Steamboat lore:

One toot of the whistle, steamboat’s coming;

Two toots of the whistle, freight’s aboard;

Three toots of the whistle, a lady coming ashore;

Four toots of the whistle, a corpse aboard.

    My grandmother, Ella Melvin Robeson, used to get on the A P Hurt with her friends for a little outing much as we would go to parties or dances when we were young. 

     According to the story she told me when I was a little girl, she got on the boat one Friday night on the way to Wilmington.  With her were three of her aunts (nearly her age) and two brothers who were both interested in courting her.

      She had dated Sam first but he had to go off to work for a month or two.  When he left he said to his brother Jim, "Take good care of my girl while I am gone."

     Jim took very good care of her, and by the time Sam returned, she didn't know which of them she liked best.  According to Ella's story, they got her  on the boat and told her she would have to make up her mind on that very cruise.  She said she almost had to say "Eeny meenny miney mo," but she chose Sam who became my grandfather.

     Sam died in 1941; Ella in 1955, and Jim lived until 1970. 

contributed by Laurie Smith

The Sideboard from a wrecked steamer.

To read "Steamboats on the Cape Fear", a narrative by Rev. Nash A. Odom click here.

To see a list of the steamers and their captains click here.