THE OHIO RIVER TRADE
1788-1830
BY
HAZEL YEARSLEY SHAW, A.B., 1907
THESIS
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS
IN
HISTORY
IN THE
GRADUATE SCHOOL
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
1908
[Illustration:
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
May 28 1908
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY
Hazel Yearsley Shaw
ENTITLED The Ohio River Trade, 1788-1830
IS APPROVED BY ME AS FULFILLING THIS PART OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF Master of Arts in History
Evarts B Greene
Instructor in Charge.
APPROVED: E B Greene
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF History.]
_THE OHIO RIVER TRADE_
_1788_-_1830_.
I. THE OHIO RIVER 1788-1811.
I. BOATS AND BOATMEN.
II. ARTICLES OF TRAFFIC, AND PLACES WITH
WHICH TRADE WAS CARRIED ON.
III. EMIGRATION. GROWTH OF THE RIVER TOWNS.
II. THE OHIO RIVER 1811-1830.
I. THE COMING OF THE STEAM-BOAT.
II. OTHER CRAFT OF THE PERIOD.
III. ARTICLES OF TRAFFIC, AND PLACES WITH
WHICH TRADE WAS CARRIED ON.
IV. EMIGRATION. GROWTH OF THE RIVER TOWNS.
_CHAPTER I._
_BOATS AND BOATMEN._
With the opening of the great West, the Ohio River became the main
route of immigration and commerce, and it is in a careful study of
the various forms of craft which floated upon "La Belle Riviere"
that we catch a glimpse of the rapid and almost marvelous economic
development of the Ohio Valley.
The Indian canoe, though sometimes used by travelers, was entirely
inadequate for the purpose of commerce, and was never used, in any
regular branch of trade.[1] The earliest improvement upon the canoe
was the pirogue, an invention of the whites. Like the canoe this
boat was hewn out of the solid log, the difference being that the
pirogue had greater width and capacity, and was composed of several
pieces--as if the canoe had been sawed into two equal sections,
and a broad, flat piece of timber inserted in the middle, so as to
give greater breadth of beam to the vessel.[2] These boats were
occasionally used by the immigrants for the transportation of their
goods and furniture.[3]
The canoe and pirogue were succeeded by the barge, the keel, and
the flat-boat. Of the first two, the barge was the largest, had
the greatest breadth, and the best accomodation for passengers;
the keel was longer, had less depth, and was better fitted for
the navigation of narrow and shallow channels. "They were navigated
by a rude and lawless class of men, who became distinguished as
well for their drolleries, as for their predatory and ferocious
habits. In the thinly scattered state of the population, their
numbers rendered them formidable, as there were few villages on the
rivers, and still fewer settlements, which contained a sufficient
number of able bodied men to cope with the crew of a barge,
consisting usually of thirty or forty hands; while the arrival of
several of these boats together made them completely masters of
the place. The large rivers whose meanders they pursued formed
the boundaries of States, so that living continually on the lines
which divided different civil jurisdictions, they could pass with
ease from one to the other, and never be made responsible to any.
It is a singular fact, that lawless and wild as these men were,
the valuable cargoes of merchandise committed to their care, and
secured by no other bond than their integrity, were always carried
safely to their destination, and the traveler, however weak, or
however richly freighted, relied securely on their protection."[4]
Navigating long rivers, whose shores were still infested by hostile
savages, the boatmen were armed, and depended for safety upon their
caution and their manhood.[5]
The barges, but rarely using sails, and receiving only an
occasional impulse from their oars, descended the stream with a
speed but little superior to that of the current. About the year
1795, seventy or eighty days were consumed in making the long
and monotonous voyage from Pittsburg to New Orleans,[6] while
in 1802, Michaux says that "the barges, in the Spring, usually
take forty or fifty days to make the passage, which two or three
persons in a pirogue make in twenty-five days."[7] The return
voyage was not effected in less than four months.[8] The heavily
laden boats were propelled against the strong current by poles,
or where the stream was too deep to admit the use of those, drawn
by ropes. The former process required the exertion of great
strength and activity, but the latter was even more difficult
and discouraging.[9] The first improvement in the navigation of
the West, and in her commercial operations, was the introduction
of barges moved by sails, when the wind permitted, and at other
times, by oars, and setting poles, as the state of the water might
require.[10] These vessels were constructed to carry from fifty to
one hundred tons. In wet seasons, if properly manned, they could
make two trips, between Cincinnati and New Orleans in a year.
