National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-05-04
RIVER EXCURSIONS.
POINTS PICKED UP BY A.REPoRrER.
Boats That Win Carry Excursion Parties This Year
Pleasure Resorts Down the Rirer-Com.
paratiYe Safety of Steamboats-iu.
spector Dumonts Figures.


are being put in shape toaccOmmodate the throng
| of pleasure seekers who desire to exchange til
Sultry city for few hours sail on the water. In
recent talk with several of the leading steambos
men of this vicinity the opinion was cXpressc
! that this season babe fair to be more profitabl
than any that have preceded it. Already applica
| tons for the best-known boats have been filed
which will take up their time until about the mid
die of July, and cheap excursions will be the rage
Among the new river resorts to be opened Is one
oCCoQUAS FALLS
forty miles below Washington. Mr.. +. 5. Randall
is the manager and has chartered the steame
Mary Washington for the season TO make trips VI
Occoquan Creek to the falls. new pavilion is il
course of erection, and as the scenery in tht
vicinity is wild and picturesque admirers of NATURE
will probably find this a pleasant spot in summer
The village of Occoquan is situated on bay o
the same name, and many rare sights are said tc
be the reward for the tourists who venture among
its simple inhabitants. The Mary Washington ha
been Oyerhauled and handsomely fitted up for the
accommodation of passengers, and can easily carry
one thousand people. She is built more for safety
than speed, and is one of the most popular craft'
on the river. The Potomac Ferry Company have
made arrangements to give daily excursion to
BLACKSToSES ISLAND
on the steamer Arrowsmith. which is regarded as
provements on the island will make it desirable
point Tor excurSonstS and the water is brackish
enough to afford all the facilities for q saltwater
bath Several cottages are being erected by gen.
tlemen of means, who find Biackistone's easy OF
access, and intend residing there during the hot
spell. The Arrowsmith will connect here with the
steamer Mystic, which will ply between the island
and the lower river landings but will not be used
for excursion purposes. The Inland and Seaboard
CoaSting Company have not been idle during the
winter, but have utilized the time in refIrnishing
and repairing their splendid line of steamers with
the expectation of reaping q harvest in return.
The
LADY OF THE LAKE
has been on the ways for several weeks past being
put in order to resume her regular trips TO Nor
folk. She has been painted from stem to stern,
the main saloon fitted up in walnut and ash, and
her owners think that she will compare favorably
in her appointments with the famous Sound
steamers running out of New York. The Lake
will not be for charter to excursion parties it is
intended TO keep her exclusively for passenger
traffic. The Jane MOseley, of the same line, how
ever wllshortly be overhauled and put in thorough
order for charter parties and already her time for
the next two months is being negotiated for. 1t
has not yet been decided what will be done with
the steamer Thompson, as she is wanted by BaIti-
staunch pleasure boat. The steamer George Leary,
which achieved such an excellent reputation
among pleasure seekers last summer, has also
been carefully looked after, and, if possible, is
more desirable than ever. The managers of the
line to which the boat belongs are doing SO well
with their passenger traffic that it is doubtful if it
will De available for excursions except on Mon
days of each week, which are its lay-o days"
THE LEARY
is not surpassed in its equipments and officers by
any steamer on the Potomac and its managers are
very popular among business circles for their tact
and ability in catering to their wants Mr.. George
l.. SherifS taut little steamer the Mattano will not
be run as an excursion boat this season. her bust
ness along the river landings and at points where
a larger vessel is not available is more profitable
than short trips with pleasure parties would be.
She will be taken to Alexandria for slight repairs
during this week. and will resume her regular
schedule trips Sunday. All boats used forexcursion
parties be carefully inspected before the season
begins, and everything that can conduce to their
safety and pleasure affording qualities will be
attended to. In the selection of officers care will
be taken to secure the most popular and efficient
gentlemen, and in every respect the proposed de-
tails for the excursion season of 1881 are perfect
The reasons for the popular preference for excur-
'ionS on the water are obvious at the same time,
it may be observed that accidentssho
A DECIDED PREFERENCE
Or excursions of this character, and when the
biler" of a steamboat does not "bust" it
runs into something, and down it goes to the bot
ON. In the early days of steamboat travel, es-
oecially on the Mississippi, the traveller went
Iboard boat with the feeling that he was taking
lis life III his hands, and the more he travelled the
more intensified this feeling became Steamboat
accidents are by no means so uncommon nowadays
tut that the public are able to have very vivid
dea of how they begin and how they end. There
ught to be public sentiment against them and
here extraordinarily, not practically. People 60
N excursions when they feel inclined, without
aking the trouble to inquire as to how they are
,oing. In consequence,
THE "oID TUBS"
re able to compete with a first-clasS steamboat
The Government has, however, taken this matter
n hand, and by its corps of official inspectors de-
ermines what boats can be used for transporting
he public and what are unfit for this purpose As
his is the beginning of the season when the ex-
urSioG and pleasure boats all through the coun-
ry are being hauled out from winter quarters and
Laced in readiness for the business of the year. a
eporter of The REPUBLICAN yesterday called upon
eneral Dumont,
THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
the Steamboat Service and asked whetherthere
'ere any new steamboat regulations to be put
lto force this year. He replied:
No; there have been no additions made to the
1les this year. We will be satisfied if we are able
enforce all the present rules They have arrived
that stage where nearly every contingency in |
ne way Of accidents has been provided for, and |
Il that remains is to enforce the rules That we !
ave been successful is shown by the tremendous /
ecrease in the number of accidents and lives |
)St'
There is an impression that accidents OF this |
haracter have increased
81 know that such statements have been made
ut there is no foundation i'll fact. Now for in
a1ce last year there were but twenty-six acct
ents involving loss of life, against thirty two
uring the preceding year. The most serious cas-
atty of the year was the collision of the steamers
GrraganseEt and Stonington, which was owing TO
gross careessnesS of the captains in not obsery
lg the proper signals. Ont of perhaps 22OOJ0OOO |
assengers transported on steam vessels during the
st twelve months-a daily average of over 100000
but lS5 lives have been lost. No mode of travel
the present day, whether by railway, horse car.
lrriage, or even the common farm wagon presents
low a percentage of accidents as travel by steam
pats
what are the statistics of their decrease?"
* Well, during the years 1S7S-76 inclusive there
ere 1876 lives lost, and during the years 1870
clusive, there were only 7S5. The number of lives
st by explosion in 1871 was 29o; in 1876, 81, and
1879, 23''
" Then the chances of loss of life in steamboat
avel has largely decreased"
q Very largely, and in the present efficiency of
lie service it is almost impossible for defective
essel to continue in the business of the Carrying
passengers. Of course there is the contingency
Using from the carelessness of the officers in
large of the vessels which cannot be altogether
larded against but the chances of accidents have
zen reduced to a minimum"
" How about the local boats plying on the Poto-
ac?"
" They are subject to the same rules of inspection
STEAMBOATS, throughout the country, and are
erefore supposed to be perfectly safe"
The Belt Lime Railway,
AT the last session q hill roc ,oo,,o5