ... The Robt. E Lee arrived first, but then, it also departed first, if only by a few moments. Both boats paraded out within site of each other as they departed New orleans. Some will say the Lee was already kickin' up her heels at the Natchez others say taint so! Cannon left early, perhaps before Leathers was at a full head of steam!

What are you gonna do! You gotta leave too ... or lose too much distance!

Captain John Cannon, on board the Robt. E. Lee, had not taken on passengers or freight! he had stripped the Lee of all its gilding, he had thrown ashore most all the furnishings, bedding, chairs, tables, and most the kitchen ware! Some say it didnt even look like the Lee!

Captain Thomas Leathers, on board the Steamer Natchez, being only slightly older, perhaps did not see anything special about a race with the Lee. He knew his boat was fast. He had just established the new record for St. Louis to New Orleans. He knew his crew was well trained and his engineer experienced. He took passengers and freight although perhaps not the fullest load.

At the first wooding Cannon arrived first, and took on fuel on the run lashing wood barges to the gunnels and cutting loose when loaded. Leathers stopped to let off passengers and take fuel from the shore as usual.

The Lee was still insight as Leathers backed out. Her smoke was on the horizon .... probly less than 7 to 10 miles ahead. Short work on a three day cruise.

The first night a heavy fog lay into the river bottoms. Both boats were required to tie up due to lack of visibility. At sunrise the fog lifted and the race resumed, but here again Cannon got the jump being 10 to fifteen mile further up the river and further from the Gulf, the fog apparently lifted slightly earlier for Cannon than it did for Leathers, anyway, the boats did not depart at the same time that morning.

Still, Leathers had the Lee in sight! Again the wooding up of the Lee was done on the fly while the Natchez stopped for fuel passengers and freight.

Cannon in his need to win the greatest of all steamboat races took fuel that afternoon from a powered fuel tow and the race was over, at least from the betting standpoint, Lee had gotton a push! All bets were off! But the race was still on!

The Natchez closed the gap all that day regardless of all the devious doings of Cannon on board the Lee. Crew and pressmen on board the Lee could see the Natchez smoke drawing nearer and nearer as the day progressed. That evening the Natchez blew out a packing on the steam gland of one of her cylinders and had to stop for repairs. The engineer and mechanics made short work of this nuisance and they were under way in less than 45 minutes!

So now the race was on! The Natchez would not say die! Reporters on board the Lee thought the race was over when no smoke was seen from the Natchez that morning but then around 10 o'clock AM it was again visible. Tom Leathers was acomin' with the Natchez and he was closing the distance fast. But alas, distance and time ran out. The Lee arrived a St Louis, naked, bare, sorely driven, and rattlin' at about eleven AM. The Natchez came in an hour later fully dressed, carrying passengers and freight in full regalia. None the worse for wear and in fact continued on with commerce the very next day, while the Lee was put up for repairs and refurbishment of appointments.

Was it a fair race? Definitely not! No rules had been laid down as to particulars. No official starting time had been arranged "We'll race on the 30th of June!" as both boats were scheduled to depart from New Orleans on the same day. Cannon undoubtly had boasted or wagered so much he would do anything to win. He had prearranged fuel transfers, stripped his boat, and cancelled passage and freight. Perhaps he thought it would be an fine time to refurbish the Lee and win a race as well.

On the otherhand, Leathers knew he had the faster boat. He had just established the record for St. Louis to New Orleans passage. He knew he had a better crew, he knew his roustabouts were faster, stronger, more capable men, than those aboard the Lee, and he trusted his engineering staff to delivers the goods on race day and they did! But what are you gonna do with a rascal like Lee?

Years latter the two got into a fight over something and one can only speculate as to the differences, the race?, the personalities?, money? not likely,

What was so remarkable about the race was that it combined so many of the characteristics of classic professional sports or boxing promotions of today, and may well have served as the prototype for national promotional efforts.

Steamboats had been racing each other for years by this time, why was this race so unique? It was partly due to the stature and reputations of the two Captains. Also, to the notoriety of the two steamboats, and to the existence of the telegraph and newspapers. The fact that the schedules were published weeks in advance of the departure most certainly contributed to the excitement.

It started when the New Orleans Newspaper quite innocently published the arrival and departure schedules for steamboats for the day of June 30 1870!. There it was in black and white:

Date: June 30,1870

DEPARTURES:
New Orleans 5:00 PM Str "Natchez" bound for St Louis
New Orleans 5:00 PM Str "Robt. E. Lee" bound for St. Louis

It was the luck of the draw and wordspread like wildfire for weeks before the date. Papers across the country picked up on the reported departure times of the two boats.

Favorites were picked .... the betting began. In Cincinatti the wagering was staggering! In fact several millions of people became wrapped up in the excitement. Capt. John Cannon and Capt. Thomas P. Leathers will race the "Robt. E Lee" and Str. "Natchez" from New Orleans to St Louis beginning on June 30 and arriving the day of July 4th ... WOW !!!!

The day of the race the banks on either side of the river were covered with thousands of people, workers were given the day off, schools were recessed, at every city horns and whistles were blown to signal the arrival of each boat. Reporters filed reports at every stop from aboard the vessels and from within each of the neighboring cities, telegraphs were sent to keep an enthralled nation abreast of the latest developements.

Who would win? Who was faster? Who would hit a snag? Who would explode? Who would run aground? Who knew the river? Who knew thier boat?

In the end who won the race!? Cannon arrived first, though by devious methods. Leathers finished second, but with a lower overall running time! Leathers was apparently faster on the water, but Cannon won the race (NASCAR?)

One can well imagine the younger hot blooded Cannon holding it over the older Leathers, but Cannon was known to be a well liked pleasant man and Leathers was a gentleman as well, so as to the nature of thier differences in later years we cannot be totally sure.

The tumultuous excitement that engulfed the entire river basin for almost a month may have seemed unfulfilled in the end, all bets were called off when Lee took the push, probably unaware that this would so effect the race, as he was at the time leading by a slight though comfortable distance. In St Louis, on the day of the finish, the Lee was greeted with hootin' and hollerin' and promptly proclaimed the winner, The Natchez arrived later and received a champions welcome. As the logs were reviewed it appeared the "Natchez" had the lower running time. As the discussion continued for years, and to this day, the concensus of opinion is that it was the race of the century, ... the race between ... the "Natchez" and the "Robt. E. Lee".