The increased quantity of cargo they carried, reduced the price
of freight, and enabled them to transport from New Orleans to
Cincinnati at from five to six dollars per hundred, which was below
the average charge of carriage across the mountains.[11] From that
time most of the groceries and other imported articles used in
the Territory were brought up the river by those barges, and as the
price of freight was reduced, the quantity of produce shipped was
proportionately increased. The project was suggested and carried
into operation, by two commercial houses in Cincinnati. The vessels
continued in use until about the year 1817.[12] Previous to this
year, the whole commerce from New Orleans to the "upper country"
was carried on in about twenty barges, averaging one hundred tons
each, and making but one trip in the year.[13] In 1811, the barge
Cincinnati, arrived at Cincinnati. This was the first rigged vessel
that ever arrived at this town from below. "She is 100 feet keel,
16 feet beam, rigged sloop fashion, and burthen 64 tons. She was
warped over the falls by eighteen men in half a day."[14] At this
time, 50 days in ascending to the mouth of the Ohio was considered
a good voyage.[15]
The flat boat was introduced a little later than the others.
It was a rough strong boat with a perfectly flat bottom, and
perpendicular sides, and covered throughout the whole length.[16]
Being constructed to float with the current, they did not usually
return after descending the river, though as early as the year
1789 they were in use for traveling up as well as down stream.[17]
Burnet describes the flat boat as being "made of green oak plank,
fastened by wooden pins to a frame of timber, and caulked with
tow, or any other pliant substance that could be procured. Boats
similarly constructed on the northern waters were then called arks,
but on the western waters, they were denominated Kentucky boats.
The materials of which they were composed were found to be of great
utility in the construction of temporary buildings for safety, and
for protection from the inclemency of the weather, after they had
arrived at their destination,"[18] These boats were much used by
emigrating families to transport themselves down the Ohio.[19]
In the year 1794, four keel boats, carrying probably not more than
twenty tons each, were supposed to be sufficient for the trade
between Cincinnati and Pittsburg.[20] The boats were advertised
as having "cover made proof against rifle or musket balls, and
convenient port holes for firing out of. Each of the boats are
armed with six pieces carrying a pound ball, also a number of good
muskets, and amply supplied with plenty of ammunition." "Tables
accurately calculated for the rates of freightage, for passengers,
and carriage of letters to and from Cincinnati to Pittsburg ...
may be seen on board each boat, and at the printing office in
Cincinnati."[21] Previous to the year 1817 the number of keel boats
on the Ohio had increased to about one hundred and fifty, of
about thirty tons each, which made the voyage from Pittsburg to
Louisville and back in two months, or about three such trips in the
year.[22]
In addition to the keel, barge, and flat boat, which were in
general use, many other strange craft floated on the Ohio, a few
of which I shall attempt to give some account of. The boat which
carried the advance guard of the Ohio Company and their provisions
to the mouth of the Muskingum in 1788, was built by Jonathan Devol
at Simrel's Ferry on the Youghiogheny River, and is said to have
been the first decked boat that ever floated on the Ohio.[23] She
was built with stout timbers and knees like a galley, with the
bottom raking fore and aft, and decked over with planks. The deck
was sufficiently high for a man to walk upright under the beams,
and the sides so thick as to resist a rifle bullet. The steersman
and rowers were thus safely sheltered from the attack of enemies on
the banks. The boat was forty-five feet in length, and twelve in
breadth. Subsequently gangboards were added on the outside, so that
she could be pushed against the current, like a keel boat. It was
at first supposed that she could be worked up stream with sail, but
the variable nature and uncertainty of the winds on the Ohio River,
frustrated their arrangements.[24]
Emigrants were usually, at this early period, 1789, detained for
several days for a boat to be made ready for their use. Such a
boat, conveying settlers to Marietta, was built after the fashion
of a large, oblong box, covered half its length with a roof to
shelter the people and their goods from the weather, while the
open space contained their teams and wagons. The waters of the
Youghiogheny and the Monongahela were low, and the boat grounded on
sand bars, requiring the voyagers to lean over the side into the
cold water, and pry her off into the current.[25] In 1790, John Pope
describes the boat in which he left Pittsburg, as "a moveable
fortification having about one hundred and fifty salt pans so
arranged, as to render a few men within, capable of repulsing ten
times their number without."[26]
In the year 1803, family boats were continually passing down the
Ohio.[27] "These boats were of the largest size, and the floors were
covered with rough sawed boards. In the rear a partition had been
run across, in which they had stowed all their present useless
furniture. Through the middle was a passage about five feet wide,
on each side were small bed chambers of about twelve feet long and
six wide, divided and surrounded by clean white curtains, while
in front there was a large open space for the general use of the
boat."[28] Emigrant families frequently passed down the Ohio in
barges, "carrying with them their horses, cows, poultry, wagons,
ploughs, harness, beds, instruments of agriculture, in fine,
everything necessary to cultivate the land, and also for domestic
use."[29]
Floating stores were also to be seen on the Ohio. Cuming says, "On
returning to our boat we found a floating store at the landing.
