Arkansas intelligencer., 1843-05-13
'ronl the Baltimoe American.
mississippi Rier and valley.

4 III ii :hs Report made BY Nj. BARRow OF Lou
INA, ion tie Copimittee en- Commerce 10 the
A@aF>s oi the .. States during the late session
M ssatistics ire given re hive to the trade and
!, ,sources Of tle Mississippi River and Valley
ma: sb9 wq,h while to .tlcapitulate some Of
est. since tEs altogether sbnb Bile that r.any Of
xsgti4e At ttic Sa., are teally unacqrainled
E7ih ne nftall extent an eowing greaiusss of
ftlat vast region whose prodn tiyeness, yet ia It's
eariy.stages, 5 now supply ynl, and must continue
inSstlIi greate degrees to supply the matorialsof
a seramr % already great siid likely T. bsGone
aneqaailsIiL IL rhness, varic lvand amount
The pa " ,he NJ sissiEPi Valley includes
sorie I've sis tunircd thousand square miles,
swatered ~ i q twenty grea, tribu,ar0s It's
I chief stream Y Tse so5l Of this immensg ,4qie,n
ls fsrtiie an :. rs. .e fron the twea.s "a h
degree oi lalmS-., dp 70 Is <rcfi.y s---vSash ii
yislds in avish .aau alnI So avery varisiy
Of prodrction nsces- ryU hurqan wants.
The exs7'. Of pro TiSRa steam navigation
wisMia these limits is not a. han twenty thou
'-ae miles. Fly years 8 f' mightystr ms
y hRing silese faeiiiies, giHsAghrough q. osoken
srsssss, or wild prairies. Paired sa.sges stood
5npf the 'Inaks md saw thslrgrim features in
.s..y water shetniy vessel that simmed their sur
4 4 "a maN tie bart ~anoo. ~ resent the region
congnisss Iiue States and two territories, with
a paoulatioE of near seven milsns.
Before the introduction of cam navigation
which dates upon the waters othe Mississippi
about 1917, the trade Of tho upp Mississippi and
. Missouri scarcely existed and ts whole upward
commerce f New Orleans us conveyed in
about twenty barges, carryingach about one
hundred tors, and making but o. trip a year.
Each voyage in those days wasbout equivalent
10 an EHst india or China voyas now. On the
upper Ohin about one hundred anfifty keel boats
were empo"ed, each about thirt tons burden !:
they made y trip to and fro beveen Pittsburg
and LoLwi, e. about three time year. The
ertire To- " e Of the boats mov,g in the Ohio
npd lowe N ssissippi was then ahut $500 tons.
Ia ls54s be steam navigation ofthe Mississippi
~ u rissn Bobcats, and a lounge of $4,000,
sssslehboe . 200 persons were stinated to be
employed ne trade, either as cews, builders,
x,,odcnre's 4 leaders Of the vesels.
In lSs navigation was as blows There
we're $50 Il ners, averaging eacl2OO tons, and
making an aggregate tonnage of 5000 so that
has ea deal more than doblod in eight
+rs. at $50 the ton, Thy cost above
OOO,tIJ lpd are navigated BY early 10000
sons, al tlrty-6ve to each. BESIDES these
h tners - ,are about 1000 Gaoats. which
eachs 5,are managed by fyeands apiece.
2 f~N1oSo iSoiS,) uuu iHdklU1 Qnlu0l cA-
s'se f 3 10000. The estirnau annual OK.
- of th cam navigation, incIling IS pei
sos ans rance and 90 per cent.,r wear emo
rsar. $l3.6lS.000. If in 1884 H. employed
aggregate Of 10000 persons, ths must now
Nv at least 10000.
Fn-steaners running from NesOreans Il
,ohFe distant points in the great a,ley make
itaght to fifteen trips year VIII, those car
g the trade from Pittsburgh, G:iouati ant
isville to St. Louis perform somet inv annu
Ups. Others run between stilItarer ports
I'd make more frequent voyages Al an ave
'Se oi twenty voyages year the elective an
1al freight of these steamers on the Nsaern wa
= Xould be 100000 tons. If fXr tbousant
Sonts, each Of seventy-fve ton, added,
appear that the total annual fr,h ef tb
i-atien on those waters exceeds t, million
TOMS T.
The value Of the downward trade 4 Nev Or
cans il estimated at $l20, ,OOOOOO anh.lly. IN
upward Or return trade is reckoned at III 400
0QQ.OOO. Thus the entire value of thk,o
it'ss cnnveyed on the waters Of the ississ;n,
amosets upon tho best estim,tes to theE ,o,oor
sum OF two hundred and twenty milliolr 81 AZ
isrs Per annrm. This amount il but II ~ mi
iioss iess than the entire value Of Tho keie