STEAMSHIPS AND SUBSIDIES 223 



would have omitted, and by this I mean men like 

 Commodores Vanderbilt and Garrison, and not 

 such imitations as a yacht club commodore, a 

 president of Pacific Mail, and least of all myself. 

 That precaution, sacred in the minds of many 

 successful men in other lines of enterprise, is: 



"Never have anything to do with an unlucky 

 man." 



Garrison himself hammered it into me in the 

 matter of the Missouri, but I smiled at his super- 

 stition. Owing to the death of a captain, we had 

 to put some one in command of the Missouri, 

 which was due to sail at once. Captain Green 

 was in port, was familiar with the route, and had 

 long sailed for the Atlantic Mail on its steamer 

 Eagle. This boat while in his command had 

 been wrecked on Body Island. It had been 

 properly in charge of the mate at the time of the 

 disaster and the captain was exonerated of blame 

 by the underwriters. Captain Green was the 

 only man available for our purpose at the mo- 

 ment, there was no reason, only superstition, why 

 we should not engage him, and he was sent out in 



