I 
WATER CARRIAGE. 75 
of them by land from Philadelphia, he ought 
not to pay more than one sixth of the sum for 
their carriage from the federal city; it is to 
be concluded, therefore, that he will avail him¬ 
self of the latter route, as there will be no ob¬ 
jection to it on account of any uncertainty in 
the mode of conveyance, arising from storms 
and contrary winds. 
The people in Pittsburgh, and the western 
country along the w aters of the Ohio, draw 
their supplies from Philadelphia and Balti¬ 
more ; but they send the productions of the 
country, which would be too bulky for land 
carriage, down the Ohio and Mississippi to 
New Orleans. From Pittsburgh to New Or¬ 
leans the distance is two thousand one hun¬ 
dred and eighty-three miles. On an average 
it takes about twenty-eight days to go down 
there with the stream; but to return by water 
it takes from sixty days to three months. The 
passage back is very laborious as well as te¬ 
dious; on which account they seldom think of 
bringing back boats which are sent down from 
Pittsburgh, but on arriving at New Orleans 
they are broken up, and the plank sold. These 
boats are built on the cheapest construction, 
and expressly for the purpose of going down 
stream. The men get back the best way 
they can, generally in ships bound from New < 
Orleans to the southern states, and from thence 