It was a large square flat-roofed, and fitted with shelves and
counter, and containing a various assortment of merchandise. They
were dropping down the river, stopping occasionally wherever they
could find a market for their goods."[30]
Schultz, in his account of his journey, devotes one entire letter
to a very interesting account of the craft upon the Ohio in 1807.
The smallest were the canoes, then, the pirogues, sufficient to
carry from twelve to fifteen barrels of salt. The skiffs varied
from five hundred to twenty thousand pounds weight burthen, the
larger ones being known as batteaux. Arks were not much in use on
the Ohio, at that time.[31] Kentucky boats were of oblong form,
varying from ten to fourteen feet in breadth, and from twenty
to fifty feet in length, and were sided and roofed in. The roof
answered the purpose of a main and quarter deck, and the boat was
steered by a long pole, the whole length of the boat.[32] The boat
usually carried from one to three hands, as it was necessary, when
heavily loaded, to use the oars to keep the boat in the middle of
the river. New Orleans boats were built upon the same model, but
were generally much larger and stronger, and built with an arched
roof fore and aft. The largest of these boats could carry four
hundred and fifty barrels of flour.[33] The timbers or knees were
built upon a small keel, three inches deep, and four or five in
width,--hence the name keel boat. The keel received the first shock
of any obstruction in the navigation.
Schenectady boats were usually built from forty to eighty feet in
length, and seven to nine in width--the largest kind requiring
one hand to steer, and two to row in descending the Ohio.
These boats carried as much as one hundred barrels of salt. In
ascending the stream six or eight hands were needed to make any
considerable progress.[34] "The best kind of boats on the Ohio
are called barges."[35] These boats were steered by a rudder, and
when descending with the current were not so easily twisted and
turned as a keel boat. The barges carried from forty to sixty
thousand weight, and required four hands besides the helmsman to
descend the river; to return with a loading, from eight to twelve
became necessary. "Barges as well as keel boats, generally carry
a moveable mast a-mid-ships--whenever the wind will permit, set a
square sail, and some few top sails."[36]
The prices of these boats were as follows: Canoes from $1 to $3;
pirogues from $5 to $20; large skiffs or batteaux from $20 to $50;
arks $1 a foot in length; Kentucky and New Orleans boats from $1 to
$1.50 a foot; Keel boats from $2.50 to $3 a foot; and barges from
$4 to $5 a foot.[37]
Most of the strange boats, to be seen upon the Ohio River, after
1794, were broken up and sold at the end of the voyage, the produce
disposed of, and the settler returned to his farm, a thousand or
fifteen hundred miles, as best he could.[38]
The building of larger craft, was undertaken at some of the river
towns. In the year 1800, some of the enterprising men of Marietta,
formed a company for building a small vessel, and actually built,
rigged, and loaded with produce, a brig of 104 tons, named the St.
Clair. She cleared from Marietta in 1801, went to New Orleans, from
there to Havana, and then to Philadelphia where she was consigned
and finally sold.[39] The St. Clair was the first rigged vessel
ever built on the Ohio River.[40] From this time until 1808, not
less than twenty ships, brigs, and schooners, from 150 to 450 tons
burthen, were built at Marietta, besides some of Mr. Jefferson's
gun boats, two or three of whose number were lost in attempting
to cross the Falls of the Ohio when the water was too low.[41] In
1807 Schultz says that there were three ships of about 300 tons
burthen each, and two large brigs, besides smaller craft, on the
stocks at Marietta.[42] The price of ship building in Marietta was
fifty dollars a ton, rigged and equipped completely for sea.[43]
Ellicott in his Journal for the years 1796-1800, says that vessels
have been built and sent to the West Indies.[44] Large boats had
been built at Elizabethtown on the Monongahela, before 1803, and
sent to the West Indies.[45] Previous to 1807, about twelve brigs
and schooners had been launched at Pittsburg;[46] and brigs had
been built at Frankfort and sent down the Kentucky, Ohio, and
Mississippi Rivers.[47]
The Falls of the Ohio were very dangerous to strangers unacquainted
with the navigation. In 1807 pilots might be procured who would
conduct travelers over in safety. Two dollars per boat was charged
for this service.[48]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Michaux, F. A., Travels, Early W. Travels, III., 191. Used by
Pittsburg traders to convey haberdashery goods, more especially tea
and coffee, to settlers on the River.
[2] Hall, J., The West, 110-111.
[3] Hildreth, S. P., Memoirs, 422.
[4] Hall, J., The West, 111-113.
[5] Ibid., 10.
[6] Latrobe, C. J., Rambler in North America, I., 103.
