New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-07-05
Early SteambOating.

furnishes the following interesting remln-
iscences Of steamboat travel on the West
ern waters to that paper:
observe in your daily of May % several
columns Of interesting matter relating TO
the early history and statistics Of Pittsburg
and the upper Ohio regions, taken from the
Navigator" a book published in your
town in the opening years of this century.
You were fortunate in getting hold of the
work II is very rare book now. l doubt
if the most diligent search would unearth
a half dozen copies in the whole United
States You state your copy to be of the
seventh edition Qsll). l happen to have
one of the eighth tlSl4), and the last ever
issued. Yours has not quite 800 pages
mine has 800, every edition having been
improved and enlarged by the insertion o
additional statistics and incidents gathered
during the intervals of its several issues.
In your extract from it you give the au-
thors words referring to the Gust thenl pro-
posed introduction of steam navigation on
our Western rivers, in which he says that
"a Mr.. Rosewalr, a gentleman of enterprise,
and who is acting. IL is said, in conjunction
with Messrs. Fulton and Livingstone, of
New York, has a boat of this kind now
ISl0) on the stocks at Pittsburg of 1873 feet
keel, calculated for 800 or 400 tons burden"
NV copy being of the 1914 edition. three
years later THAI yours, am able to find in
it further interesting account of that
steamboat. as follows:
This steamboat, called the New Orleans,
was launched in March descended the Ohio
and Mississippi, and landed at Natchez in
December, 1911, where she took in loading
and passengers for the first time and passed
on to New Orleans, in which route she has
been successfully employed ever since.
Her accommodations are good and her pas
sengers generally numerous; seldom less
from Natchez than from ten to twenty at
$lS per head and when she starts from
New Orleans generally from thirty to fifty,
and sometimes as many as eighty passen-
gers at s25 each to Natchez.
According to the observations of Captain
Morris, of New Orleans, who attended her
as pilot several trips, the boats receipts tor
freight upwards has averaged last year
500, passage money. S900-downwards.
$500 freight. $500 tor passengers. That she
performs thirteen trips in the year. which
at s24C0 per trip, amounts to S3l 200. Her
expenses are: twelve. hands at $50 per
month, $500, captain $1,000. Seventy cords
of wood each trip at 81 Is, which amounts
to 1856, in all $6906. 1t is presumed that
the boats extra trips for pleasure or other
wise, out of her usual route, have paid all
the expenses OF repairs, and with tho profits
of the bar room, for the boats provisions.
In which case there will remain net gain
Of $24 ,29i for the first year.
"The owners estimate the boats value at
$40, 900 which gives an interest of $1,000,
and by giving 1884 more for furniture,
etc. we nave tne clear gain of $4,000 tor
the first years labor Of the steamboat New
Orleans. A revenue superior to any other
establishment in the United States, and
what ia equally gratifying arising out Of a
capital whose application is of a singular
benefit to the wLcle community, and parti-
cula.ly SO as il respects the navigation of
the Western waters, whose resources in
wealth is unknown, and whose enterprisiDg
Inhabitants, we doubt not, will soon see
the advantage of steam power over that of
the oars and poles, and ere long have
steamboats, OF all sizes and fashions run
ming up and down our numerous rivers,
with as much ease and facility as does the
common canoe under the direction of its
skillful masters, the Indians.
THE steamboat goes up in about seven
or eight days, and descends IN two or three,
stopping several times for freight, passen-
gers etc. She stays at the extreme of her
Journey, Natchez and New Orleans, about
loading. BY pushing her, it ia thought she
is capable, and ought to make trip in
every three weeks throughout the year. in
which case her net gain would be considera-
bly, more than stated, three weeks to each
trip, giving seventeen trips, four more than
she performed in the first year.
Il have descended twice on the steam
boat from Natchez to New Orleans. The
first time she ran it in thirtytwo hours.
that is, throwing Oft the time she stopped
for wood, freight, etc. the second time in
thirty one hours, making about nine miles
an hour. She passes floating wood on the
river as you pass objects on land when on
smar. trotting horse.
when we consider that England has had
in use the steam power for upward Of IUO
years, and it was left to Americans to apply
its force to the propelling OF boats against
wind, tide, and the most powerful currents
in our rivers, we can not but rejoice, and for
a moment believe America possesses that
happy kind OF superior genius, willing to
embrace all the better parts of the old, and
capacitated TO invent new principles, and,
by combining the experience of former ages
with the inventive genius Of the present
day, it is not wonderful that something ex-
traordinary is produced, especially when
genius from the cradle has, perhaps, above
any other country in the world, an uncurbed
reign and open expanse to work in-where
the mind is as free as the air OF heaven
where oppression is unknown" etc.
Though the far-reaching benefits to result
from general introduction of steam navi-
cation il the western waters were very
patent to the people of that day, and high
expectations were based upon it as to the
increased development and advantages
that would accrue from its success and
general use, there seems to have been
strong misgivlngs and doubts prevailing
the probability of its being of
any great public advantage at any reason
ably near time in the future. 1t is difficult
to understand now, or get at the full scope
and extent OF these apprehensions or on
what they were founded, but the "Navi
gator eplightens use some on one point,
which probably was the main ground Of this
distrust. In one place while giving some
advice on the general management of keel
boating and barging, he remarks cOnsidera-
bly, on the difficulties and troubles environ
ing this primary mode OF navigation, which
he winds up as follows: at would, how
ever, be well if the barging business pro-
PEELED by manuel forces. could be got rid
of. and the steam power substituted. This
would be done soon, no doubt, but for the
overwh elming patent of Fulton and Living
stone, which secures to them all the naviga-
bic rivers in the United States for fourteen
years. for all boats propelled by steam
power, 10 matter on what principle the
steam operates
1t would seem from this, there was a
prevailing that Messrs. Fulton
and Livingstone intended to monopolize
the steam navigation business, thus pre-
venting its general and urtrammeied ap-
plication to the propelling of boats. only
under their authority and on their terms.
A Bad Way of Teachine.
l. n u-n I'd ktrar <tn J,,l,-