New-York Daily Tribune (24 May 1855): 6.

On the Alabama River, April 22, 1855. Steamboat from Montgomery to Mobile. If the boat runs aground,

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…the crew (mostly negroes) by the aid of a heavy spar, which they work by a capstan, get her again afloat, accompanying themselves by a wild chant—one voice leading and the others joining chorus. At other times they improvise for the occasion such a song as this:

“Work away my dandy boys,
        Work away—work away;
I think I feel her moving now,
        Work away—work away,” &c.

        The glare of the pine torches lighting up the river and the banks, which seem like enchanted gardens—the song of the negroes as the march round the capstan, their wild and picturesque appearance, and the airy fairy boat looming high above the water—all unite to form a scene as novel to our eyes as it is beautiful.
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