[7] Michaux, F. A., Travels, Early W. Travels, III., 159-160.
[8] Hall, J., The West, 113.
[9] Ibid, 113-114,
[10] Burnet, J., Notes, 399-400,
[11] Ibid., 400.
Collot, V., Journey, I., 39. "The carriage of an hundred weight
from Philadelphia to Pittsburg is from $8 to $10, and from
Baltimore $7 or $8.
Collot, V., Journey, II., 198. "The carriage from Philadelphia
to the Illinois is 12 piastres the hundred weight--the expense
from Baltimore are the same. The expense from New Orleans to the
Illinois, is 5 piastres the French hundred weight."
Schultz, C, II., 186-187. "Return cargo from New Orleans to St.
Louis or Kaskaskia is $6 a hundred. Same to Falls of Ohio--for
any greater distance an additional charge of nearly 50 cents for
every 100 miles."
Schultz, C., I., 125. "The price of carriage over this distance
(from Philadelphia or Baltimore to Pittsburg) is $5 and $6 a
hundred pounds weight."
[12] Burnet, J., Notes, 400.
[13] Hall, J., The West, 13.
[14] Niles, Weekly Register, I., 71.
[15] Brackenridge, H. M., Journey, 43-44.
[16] Hall, J., The West, 114.
[17] Hildreth, S. P., Memoirs, 274.
[18] Burnet, J., Notes, 49.
[19] Hall, J., The West, 114.
[20] Ibid., 116.
[21] Ibid., 116-117.
[22] Ibid., 13.
[23] Hildreth, S. P., Memoirs, 248.
[24] Ibid., 248-249.
[25] Ibid., 437.
[26] Pope, J., Tour, 18.
[27] Harris, T. M., Tour, Early W. Travels, III., 334, 335.
[28] Schultz, C., Travels, II., 100.
[29] Michaux, F. A., Travels, Early W. Travels, III., 166.
[30] Cuming, F., Tour, Early W. Travels, IV., 116.
[31] Schultz, C., Travels, I., 129.
[32] Ibid., 129-130.
[33] Ibid., 130.
[34] Ibid., 131.
[35] Ibid., 132.
[36] Schultz, C., Travels, I., 132.
[37] Ibid., 132-133.
[38] Latrobe, C. J., Rambler in North America, I., 103-104.
[39] Hildreth, S. P., Memoirs, 159.
[40] Ibid., 160.
[41] Hildreth, S. P., Memoirs, 161.
[42] Schultz, C., Travels, I., 143.
[43] Ellicott, A., Journal, 25.
[44] Harris, F. M., Tour, Early W. Travels, III., 338.
[45] Schultz, C., Travels, I., 126.
[46] Cuming, F., Tour, Early W. Travels, IV., 193.
[47] Schultz, C., Travels, I., 142.
[48] Ibid., I., 190.
_CHAPTER II._
_ARTICLES OF TRAFFIC AND PLACES WITH WHICH TRADE WAS CARRIED ON._
The peace of 1783 left the Ohio and Mississippi country free from
all other conflicts, but the unremitting hostility of the Indians.
The right to navigate the Mississippi the great western waterway
of export and to some extent of import, was denied to the Western
settlers by the Spanish government.
In the middle of the year 1787, the foundation of an intercourse
with Kentucky and the settlements on the Ohio was laid, which
daily increased. The arrival of a boat belonging to Governor
Wilkinson, loaded with tobacco and other productions of Kentucky,
was announced in New Orleans, and a guard was immediately sent on
board of it. Governor Miro being informed that in Kentucky, there
were two or three crops on hand for which an immediate market must
be found, in order to keep the inhabitants in a state of peace,
made Governor Wilkinson the offer of a permission to import, on his
own account to New Orleans, free of duty, all the productions of
Kentucky, thinking to conciliate the people without yielding the
point of navigation, as the commerce carried on would appear the
effect of an indulgence to an individual, which could be withdrawn
at any time.[49] Wilkinson appointed his friend, Daniel Clark, his
agent at New Orleans, returned to Charleston in a vessel, and on
his arrival in Kentucky, bought up all the produce he could
collect, which he shipped to New Orleans. For some time all the
trade on the Ohio was carried on in his name, a line from him
sufficing to insure the owner of the boat every privilege and
protection.[50] In January, 1789, Wilkinson fitted out twenty-five
large boats, which were armed, and manned by one hundred and fifty
men, and loaded with tobacco, flour, and provisions, with which
he set sail for the south. His lead was soon followed by others.
