Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1870-07-30
RIVER INTELLIGENCE
Prom our e~xehsngess

OF kNH superb EAAAaNN4a NAeAts
Mary E. Keene,in 1861, iB now stew
ard Ofthe NatcheZ
The most remarkable mirage wit
messed Ia this country was recently
seen from Ashland wharf. The
steamer Fleetwood seven miles
distant, was reproduced, as IL re-
hected from mirror, on the clouds.
So perfect was the reflection that
the Fleetwood was Immediately
recognized by those who saw the
image In the haze.
Memoranda Steamer NatcheS--
Left New Orleans 1Ath, Is min
utes past 5 p. m. bad over 100 pas.
sengers. Time to Natchez, ooh. 80
min, including twelve landings.-
No. boat ever made il so quick and
so many landings. Time 70 Vicks.
bury, 2Sh. 80 min. up to there 20
landings. Napoleon, Id. q. 30 min.
Arrived at Memphis at 1880 on
the 18th. Arrived at Cairo, Mon
day, 18th, S:4 a. m. Arrived at
st. Louis, 10Th, 3:45 a. m. Made
80 landings on the way fast and
successful business trip. Part OF
the time had $50 passengers In cab.
in; brought nearly 100 to st.
Louis.
The steam trading boat r. II.
Frank, sunk in Tchula Lake, has
been raised. She belonged to AL
bert Aaron.
We take the following from st.
Louis papers:
The City Of Vicksburg Is now re-
ceiving freight, and win 60 out on
Thursday evening for Vlcksburg,
We anticipate that the citizens Of
the "Hill City" will grant an Ova.
ton to the officers OF the ViCks.
burg on her arrival at that port,
BOARDMAN's Iron STEAMBOAT
Since the opening of the discussion
of the subject Of reconstructing our
river marine, by substituting iron
instead of wood in boat building,
both Pittsburg and Cincinnati have
become aroused to the importance
Of gaining the prestige Of being first
ito build iron steamers. AtLither'
burg's bOat-yard, Cincinnati, Capt
BOardman has q boat now In pro.
cess Of construction. This boat Ii
5emphatically an iron boat, and Il
Isl. Louis does not have the honor o.
building the first iron steamer after
q lapse Of twenty-five years, Mis-
souri, has the honor Of furnishing
the iron. The following particulars
concerning the boat may be here
noted. Her hull will be lSU fee
long, 40 feet floors, ~ feet beam
81 feet depth Of hold, and all iron
NOT a square inch Of wood being
used. The thickness Of the iron IL
her keel is g of an inch; her for
ward body IL 4 inch, and aftel
body p of an inch large. As thu
boat is intended for Red river
which is believed to contain more
snags than any other naviga6le Yves
tern river,it will be readily seen VIII!
the iron forward is an eighth incl
thicker than it is aft. Her floor
are Of IL, IA and 10 inch centers, o
angular iron, 81 by Az inches, witt
every alternate floor q reversed an
gle on the top, making the AOors
inches deeply fve-eights % Of 81
inch thick. The iron plates o
which her hull is constructed are
wide, and vary in length from 10 I
II feet. The butts Of the plate ar
strapped with iron OF the sam
thickness, double riveted, wha
steamboat builders call 'stagge
%rivet."
Mr.. Swift has the contract 70
building the hull, which will COS
about $4,000.
The hull will be divided int,
twelve water.tight compartments
by iron bulkheads running botI
ways. To reach all these compart
ments six matches only are necessa
~, the two forward compartment.
having each a hatch. The mali
deck will be principally Of wood
but forty feet fore and aft, by 2
feet wide of that part un
der the boilers will be iron
This Is to provide agains
fire from the turnices. The engine
frames Casually called cylinder
imbers) will be of iron. Tn,
guards aud deck beams will also bt
Of iron. Her stern posts are o
wrought iron, 3 by 5 inches In di
ameter. She will have n steel cylin
drical wheel shaft, 35 inches In di.
ameter, OF half inch steel. The stee
Is being manufactured at Pittsburg
and the shaft will be made by Den
ME Long Il Co, Louisville. HeI
cranks. shait-heads, etc, wer,
forged in Buffalo, N. Y, and ar,
now at Louisville.
The wheel itself will be Of iron
the same as a sea- going vessel. /
will he % feet long by y feet in di
ameteF, with 20.inch buckets.
The measurement Of the tonagI
of the boat will be about 500 tons
but she will have a carrying capaci
" ofl,0OO tons. Her actual weigh
will not be more than half that Of 1
wooden vessel of the same dimen'
sions. The cost Of building heI
will be nearly double that of q
wooden vessel Of the same size, buI
to effect this it is claimed that she
will not have to be dOcked periodi'
cally, and that she will outwear q
half dozen wooden boats.
Captain W. L. Trask, q well.
known river man, has assumed
charge Of the river columns Of the
Memphis Avalanche.
The steamboat owners Of New
Orleans have held a meeting Ia
take some action In reference to the
employment of white crews here.