The Cairo bulletin., 1911-11-16
ADVENTURES OF THE
ORIGINAL NEW ORLEANS

I
fortunately the latter part of the Al.
ticle Is missing.
The first western steamboat, the
| Nav Orleans. craft of 400 tons
burden. built at Pittsburgh In 1911
lnnder the direction of Mr.. Nicholas
Roosevelt of New York, great-uncio
/ If President Roosevelt, narrowly
escaped being overwhelmed by the
| earthquake that visited New Madrid
county The history OF the first voy-
age Of this boat and the terrible eX-
| periences Of it's crew makes interest
ling reading and will be news to the
average reader of today The COM
plete success attending the expert.
ments in steam navigation made Oh
| the Hudson and adjoining waters
previous to 1909, turned the attention
OF the principal projectors TO the idea
| of It's application on the western
waters. In the month of April, 1909,
| Mr., Roosevelt, pursuant to an agree
ment with Robert Fulton, the in
| gentor, and Chancellor Livingston.
/ visited the Ohio and Mississippi
/ rivers with the purpose of ascertain
4 ing whether they admitted steam
navigation or not. Mr. Roosevelt
ls,iryeyed the rivers from Pittsburgh
to New Orleans. made a favorable re-
port and the result was the building
of the steamer New Orleans at Pitts
blrgh, under Mr. Rooseyelt's direc-
tion. The boat was completed late il
The fall Of 1911 and launched. II
was intended 10 ply between Natches
and New Orleans. II left Pittsburgh
ion its experimental voyage in Octo-
her 1911 No freight or passengers
were taken, the object being merely
10 take the boat to its station. Mr..
Roosevelt. his young wife and family
John Baker. the engineer, Andrew
Jack, the pilot, and six hands, with q
few domestics, formed its whole bur-
den, There were no wood yards then,
aud constant delays were unayolo-
able When AR. Roosevelt had been
on his reconnoitering trip down the
rivers he had disc overed two beds of
coal about 100 miles below the rapids
at Louisville, and now he took tools
to work them, intending to load the
boat with coal and employ it as fuel,
to prevent constant detention while
wood was being procured from the
banks. They arrived in safety at
Louisville the fourth day after leav-
ing Pittsburgh. 1t is said that the
novel appearance of the boat and the
| fearful rapidity with which il MADE
| its passage over the broad reaches
| OF the river excited mixture of ter
r0r and surprise among many of this
| settlers on the banks. whom the
rumor OF such an invention had never
| reached. It is related that on the un-
expected arrival OF the boat at Louis
| vile on a fine moonlight night the
extraordinary sound which filled the
air as the pentup steam was suffered
to escape from her valves, on round
ing. produced general alarm. and
mlltitudes arose from their beds to
aegortatn tho oaugo
Ran Into the Earthquake.
The small depth of water in the
rapids prevented the boat from pur-
suing its voyage Immediately, and
during the consequent detention OF
three weeks several trips were sue
cessfully made between Louisville
and Cincinnati The water of the
river rising. the boat was enabled to
resume its journey In the last week
OF November, 1911 When It arrived
about five miles above the yellow
banks, the boat was moved opposite
10 the first vein of coal that had been
discovered by Mr. Roosevelt on the
Indiana side, and which had been
purchased by him from the govern.
ment. The crew found a large guam
tity already mined and conveyed t.
the shore by depredators, who haO
not yet found means to carry IL off
and with this they began loading the
boat. While thus employed, MIR.
Roosevelt and his crew were accostet
by the squatters of the neighborhood
| who were in condition of great
alarm, who inquired If they had not
heard strange noises on the river ant
In the woods in the course of the
preceding days, aud preceived tn,
shores shake insisting that they had
repeatedly heard and felt the earth
tremble. Mr.. Roosevelt and his crew
had not noticed any such disturb.
ance, and so informed the alarmed
'luatters The following day the boa
pursued its monotonous voyage
toward the Mississippi Mrs Roose.
Ne't noticed that the weather hat
'nile suddenly become oppressively
rarnrf and that the air was misty
Hl' snd dull, Although the sun wa
ss TX b i49. u,6 u f q.