Friday 11 May 2012

Bend down turn around, Pick a bale of cotton Bend down turn around, Pick a bale a day Oh lordy, pick a bale of cotton Oh lordy, pick a bale a day



My Picture uses as reference, a 1900 photograph of bales of cotton and other cargoes being loaded onto the Mississippi Steamboats. During that era, the US Southern States were producing  eight million bales of cotton each year - all of which were transported up river by the Paddle Steamers.


 Loading Cotton      9" x 13.5"     Pen & Ink  
                                                                                    John Simlett, Shipwright (2012)
  




Although the flat bottomed Mississippi Paddle Steamers had a shallow draught (draft) ... they still needed 2 fathoms (12 feet) of water for as a safe working depth. They used a leads-man - a crew member - to test the depth of the water ahead of the steamer. He had a rope that was marked with coloured ribbons, one for every fathom. The rope had a lead weight on one end. Swinging-the-lead was considered an easy job compared to other on-board tasks. 

The leadsman would throw the lead ahead of the boat and then call out the depth according to the ribbon mark at the surface, "By the mark, one!" or, "By the mark, three". The number being the depth in fathoms. Of course they didn't say the number in clean cut English, for each mark had it's own unique name. 

In 1857 when the 21 year old Samuel Langhorne Clemens became a "cub" pilot on a Mississippi Steamboat, he was intrigued by the leads-man's chant as he called the depths, "HALF TWAIN!"; "QUARTER TWAIN"; "M-A-R-K  TWAIN!" The latter being two fathoms, the safe working depth.

In February 1863, Clemens became a journalist in Nevada - here, for the first time he signed his name, Mark Twain. He was born during a visit of Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet's subsequent return. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age".

25 comments:

  1. Hello John:your work is accurate and valuable as that of an engraver!
    You chisel your images with incredible technique!
    Then accompanied with a delightful post where, despite having studied Mark Twain in school, you tell me the origin of the name! Thanks!
    Have a good weekend!Rita
    PS:Sorry for my google-english if I wrote strange things...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I learn something new every time I visit your blog, John! I did not know about the name either. Your drawing is wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a funny old game this 'arty' business isn't it? I start to research the picture and then get lost in the reading :0)

      Have a nice weekend, Judy.

      Delete
  3. Ciao, Rita,

    Thank you for your kind comments, Rita. My work does sometimes get etched onto metal, it's because of that 'engraver's' technique you mention.
    I'm glad the little story amused you.
    Have a good Weekend,

    Ciao, ciao, John

    PS Your English was perfect ... better than my Italian, despite my grandmother being Italian (Carmolina Francotti)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your Detail work here is amazing. Love reading the things you have researched. I knew some of that about MARK TWAIN or SL Clemens but not that about his going out with the comments return. Interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed it, Cris ... I just love the odd facts that turn up when researching.

      Delete
  5. John, what a fabulous pen and ink sketch! And your background story is fascinating. This was a most enjoyable post, John, and I thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kathryn. Most of it was freehand ... which always makes me uneasy, until later when I can see it as a picture and not a series of lines :0)

      Delete
  6. John what a beautiful rendering and a very interesting story!
    Thank You! Enjoy your weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a fabulous drawing! John, you wield a pen as if it were a magic wand. The attention to detail just boggles my mind! Well done - and I thoroughly enjoyed the story as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Susan. Isn't it good news about your pictures being hung alongside such famous artists? Well deserved.

      Delete
  8. John your singing voice is in fine fiddle!
    Of course your drawing skills are beyond incredible!
    Love the history lesson too!
    And have I told you how much I love and appreciate the stories you write about MY drawings? ;-)) I do!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed it, Lynn, and that you are getting a giggle over the captions to your drawings!

      Delete
  9. You put me to shame with what you know and I don't. Very interesting stuff about this M-A-R-K twain. You also put me to shame with your articulate drawings. I wish I had your patience. When do you find the time to do your homework?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda, nobody can put you to shame, the quantity and quality of your output is phenomenal and exciting.

      Delete
  10. John, what a WONDERFUL post! SO interesting...and this drawing is incredible!!! Your talent amazes me every time I visit...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hilda, thank you. You're with Carrie was first rate, I really enjoyed it. Modest brilliance I thought!

      Delete
  11. A fabulous drawing....five out of five stars! Thanks for the lesson on Mark Twain. We do love him so!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Celeste, how kind of you to find time - you've been sooo busy with your show and workshops.

      Mark Twain is one of the most loved authors I think.

      Delete
  12. It seems to me that your pen has become a part of you, as though it draws by itself! You will surely one day run out of these amazing stories! Yesterday I picked my watercolour brush for the first time in more than a year! I am nervous about posting the result tomorrow, but excited to have rediscovered the medium as you have with your pen :0)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you Sandra - I keep finding these obscure facts every time I research a picture. I look forward to seeing your watercolour, I'm sure it will be amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh WOW John! That drawing is simply amazing. What impresses me the most is how seamless it all fits together. Sometimes with drawings that have this much detail it can look disjointed, but yours flows and feels very much alive. Well done John! And that is very interesting about Mark Twain and the comet, I had no idea. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you, Crystal. I'm moving back to drawing static buildings for a while for the very good reasons explained in my next post: basically a potential market opportunity.

    Thanks for dropping in.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hah! John, I misread your note. No, you could continue eating lush grass if you like; I don't think it will put a tummy on you. :)

    ReplyDelete