Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1857-04-04
o. of arrivals from ST. Louis last year,

Tho Cincinnati Commercial of recent date
says that during the past winter, capt. orrin
Smith, President of the Minnesota Packet TO-,
has been there experimenting the construction OF
sve uew and splendid passenger steamers Tor the
C,,ena Dubuque, Dunleith and St. Paul trade.
Hs br;t the beautiful Northern Belle there last
season. boat which proved worthy OF our no.
hle streau,-the best and most reliable OF our nv
or craft. The Commercial says:
oO,r Eastern boatmen will doubtless think we
,-o ovtrayagant. wiaen We assert that this Is the
most extensive inland steam packet company IN
the nayicable world, giving employment 70 ~
least double the number Of boats anu carrying
tbr;eo % MANY Messengers as any line of packets
on the Hudson, North. Ohio, Mississippi or any
other rivers" $50
This season. the Minnesota Packet Co. Will run
regularly nineteen first class passenger mai pacA'
ate from Galena TO st. Paul-maSing 'hree
hoats per dav-morning, noon and nigh. III.
boats being at present completed in Cincinnati
are the Key City, Capt. Jones Worden; Itasca,
Cant. David Written; Grey Eagle, Capt. d. S.
Harris: Milwaukee, Capt. Stephen Hewitt; and
the Northern Light, Capt. Pres. Lodwick-thc
average cost of each being from $4,000 to sl5,-
600. The Key City is finished and will start
from below for this city as early as next week.
We ouote again: 'sThe dimensions of this elc-
CANT craft are: 300 feet on deck, IS feet beam,
depth of hold FIVE feet, with capacity for 500 tons
of freight. The machinery consists of four tubu-
lar boilers. So inches in diameter, l6 fee. long
with FIVE inch tubes; two twenty inch cylinders, I
feet stroke, working % feet wheel with ten full
buckets In complete running order, fuel &c. on
board, she trims in 26 inches water. On Satur-
day, the Key City made the most perfect nd ca
tisfactory trial trip We have ever witnessed. She
went up the river l6 miles, and with coal made
abundant steam. At this point she procured
four cords Of wood which was mixed with COAL
On her return, with open throttle, she averaged
l24 pounds of steam, making 10 miles down the
stream in fifty-one minutes. She was thirty min
utes running from the mouth of the Little Miami
to the foot of Main street-full seven miles,
She glides along gracefully, parting the water at
her bow with a fountain spray similar to tho ia
nous Telegraph. She makes one break forward
of the wheel, leaving, as she goes, light rip
ping wave aft. The model is remarkably easy,
and with her superior machinery, we venture the
prediction that the Key City will be one of the
fastest nass on the Upper Mississippi. The en-
tire building contract was made by the Cincin-
natl Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company,
under the superintendent Of Messrs. johnson &
Morton. the builders Of the famous Telegraph,
Natchez, Princess, and other champion steamers
Besides the above company, there are others
who will run in the aggregate perhaps twice as
many more, besides the numerous stragglers that
always stem our river to st. Paul, merely as q
matter of curiosity, or temporary transport
The citizens of Wabashaw have purchased an in.
terest in the Tishomingo, owned by Winona peo-
ple, and it will hereafter make Wabashaw point
on its trips.
Owing to the gorge of Nov. 10th. upwards of
fifty steamers bound for this city and heavily
freighted, were obliged to put back and disch argc
their freight at the towns below. To give an
idea of the Commercial business of St. Paul, we
quote from letter received bv Messrs. Borup &
Cakes last summer, from Galena forwarding
merchant. He says 81 have made arrangements
to store the remainder Of the goods destined for
ST. Paul which have come TO my care; but it will
take between forty and fifty thousand dollars to
pay back charges" From present indications:
the business on the Mississippi during the cur.
rent year, will far exceed that of the past, while
the immigration into our territory will doubtless
be double that of any previous season. The East
ern and Middle states have caught the Western
fever, and the contagion spreads like prairie
fire. There is no medicine that will cure it OK.
cept the exper mcnt of pioneering.