The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-06-20
RIVER NEWS.
OFFICE NEW ORLEANS DEMOCRAT.
Thursday, June 20, 1878.

Eva Belle, Frank Pargoud. New Mary Hous
ton, Henry Tete. Mary Ida.
Departures.
Wild Gazalle, Isabel Belle. ASSUMPTION
Ouachita Belle Gold Dust, John Wilson
Bonnie Lee.
To Arrive.
Gov. Allen. Ouachita Belle. Bayou Sara: St
Mary. ASSUMPTION Lafourche; Alvin. lower
coast; Danube, Red river: Chas. Morgan, Gin
nna Part A99 B9e 1p22e erG9as i9nn
Natchez, Vicksburg.
No change In the weather. Business moder-
jeff Posey Is making one or more trips on the
Quachita Belle, in place OF Felix Bergeron, who
ts on the sick list.
landing when we left 1t last evening.
This is the Evas day for the Lafourche: don't
forget 1t. She Is good boat. we'll managed and
Eyerybody and his family will be on hand to-
day to witnes the arrival of the latest master
piece OF river architecture, the John w. Can
non. She will arrive at noon.
See special notice In another column to Min
s THE New MARY HoUsToN.-This fine steam
boat arrived yesterday, and will Lave to-day at
8 D. m. precisely for Cincinnati. Louisville. and
aha r sats Ghsre M aGu IL
q new boat, and one OF the finest on the western
waters. Her officers are veterans. and compose
one Of the best crews that navigateS the Mi. sis
sippi Her accom- % odations for passengers are
of the highest excellence the berth5 are Hs COM
Portable as they we'll can be, and her table rivals
In richness and variety that OF irst-class
The tug N. M. Jones leaves this q. m. with q
party to meet the Cannon. We are under obli-
cations for an invitation to be- one OF them,
The new Mary Hous' on furnishes meals at all
hours. an important consideration for those
who get aboard Of her out OF the, regular hours
Capt. Charlie Milleris practical boatman and
The clipper Natchez will arrive this evening
from, Vtcksburg. and leave again Saturday, as
The Gov. Allen. leaving every Friday and
Monday, lands at Ctrrollton; also on the down
trip on Sunday. The fare each way Is only ten
cents. the proceeds to be devoted to the orphan
asylums Of the city.
The Bart Able will arrive this afternoon and
leave Saturday, as usual. for Alexandria and
The new Paris Brown leaves Cincinnati to-
day, and either the Robt. Mitchell or y. p
The RATHER Charles Morgan, Albert Stein
master will arrive tonight and leave Saturday
The Anchor Line steamer John A. Scudder,
from u. Louis. is also due to-day, and will re-
The New Orleans and Red River Transporta-
ton Company's packet Danube, Ohas. Thorn
master. o. w. Drown clerk, leaves Saturday at
CD m. for Shreveport
from Bienville street for Westwego. running in
connection with the New Orleans and Texas
Railroad to Donaldsonvile
Inc fleet and unusually regular tri-Week1V
upper coast packet Mary Ida, j. A. Ruiz master
Edw. Nicole clerk leaves this 10 a. m. promptly
for the Ben Turead plantation. The Mary Ida
is g. daylight boat both ways.
The regular semt-weekly Bayou Lafourche
Knee and Nj. III. Landry clerks. leaves to-day at
o R R promptly going through to st. maf'''
The elegant and feet United States mail and
Pepper master w. N Gaines clerk, leaves TO-
day at .. m for Vicksburg and the bends,
through to Greenville.
m nv To Fonk inn ami 6Ix frip
to Bayou Lafourche through to Thibodaux,
will be at the landing this morning, and will
c Leave S9dm1MTrnT at 10 a. :i1L J. H. Aucon in
The feet Wild Gazelle will arrive to leave to-
morrow, as usual, at IL a. IN. for the lower coast
to Magnolia store.
The United States mail and passenger packet
Gov; Allen. John J. Brown master. s. s. Streck
clerk, leaves tomorrow at D. m. for Bayou
Sara.
Exchange Clippings, June IL.
Cincinnati Commercial:
GaPt Sam g. Br9wn and Capt James A:
Bayou Sara packet Edward J. Gay. at the Ma
rine Ways yesterday. They pronounce her
best chained boat ever built. Her cabin will be
one of the most magnificent on our waters, be-
ing entirely of a new and original design.
NEW ORLEANS, June Alt may be said that
there has been very little Improvement in
Western river boats during the past thirty
years. During the same period the. improve
marked. 1t Is not an exaggeration to say that
q Steamship now, carrying double the tonnage
OF the vessel OF thirty years ago burns less fuel
and makes the voyage In less time
Ocean steamers are now mostly built Of iron.
The ratio. of the length to the width Is greater.
The screw has taken the place Of the paddle
place of the single cylinder The results of
these changes are before our eyes. Can VS. not
introduce some of these improvements on our
river boats? All Of them doubtless, with the sim
gle exception of the screw. The compound en-
CINE Is to be found on the Kehlor Stanard and
some others OF that line. but none Of our pas
senger boats are engined" Ito coin q new
world after this system. The life of boat on
our waters. provided she has natural death.
is about six years. During this periol she has
required for repairs half as much as her origi-
nal cost, If she were built of iron. she would
last say twenty or twenty five years. besides re-
quiring, much less annual repairs. Now, il a
boat strikes q snag or rock. down she goes In
i've or ten minutes. We're she properly pro-
yided with bul kh4 ads 1t is evident that not one
boat would be lost from sinking where five are
lost now.
Then again our provisions for putting out
fact, as general thing. In case of fire they are
never used. as the boat Is burned up before the
apparatus can be got to work The hose is
can be attached he boat is burned UP. Again,
the pump itself Is of little force. Now steam
boat property Is extra hazardous. The boat
wears out in six or seven years. she sinks In
fye minutes. She burns up in two. Can it be
said that this condition of affairs can not be
IupEOVeus cOuiu not Jne lie OF boat be length
ened three times: her liability to sink be dimin.
ished nine-tenhs; the chances of burning UP
be reduced one-half2 We shall see what we
shall see. but what would add now is con-
domination of the practice of building boats |
with bluff bows and bad runs for the sake of
carrying few tops more of freight. thus re-
dueing the speed of boat by ne-fourth, more |
or less. The proper model for speed would |
give the hulrof boat the form Of two triangles |
loined bow to bow. line drawn across |
the hull half way between bow and stern. rep
resenttng common bow of the two triangles |
In our shallow waters, and in order to have |
certain capacity fol-, freight, we are compelled
10 depart from the theoretical line, but we could |
at least make faint approximation and build |
boats with models somewhat better than thai of |
2 scoW. Yet see boats. notably In the New Or
leans and st Louis tr4de3-passen ger boats,
for the purpose of carrying, say 100 tous more
freight They have plenty of steam power to
drive them at good rate Of speed, but owing
to their miserably modelled bulls their speed Is
slow. With hulls properly shaped, l have
no doubt those boas would make the
trip to st. Louis IN one day or more less
time. thus saving In running expenses" $500 or
$500. besides giving greater satisfaction to pas
sengers, and even to the officers themselves If
q certain for frnipht ia rau,Ijrad yool-o