Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-12-21
RIVER News.

We report the river about stationary at
this point, with II inches on Harpeth
Shoals. Weather cold and clear.
The Burksville is on her way to this port.
If water viii permit, she viii arrive on Fri
day night.
Harvey Holland, old Aliquippa, reported
yesterday at Capt. Boyd's marine headquar-
tiers.
Squire Wallace, mine host Of the Mer-
chants, formerly a well known river man,
will to-day kill fine Arkansaw bear. We
acknowledge an invitation to dine tO-mOr-
row on his meat. Wen be thar!
The West Wind will leave Evansville to-
day for more genial cline, seeking an ice
harbOr.
The Evansville Courier says that the
steamer John Lumsden is on her way up
from Paducah with the freight of the steam
er Potomac, the latter having laid up at
Cairo. The Lumsden is loadedw coffee,
sugar and mOlasses for Louisville and Gin
cinnati.
A Pittsburg paper states that there are
now laid up at Pittsburg, sixty-nine tow
boats, three passenger, and five freight
steamers. The passenger boats are the Ju-
LA, Elisha Bennett, and West Virginia.
The freight boats are the Wild Duck, Mary
Davage, Comet, Rover, Ironsides and their
barges.
The New Orleans Bulletin refers to the
condition of the New Orleans levees as fol-
lows:
. The desperate and deplorable condition
of our levees during a rainy season calls
loudly for some remedy at the hands of our
city fathers, but they, it seems, have hearts
as hard as adamant; for they will neither
give us clean levees nor will they give us
gaslights down there to assist us in protect
ing our commerce. What is to be done it
is hard to tell, but that some desperate rem
edy should be resorted to by our steam
boatmen cannot be doubted. Day in and
day out these complaints are made, but no
attention is paid to them, none whatever;
but, on the other hand, the tax collector
never fails to pay his usual visit on board
the boats, and never fails to demand his
wharfage dues, and complaints are useless,
and it is high time that our steamboatmen
should adopt some remedy to protect them
selves from this gross imposition by our city
authorities.
The Louisville Ledger of yesterday says:
The river last evening was stationary, with
about IA inches ON the falls, down the In
diana chute. At Pit.sburg yesterday the
river had fallen inches in "a hours, with
29 inches in the channel. At Cincinuaai
yesterday the river was stationary, with 8
feet in the channel. The weather yesterday
was cold and raw, and late in the afternoon
commenced showing. Business in river cir
cles is quiet.
We clip the following from the st. Louis
Republican of yesterday:
The river at this port is still slowly de-
Ginning. There is but little to encourage
steamboatmen in the prosecution Of their
business. The weather has been remarka-
bly, dry and cold. We have had but little
rain and very little snow here for many
months. The ice still holds firm above the
bridge, and pedestrians cross without fear
of missing their footing. Below the river
is entirely free from ice, but there is not
much water in the channel. Boats bound
for below have to load with caution; still
the amount of freight received by steam
boats perceptibly diminishes the rush to the
railroads across the river. The weather is
again freezing cold. Reports from below
vary in relation to the depth of water below.
It is probable that there is less than foar
feet out; there cannot be much more than
that.
STEAMSHIP MEBIPus-The attention OF
steamboatmen ON the Mississippi has been
called to the increasing desire on the ipart
of English merchants and capitalists to es-
tablish direct trade with our Southern
ports. New Orleans, from its situation,
was naturally selected for the American ter
minus of projected line of steamships
from Liverpool. The company was organ
lied little more than one year ago, and
but for the loss of one of their ships would
no doubt be firmly established. Concerning
this line the Liverpool Shipping and Com
mercidl Express of Nov. 10 says: "On
Friday last, the fine steamer Memphis, of
$500 tons, and 300-horse power, built to the
order of the Liverpool and Mississippi
Steamship Company, by Messrs. Archibald
Mcmillan & Son, Dumbarton, and engined
by Messrs. John and James Thompson, of
Glasgow, went down the Clyde on trial.
The vessel was run in the Firth for four
hours, during which time the engines work
ed with admirable smoothness and to the
satisfaction of all concerned, the speed of
the vessel being twelve knots perhOur. The
Memphis is handsomely fitted up for forty
cabin and five hundred Storage passengers,
and has all the new Improvements for pas
sengers' comfort. The trial was under the
supervision Of Mr.. Main, one of the manag-
ing owners of the company, and OF MIR.
Glover, surerintending engineer. The same
builders and engineers are at present con-
structing three other vessels Of the same
size as the Memphis for the Liverpool and
Mississippi Steamship Company. The
Memphis arrived at this port on Saturday
evening, and has been placed on the berth
for New Orleans"