Stewie,

That was my original idea. I was delving into the lore of the river and found out about the Diamond Jo Steamboat Line while I was singing for ten years on the Julia Belle Swain and the Twilight riverboats. (I've told this story in other threads too.) "Diamond Joe" or "Jo", was sung by Charlie Butler in 1937 when he was a prisoner at Parchman Prison in Mississippi. He recorded his great song for the Library Of Congress song collector named Duncan Emrich. I decided that Mr. Butler's song might've been a lament sung to the steamboat saying "take me away from here----Diamond Jo, come and get-a me!" But Diamond Jo Reynolds only built steamboats for the upper Mississippi River trade. Dubuque, Iowas was their home base. His boats probably never got down south. When Stephen Wade put together the fine CD of samples from the collections at the L. of Congress, he had my theory to promote if he chose to do that. Lord knows, I pushed it strong enough for a year or two. But neither I nor my extrapolations are mentioned in the notes for that CD because he decided that I was probably not on the mark. I did get a "thank you" from Mr. Wade for my help with his project. And I do think, after looking at all the evidence that, while it would be romantic and "nice" if the locked up man's lament was sung to the boat, I do suspect, now, that I was most likely WRONG in my surmise.

But Diamond Jo Reynolds did name his flagship steamboat THE DIAMOND JO, and every one of his boats had that diamond shape painted prominently on the stacks with the letters "JO" inside the diamond.---------- But go down to any working river where the towboats are pushing barges and you will see that ALL OF THE TOWBOATS have that diamond shape prominently displayed----but inside the diamond will be the trademark of whatever line happens to own that particular boat.

But I do get a real kick-and-a-half out of seeing an idea I came up with go into the oral tradition and be put forth here all the way from Australia and the N. T. Darwin (Charles, not your city) would possibly be a bit excited too by this folkloristic example of his NATURAL SELECTION ideas.------- I love it. You made my day----er--night. ;-) I needed that. Later !

Art Thieme