The Red River of the North has as many windings as a serpent, and its steamboat carries a mate who rarely speaks but he jokes. The last we heard from him was a request to the engineer to burn the crookedest sticks he could find to make the bends with. In these dull days so much genuine wit deserves to go the rounds.
Crooked sticks
The Nor’Wester, September 14, 1860