Bill of lading from the M. Michael & Bro. Co. of Paducah, Kentucky, for 1 box saddlery, 3 sacks collars, 1 bundle hames, and 1 package whips. Delivery by the M. Michael & Bro. Co., wholesale harness and saddlery, buggies, carts, etc. to St. Francis, Arkansas. July 19th, 1898.
Bill of lading for shipment on the steamboat Tennessee for delivery of goods to Jim White at Clifton, Tennessee. Goods were transported from Paducah, Kentucky, September 16, 1898. M. Michael & Bro. Co., wholesale harness and sadlery, buggies, carts, etc.
Bill of lading for shipment on the steamboat Sunshine for delivery of 1 box of saddlery to W. H. Huffman at Caruthersville, Missouri. Goods were transported from Paducah, Kentucky, September 13, 1898. M. Michael & Bro. Co., wholesale harness and sadlery, buggies, carts, etc.
In the struggle of the packet boats against rail competition the Anchor Line put up a bold fight. To reduce operating expenses they built the Bluff City, the only stern-wheeler the Anchor Line ever built. She came out new in October 1896, built at Jeffersonville, Indiana. But fate was against her as she lasted but one year. On November 18, 1897 she caught fire at Chester, Illinois on the Mississippi River. The fire was supposed to have been started by a spark from a pipe falling among some logs. She and her cargo were a total loss. The steamer was valued at $55,000 and the cargo at $30,000.
Record of masters, mates, pilots, and engineers of merchant steam, motor, and sail vessels kept by the United States Steamboat Inspection Service in 1898.