Among these adventurers was Colonel Armstrong of the Cumberland
Settlements, who sent down six boats manned by thirty men;
these were stopped at Natchez, and the goods being sold without
permission, an officer and fifty soldiers were sent by the Spanish
Commander to arrest the transgressors, who escaped over the line
into the United States territory.[51]
Forman in 1789-1790, made a journey down the Ohio, and mentions the
arrival, at Louisville, of four tobacco boats, on their way to New
Orleans.[52] Furs were sent up the Ohio from Illinois to Pittsburg,
as early as 1790, as is shown by the following from a letter
written by St. Clair, "There is no doubt that the furs of that
country might be brought up the Ohio River at as little or even
less expense than attends the carriage of them to Canada. It has
been tried by one person, a Mr. Vigo, and found to answer; although
the goods he carried out were transported by land from Philadelphia
to Pittsburg, and loaded with an impost the competitors were free
from, they came to market on better terms than those from Canada.
Could these also be subjected to it, a decided advantage would
be given to the American trader."[53] Pope who journeyed down the
Mississippi in 1791, speaks of meeting several boats bound down the
river, loaded with bacon, butter, flour, tobacco, and plank, and
also two large Pittsburg boats loaded with flour.[54] "The Walnut
Hills about ten miles below the Yasous River" were fixed as the
boundary line by the King of Spain, and United States citizens were
not allowed to live in Spanish territory unless they put themselves
under the laws, banners, and protection of Spain. Private
adventurers from New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, carried on
a tolerable trade at New Orleans, and had an advance of cent per
cent on their goods, which were nevertheless cheaper than Spanish
importations.[55]
October 27, 1795 a treaty was made with Spain containing the
following provisions: "It is likewise agreed that the western
boundary of the United States which separates them from the Spanish
Colony of Louisiana, is in the middle of the channel or bed of the
River Mississippi, from the northern boundary of the said States to
the completion of the 31st degree of latitude north of the Equator.
And his Catholic Majesty has likewise agreed that the navigation of
the said river in its whole breadth, from its source to the ocean,
shall be free only to his subjects, and the citizens of the United
States, unless he should extend this privilege to the subjects of
other powers by special convention."[56] "And in consequence of
the stipulation contained in the fourth article, His Catholic
Majesty will permit the citizens of the United States, for the
space of three years from this time, to deposit their merchandise
and effects in the port of New Orleans, and to export them from
thence, without paying any other duty than a fair price for the
hire of the Stores, and his Majesty promises either to continue
this permission, if he finds, during that time that it is not
prejudicial to the interests of Spain, or if he should not agree to
continue it there, he will assign to them, on another part of the
banks of the Mississippi, an equivalent establishment."[57]
Governor Carondelet, at New Orleans, received orders from the home
government to deliver the posts on the Mississippi, but refused to
do so, as he feared that the English were about to move against New
Orleans from the north. In the summer of 1796 he finally received
orders to hold the posts, but later was again ordered by the home
government to deliver them.[58] Efforts were made by agents of
France and Spain to induce the people of the western country to
separate from the Union, and form, in conjunction with Franch and
Spain an independent government in the Mississippi Valley.[59] The
inhabitants of Kentucky and Tennessee, jealous of their rights, ant
not satisfied with the efforts of Congress to procure them redress,
seemed strongly disposed to take justice into their own hands.
There appear to have been no less than five parties among them at
this time. The discord between these parties was fanned by the
English, Spanish, and French, according to their respective views.
The Spanish Treaty went into quiet effect in 1798.[60]
New Orleans was not then, a large commercial city, but merely
a small town without capital or enterprise, and reputed to be
so fatally unhealthy, that its future growth was considered as
entirely improbable.[61] Ascent of the Mississippi, by means of the
boats then in use was a slow and most laborious process. Illinois
received her goods from Michilmackinack; Kentucky, Tennessee,
and the North West Territory, from Philadelphia or Baltimore, on
account of the want of storehouses well and regularly furnished at
New Orleans.[62] Conveyance of goods from Philadelphia to Illinois
required fifty-five to sixty days; from New Orleans seventy to
seventy-five days; the expense of carriage being twelve piastres
the hundred weight by way of Philadelphia or Baltimore, and five
piastres by way of New Orleans.[63] So long as the importation of
goods was attended with so much difficulty and expense, and the
