The Phantom Steamboat of the Tombigbee
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
The Tombigbee is one of the principal routes of commercial navigation in the southern United States and carries heavy traffic between Mobile and Birmingham, Ala. The Tombigbee River is approximately 200 mi long and is a tributary of the Mobile River. It is a confluence of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and Black Warrior River. The elevation of the Tombigbee River Basin is relatively high, ranging from 100 to 700 feet above sea level and the topography in the basin is mostly hilly. It is this fact that makes the Tombigbee an interesting river to study.
The Tombigbee is found in the Coastal Plain region of Alabama. The Coastal Plains are known as the lowest section of the state. Its name (plains) even gives it away, but what needs to be understood here is that the area is full of foothills and rolling prairies. The elevation, an average of 600 feet, is nothing notable, but the Tombigbee River has worked it's way through these hills. Because of the width, speed, and numerous bluffs along the Tombigbee, it is an ideal river for steamboat transportation. Due to its location it was an important river to the commerce and development of Alabama, especially for one of the most important ports in American history, Mobile.
The primary function of most steamboats in antebellum Alabama was to carry as much cotton as quickly and as cheaply as possible from the interior of the state to the Gulf Coast. Steamboats going to Mobile stopped to load cotton bales at nearly 300 landings. Ideally, cotton landings were located below high bluffs rising out of the river. This numerous bluffs up and down the Tombigbee makes it an ideal river to have plenty of cotton landings. Cotton warehouses were located on the top of the bluffs and were connected to the landings below by wooden slides. Numerous other landings dotted the rivers because steamboats had to stop frequently to take on firewood to stoke their boilers and keep up a good head of steam.
The river, though, does have a checkered history. The river basin is susceptible to flooding, which has led to several accidents, especially during the 1800s. The name "Tombigbee" comes from a Choctaw words that means "coffin maker". The name is fitting due to the story I grew up reading about in Kathryn Tucker Windham's "13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey".
During the 1850's, the Eliza Battle ran a route up and down the Tombigbee River. In late February 1858, the Eliza Battle left Columbus, MS, for Mobile, AL. The weather was windy and cold and once the ship left Demopolis it was already full of both passengers and cotton, over 1200 bales. Around 2am on March 1st, the cotton on the main deck was discovered to be on fire. The wind caused the fire to spread rapidly. The ship was uncontrollable due to high winds and the flooding of the river. People attempted to jump ship and swim to shore, but most died. All of the casualties were attributed to exposure to the extreme cold during the night.
Following the accident of the Eliza Battle there were reports, especially during cold and windy nights, that a steamboat engulfed in flames could be seen. Some believers think the sightings are ill omens. Since then there have been other accidents along the Tombigbee River, but the hull of The Eliza Battle remains at the bottom of the river.
To log this Earthcache please answer the following questions in an email to me (Logs with answers in them will be deleted immediately):
1) What major river does the Tombigbee meet up with to form the Mobile River?
2) Tell me the flow rate of the Tombigbee River at the posted coordinates. This may be done by measuring a distance along the rivers bank, floating an object from your starting point to the ending point, and recording the time it takes the object to float the distance. How might the flow rate affect the erosion in the area? Do you see any effects of erosion at the coordinates?
3) In your opinion, what factors contribute to the Tombigbee being an important, but dangerous, river?
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gb ybt guvf Rnegupnpur cyrnfr nafjre gur sbyybjvat dhrfgvbaf va na rznvy gb zr (Ybtf jvgu nafjref va gurz jvyy or qryrgrq vzzrqvngryl):
1) Jung znwbe evire qbrf gur Gbzovtorr zrrg hc jvgu gb sbez gur Zbovyr Evire?
2) Gryy zr gur sybj engr bs gur Gbzovtorr Evire ng gur cbfgrq pbbeqvangrf. Guvf znl or qbar ol zrnfhevat n qvfgnapr nybat gur eviref onax, sybngvat na bowrpg sebz lbhe fgnegvat cbvag gb gur raqvat cbvag, naq erpbeqvat gur gvzr vg gnxrf gur bowrpg gb sybng gur qvfgnapr. Ubj zvtug gur sybj engr nssrpg gur rebfvba va gur nern? Qb lbh frr nal rssrpgf bs rebfvba ng gur pbbeqvangrf?
3) Va lbhe bcvavba, jung snpgbef pbagevohgr gb gur Gbzovtorr orvat na vzcbegnag, ohg qnatrebhf, evire?