Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1894-02-03
sTEAMBoATlNe ON THE OHIO.
it Was at the Height of Its Prosperity
Half Century Ago.

1t Was at the Height of Its Prosperity
Half . Century Ago.
| It was from 1910 to 1855 that
steamboating was at its height For
tunes were made in those days by
men who owned and ran boats
| There were lots of steamers on the
rivers then. The embryo industries
of that period depended on the river
entirely, for railroads had only been
proposed, not built About one
hundred steamboats, were built at
Pittsburgh annually to run on the
Ohio and Mississippi rivers This
city was noted for the trim crafts 1t
placed on the water, as some OF the
biggest and best running steamers
were built at the headwaters OF the
Ohio
The boats of the early steamboat
ing days were all side-wheelerS 1t
was not until late that the advent OF
the stern-wheel boat occurred and
when it did they were not looked upon
with favor by the denizens OF the
side-wheel crafts The river men re-
garded them as an inferior kind Of
boat on whose decks it was beneath
the dignity of f1rst-class steamboat
man to tread.
The packets were Of good size and
stoutly built They were not sup
piled with swinging stages and steam
capstans, and their engines were OF
sure but not so graceful movement as
engines now, and electric lights for
steamboats, were not even dreamed
If. But they served their purpose in
m aking big money for their owners
There was but one organized packet
company running boats down the
river from Pittsburgh. 1t was the old
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati packet
line, and it owned about twenty-five
steamboats,, some of which left the
Pittsburgh wharf daily. Among
them were the Buckeye State, the
Hibernia, Pittsburgh, Crystal Palace,
and Pennsylvania These boats were
all stoutlY built and especially
adapted for fast running. The laws
relating to racing were not so string.
ent then as now, and exciting con-
tests of speed on the river occurred
daily.
One of the swiftest of the packets
was the Pennsylvania She was the
largest of the Cincinnati boats and
made some splendid records on the
Ohio. She was 2l0 feet long and
thirty-One feet beam. Another fast
steamer was the Allegheny. She was
not so large as the Pennsylvania, but
was almost as speedy. Some of these
old Cincinnati packet line boats were
sunk, few burned and the others
wore out in the river service.
Besides the Cincinnati Company's
packets there were several steamers,
most Of them owned by Pittsburghers,
which ran down the river and which
had no regular trades, but made trips
whenever and wherever there was
occasion for their services They
were chiefly to St Louis and New
Orleans, the trip to the last named
point being completed in about
twenty days. There were a few boats
running up the MonOngahela and
Allegheny rivers Brownsville was as
far up as the slackwatet improve
ments extended on the Monongahela
and Franklin was the head Of navi-
CATION on the Allegheny.
The men running on the early
steamboats, were well paid for their
work, being paid usually a stated
sum per trip They were not very
thrifty as a class, and but few Of
them saved much from their fire.
auently large earnings. Gambling
formed a part of the excitement Of
the river mans life, and pilot or
captains first night after landing in
New Orleans was usually spent in
the magnificent gamblings halls for
which the Crescent City was famous
at that time. Faro and poker had
peculiar fascination for the steam
boat man, and he gratif1ed it to its
fullest limits. -Pittsburgh Post.