[78-L] Darwin was wrong

[Steven C. Barr]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Lennick" <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> tote
> 1 /to?t/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [toht] Show IPA ,verb, tot?ed, 
> tot?ing, noun
> -verb (used with object)
> 1. to carry, as on one's back or in one's arms: to tote a bundle.
> 2. to carry on one's person: to tote a gun.
> 3. to transport or convey, as on a vehicle or boat.
>
> ON a boat. Not to tote a boat.
>
> -noun
> 4. the act or course of toting.
> 5. something that is toted.
> 6. tote bag.
>
> tote
> 2 /to?t/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [toht] Show IPA ,
> -verb (used with object), tot?ed, tot?ing.
> Informal. to add up; total.
>
> http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tote
>
> Webster's gives as a second meaning "haul, convey"..so if one man can do 
> it,
> then I guess he's entitled to git a little drunk (and land in jail).
>
I would guess this was originally meant as "TOW that barge" (although THAT
usually involves a tugboat...?!). The other possibility was, since "barge" 
isn't
part of a rhyme, is that when the writer was trying to think of a nice, one-
syllable, object that WOULD have been "toted" by Black riverboat helpers,
that nothing came to mind...?!

...stevenc