western country was forced to depend upon the Atlantic States for
their supply of European manufactures, the balance of trade was
against them.[64]
The country produced all the necessaries of life in abundance, and
about 1800 the settlers were sending the residue, with many other
articles, such as hemp, cordage, hardware, some glass, whiskey,
apples, cider, and salted provisions down the Ohio and Mississippi
to New Orleans.[65] The St. Clair which cleared from Marietta in
1801, carried pork, and flour which was sold in Havana for forty
dollars per barrel, but was subject to a duty of twenty dollars.[66]
With the proceeds of the cargo a load of sugar was purchased
and disposed of at Philadelphia. The ships built at Marietta,
from this time until 1808, were exchanged for merchandise in the
Atlantic cities, and were the most profitable returns which they
could make. Although the country was thinly peopled, yet the
vessels were always loaded with flour, pork, and other produce,
in their downward voyage, thus yielding a double profit.[67] The
embargo of 1808 put a stop to this trade and ruined many of the
merchants of Marietta, one of the merchants who had a ship in
New Orleans at that time, losing over $10,000.[68] Some of the
vessels from Marietta, bound to foreign ports, took in cotton,
for Liverpool, from the plantations on the Mississippi.[69] The
banks of the Ohio having been inhabited for a period of only a few
years, the Americans shared but very feebly in the commerce of the
Mississippi, which in 1802 consisted of such articles as hams,
salted pork, brandies distilled from corn and peaches, butter,
hemp, skins, and various sorts of flour. Cattle were sent to the
Atlantic States.[70]
Trades people supplied themselves at Pittsburg and Wheeling,
and passed up and down the river, conveying to the settlers
haberdashery goods, and more especially teas and coffee, taking
some of their produce in return.[71] In the beginning of spring
and autumn merchandise was sent from Philadelphia and Baltimore
to Pittsburg for supplying the States of Ohio, Kentucky, and the
settlement of Natchez.[72] Michaux says, "I have heard ... that
during the last war, corn being up to an exhorbitant rate, it
was computed that the exportations from Kentucky had balanced
the price of importations of English goods from Philadelphia and
Baltimore, by way of the Ohio, but since the peace, the demand
for flour and salt provisions having ceased in the Carribbees, corn
has fallen considerable, so that the balance of trade is wholly
unfavorable to the country."[73] Butter not consumed in Kentucky was
put into barrels and exported by the Ohio to the Carribbees.[74]
Salt provisions formed another important article of Kentucky trade,
72,000 barrels of dried pork, and 2485 barrels of salt being
exported in the first half of the year 1802.[75]
In 1802 the freitage of a boat to convey flour to Lower Louisiana
cost one hundred dollars. The boat carried 25 to 300 barrels, and
was navigated by five men, the chief receiving one hundred dollars
for the voyage, the others receiving fifty each. Most of the
embarkations were made from Louisville, thirty or thirty-five days
being required for the journey to New Orleans. The crew embarked at
New Orleans for New York, or Philadelphia, and returned from thence
by way of the Ohio to Kentucky.[76]
The produce of the settlements upon the Monongahela and Allegheny
found an easy conveyance down the Ohio. Corn, hams, and dried pork
were the principal articles sent to New Orleans, whence they were
reexported to the Carribbees. Bar iron, coarse linen, bottles
manufactured at Pittsburg, whiskey, and salt butter were exported
for the consumption of Louisiana. A great part of these provisions
came from Redstone on the Monongahela.[77] Knoxville exported flour,
cotton, and lime to New Orleans by way of the Tennessee River, but
this route was not much frequented by the trade, the navigation
of the river being very much encumbered in different places by
Shallows interspersed with rocks.[78] In Tennessee the major part of
the cultivators sold their cotton to the trades people at Nashville
who sent it by the river to New Orleans, from thence it was sent
to New York or Philadelphia, or exported direct to Europe.[79]
Considerable quantities of corn were shipped from Illinois, in
flat boats, to New Orleans, before the purchase of Louisiana.
Cattle, and horses were raised for the market, some were shipped
to New Orleans, and considerable live stock to the lead mines in
Louisiana.[80] Furs and peltries were articles in great demand,
and were generally shipped to Mickanaw, Philadelphia, and New
Orleans.[81]
During this early period in the settlement of the West, boats were
employed in the trade up the Mississippi and Ohio, as well as in
carrying articles of export down these rivers, Mr. Vigo, a trader
of Illinois, exported furs to Pittsburg as early as 1790.[82] Wagons
from Pittsburg to Philadelphia and Baltimore in 1802 carried fur
skins that came from the Illinois country.[83] At Nashville in 1802
the first attempt was made to send cottons by the Ohio to Pittsburg
in order to be thence conveyed to the remote parts of Pennsylvania.
