where signalmen would announce the approach of a paddlewheeler by running out oversize wooden semaphore flags—two long black boards, hanging down on either side of a tall pole. The signal's centrality to life in the city was seen during a performance by a visiting theater company. At a climactic point in the play, an actor flung out his arms, the sleeves of his black robe hanging down, and asked, “What does this mean?” A wag in the audience shouted, “Sidewheel steamer!” The knowing audience erupted in howls of laughter.34
