CHAP. XXIX.] STEAM-BOAT ACCIDENTS. 141 



inspiring me with due caution, in the choice of vessels 

 and captains, had told me endless stories of the risks 

 we should run. One of them presented to me a 

 newspaper, containing a formidable array of last 

 year s casualties. Fifty vessels had been snagged, 

 twenty-seven sunk, sixteen had burst their boilers, 

 fifteen had been run into by other vessels, thirteen 

 destroyed by fire, ten wrecked, and seven cut through 

 by ice. This enumeration was followed by an ac 

 count of the number of persons drowned or injured. 

 Another friend called my attention to a form of ad 

 vertisement, not uncommon in the St. Louis papers, 

 headed thus, &quot; A fine opportunity of going below.&quot; 

 This, he explained, &quot; does not mean going to the bottom, 

 as you might naturally conclude (although this is by 

 no means an improbable result of your voyage), but 

 it merely signifies * going down the river. 1 &quot; Ano 

 ther offered this piece of advice, &quot; When you are 

 racing with an opposition steam-boat, or chasing her, 

 and the other passengers are cheering the captain, 

 who is sitting on the safety valve to keep it down 

 with his weight, go as far as you can from the engine, 

 and lose no time, especially if you hear the captain 

 exclaim, f Fire up boys, put on the resin ! Should 

 a servant call out, ( Those gentlemen who have not 

 paid their passage will please to go to the ladies 

 cabin, obey the summons without a moment s delay, 

 for then an explosion may be apprehended.&quot; &quot; Why 

 to the ladies cabin ? &quot; said I. &quot; Because it is the safe 

 end of the boat, and they are getting anxious for the 

 personal security of those who have not yet paid 

 their dollars, being, of course, indifferent about the 