Michaux speaks of meeting several barges laden with cotton, near
Marietta, "going up the river with a staff, and making about
twenty miles a day."[84] The merchants at this place received a
considerable quantity of their goods from New Orleans by way of the
Mississippi, Ohio, and Cumberland.[85]
By April, 1802, the news of the cession of Louisiana by Spain to
France, according to the secret treaty of Ildefonso,[86] October 1,
1803, reached the United States, and early in 1803 a treaty was
negotiated giving the United States the possession of Louisiana.[87]
The purchase of Louisiana, the free navigation of the Mississippi,
and the increased importance of the New Orleans market may be
set down as among the causes which led to the rapid growth of
the western country. "Commerce came, bringing them a market for
their products, offering rich rewards to industry, and stimulating
labor to the highest point of exertion. She brought with her
money, and the various representatives of money, established,
credit, confidence, commercial intercourse, united action, and
mutuality of interest. Through her influence the forests were
penetrated by roads, bridges were thrown over rivers, and highways
constructed through dreary morasses. Traveling was rendered easy,
and transportation cheap. Through this influence the earth was
made to yield its mineral treasures ... agricultural products have
increased ... manufactures ... such have been the trophies of
commerce."[88]
In 1803 the Miami Exporting Company was created. Its object was to
reduce the difficulty and expense of transportation by collecting
the produce of the country and shipping it to New Orleans. At the
time the association was formed, the agriculture and commerce
of the West, were at the lowest point of depression.[89] No
artificial roads had been made; canals had not been thought of; the
natural impediments in the rivers of the country rendered their
navigation difficult and hazardous at all times, always tedious,
and often impracticable; and when the water was at its most
favorable stage, the distance of the principal port, the imperfect
means of transportation, and the low price of produce were such,
that a large portion of the avails of a cargo was consumed by the
expense of taking it to market. The average time required to make
a trip to New Orleans and back to Cincinnati was six months. The
craft made use of were small, and the cargoes light, and when
they arrived at New Orleans in flat boats, which could not be
taken back, the boats were abandoned. The pirogues and keel boats
returned with such articles as the market of New Orleans afforded.
Under such disadvantages the commerce was nominal, and only
necessity prompted the inhabitants to engage in it. For many years,
the emigrants created the only demand for the surplus products of
the interior settlements.[90]
In the Spring and Fall of the year 1803, numerous trading boats
destined for Kentucky, New Orleans, or the towns on the Spanish
side of the Mississippi, were continually passing down the Ohio.[91]
They carried flour, whiskey, peach brandy, cider, bacon, iron,
potter's ware, cabinet work, and other articles, all the produce
or manufacture of the country. The boats used in this trade were
called arks, were manned by four boatmen, carried no sail, and were
capable of carrying from two to five hundred barrels of flour.[92]
Vessels were built at Elizabethtown, on the Monongahela, laden with
the produce of the country, and sent to the West India Islands.[93]
Harris speaks of meeting the ship "Pittsburg" of 275 tons
burthen, from the same place, laden with 1700 barrels of flour.[94]
Articles of cabinet work, made at Pittsburg, supplied many of the
settlements of the Ohio and Mississippi.[95] The produce received
by the merchants of this place, from the farmers, was sent to New
Orleans, and the proceeds sent to the Atlantic States to meet their
payments.[96] The articles of merchandise brought over the mountains
to Pittsburg were placed on trading boats, which floated down the
river, stopping at the towns to sell their articles. These boats
contributed much to the convenience of the settlers, by bringing to
them the little necessaries which it would be very troublesome to
go a great distance to procure.[97]
Kentucky cordage and flour, and Monongahela flour were sent to New
Orleans in 1804.[98] During 1805, Monongahela flour,[99] Kentucky
tallow, and white baling rope were received at this port.[100]
Kentucky tobacco and Monongahela flour were advertised for sale at
New Orleans in 1806.[101]
During the dry season which usually prevailed during August and
September, the Ohio was so low that a loaded boat could not descend
from Pittsburg. Accordingly, when the boatmen found that they
would not be able to reach Pittsburg in time, they ordered their
goods sent to Wheeling, where the water was deep enough at all
seasons.[102] The merchants of Ohio at this time, 1807, received
their goods overland from Philadelphia and Baltimore, and some
