in the Navigation of the Mississippi. 151 



^Itnbst under water. Now for the poles ! all hands are on deck, 

 bustling and pushing. At length, towards sunset, the boat is 

 once more afloat, and is again taken to the shore, where the 

 wearied crew pass another night. 



I shall not continue this account of difficulties, it having al- 

 ready become painful in the extreme. I could tell you of the 

 crew abandoning the boat and cargo, and of numberless acci- 

 dents and perils ; but be it enough to say, that, advancing in 

 this tardy manner, the boat that left New Orleans on the 1st of 

 March, often did not reach the falls of the Ohio until the month 

 of July, — nay, sometimes not until October; and, after all this 

 immense trouble, it brought only a few bags of coffee, and at 

 most 100 hogsheads of sugar. Such was the state of things in 

 1808. The number of barges at that period did not amount to 

 more than 25 or 30, and the largest probably did not exceed 

 100 tons burden. To make the best of this fatiguing naviga- 

 tion, I may conclude by saying, that a barge which came up in 

 three months had done wonders, for I believe few voyages were 

 performed in that time. 



If I am not mistaken, the first steam-boat that went down out 

 of the Ohio to New Orleans was named the " Orleans," and, if 

 I remember right, was commanded by Captain Ogden. This 

 voyage, I believe, was performed in the spring of 1810. It was, 

 as you may suppose, looked upon as the ne plus ultra of enter- 

 prise. Soon after, another vessel came from Pittsburgh ; and, 

 before many years elapsed, to see a vessel so propelled, became 

 a common occurrence. In 1826, after a lapse of time that 

 proved sufficient to double the population of the United States 

 of America, the navigation of the Mississippi had so improved, 

 both in respect to facility and quickness, that I know no better 

 way of giving you an idea of it, than by presenting you with air 

 extract of a letter from my eldest son, which was taken froni 

 the books of N. Berthoud, Esq., with whom he at that time 

 resided. 



" You ask me, in your last letter, for a list of the arrivals and 

 departures here. I give you an extract from our list of 1826, 

 showing the number of boats which plied each year, their ton- 

 age, the trips which they performed, and the quantity of goods 

 landed here from New Orleans and intermediate places. 



