Mud clerk
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A mud clerk was a helper or all-around worker aboard a steamboat during the period before and after the American Civil War, particularly aboard steamboats on the Mississippi River.[citation needed]
According to Mark Twain in his autobiography, "Mud clerks received no salary, but they were in the line of promotion. They could become, presently, third clerk and second clerk, then chief clerk -- that is to say, purser". [1]
Mud clerks were always male, and typically in their early teens or younger; on many ships only the captain was an adult or “old man”. [2]
Duties included such things as running errands for the officers of the steamboat, carrying messages around the ship, and fetching food or beverages. As the name itself implies, mud clerks would often be given the dirtiest jobs aboard ship. [3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Twain, Mark (2012). Autobiographical Writings: A Penguin Enriched EBook Classic. ISBN 9781101601778. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ Eggleston, Edward (2010). The End of the World. p. 178. ISBN 9781429044844. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ Patterson, Benton Rain (2009). The Great American Steamboat Race: The Natchez and the Robert E. Lee and the Climax of an Era. p. 138. ISBN 9780786453870. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
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