small supplies from Alexandria. Payments were made to them in the
bulky produce of the country, which they sent to New Orleans.[103]
From the American Bottom in Illinois, great quantities of corn,
pork, and other produce were sent to New Orleans.[104] Schultz
in his voyage down the Mississippi in 1808, met two boats from
Green River loaded with tobacco; four with flour and whiskey from
Cincinnati; two with horses from Limestone; two with cotton and
tobacco from Cumberland; two with lime in bulk from Virginia;[105]
three from Pittsburg with flour, whiskey and pork;[106] five from
Kentucky loaded with horses and tobacco;[107] besides a great number
of boats whose cargoes he does not mention.[108] Floating stores with
a various assortment of merchandise, among which were to be found
copper stills, used for distilling peach and apple brandy, and rye
whiskey, floated down the Ohio from Wheeling, stopping wherever
they could find a market for their goods.[109] Tobacco was exported
down the Cumberland to Baltimore.[110]
During the years 1807-10 we find advertised in the New Orleans
papers, Monongahela and Kentucky flour,[111] Kentucky beef and
pork,[112] Kentucky tobacco,[113] Monongahela whiskey,[114] Kentucky
bogging,[115] Kentucky cordage, Kentucky ham,[116] and Kentucky
packing cloth.[117] From the first of the year to May 16, 1808,
112 boats arrived in New Orleans by way of the Ohio.[118] Schultz
in 1808, says of New Orleans, "the levee in front is crowded with
large vessels from every part of the world. They generally lie
three deep, in a line extending from near the center of the town
to ¼ of a mile below. The same distance at the upper end is always
lined with one or two hundred Kentucky boats and New Orleans
boats, from the interior of the States of New York, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee, as well as from the
Territory of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Missouri. Two of those
present along the levee I recognized as my own statesmen (New
York). One of them was loaded with cherry plank from Chatoque Lake,
and the other with ice, the latter of which they sold at 25 cents a
pound."[119]
Sugar was exported from New Orleans and sold along the river.[120]
West India goods were sent in barges by way of New Orleans to
Louisville and Cincinnati.[121] In the early part of the year 1811,
sugar, hides, logwood crates, and other articles were shipped to
Cincinnati from New Orleans.[122] Nashville exported bales of cotton
to Pittsburg in large keel boats requiring nine boatmen.[123] Lead
prepared at the mines was deposited at St. Genevieve, Louisiana,
from whence it was sent up the Ohio as far as Pittsburg, and down
the Mississippi to New Orleans, and distributed from these places
through out the United States.[124]
FOOTNOTES:
[49] Peck, J. M., Annals, 331-333.
[50] Peck, J. M., Annals, 334.
[51] Ibid., 335.
[52] Forman, S. S., Journey, 41.
[53] St. Clair, A., Papers, (Smith's Edition), II., 175.
[54] Pope, J., Tour, 26.
[55] Ibid, 41.
[56] Treaties and Conventions, 777.
[57] Treaties and Conventions, 783.
[58] Allinson, M.
[59] Peck, J. M., Annals, 504. Burnet, J., Notes, 445, 446.
[60] Flint, T., History and Geography. I., 170-171.
[61] Hall, J., The West, 107.
Collot, V., Journey, II., 95, "The population is composed of
about ten thousand souls, including free mulattoes and slaves.
[62] Collot, V., Journey, II., 197.
[63] Ibid., II., 198-199.
[64] Ellicott, A., Journal, 24.
[65] Ellicott, A., Journal, 23-24.
[66] Hildreth, S. P., Memoirs, 159.
[67] Hildreth, S. P., Memoirs, 309.
[68] Ibid.,
[69] Ibid., 161.
[70] Michaux, F. A., Travels, Early W. Travels, III., 191.
[71] Ibid., 191.
[72] Ibid., 157-158.
[73] Michaux, F. A., Travels, Early W. Travels, III., 205.
[74] Ibid., 245.
[75] Ibid., 247.
[76] Ibid., 239-240.
[77] Ibid., 158.
[78] Michaux, F. A., Travels, Early W. Travels, III., 266.
[79] Ibid., 252.
[80] Reynolds, J., MY Own Times, 90.
[81] Ibid., 91.
[82] St. Clair, A., Papers, (Smith's Edition), II., 175.
[83] Michaux, F. A., Travels, Early W. Travels, III., 157-158.
[84] Ibid., III., 252.
[85] Ibid., III., 241. "It is now clearly demonstrated that the
expense of conveying goods which go up the river again from New
Orleans to Louisville, is not so great as that from Philadelphia
to Limestone."
[86] Treaties and Conventions, 276.
[87] Ibid., 275-278.
[88] Hall, J., The West, 14-15.
[89] Burnet, J., Notes, 397-399.
[90] Burnet, J., Notes, 396-397.
[91] Harris, T. M., Tour, Early W. Travels, III., 334-335.
[92] Ibid., III., 334-335.
[93] Ibid., III., 338.
[94] Harris, T. M., Tour, Early W. Travels, III., 353.
[95] Ibid., III., 343.
[96] Ibid.
[97] Ibid., 344.
[98] Louisiana Gasette, I. 15.
[99] Ibid., I., 29; I., 78.
[100] Ibid., I., 53.
[101] Ibid., II., 162; II., 171; I., 194; II., 169.
[102] Schultz, C., Travels, I., 125-126.
[103] Schultz, C., Travels, II., 22.
[104] Ibid., II., 38.
[105] Ibid., II., 100.
[106] Ibid., II., 125.
[107] Ibid., II., 126.
[108] Ibid., II., 135-136.
[109] Cuming, F., Tour, Early W. Travels, IV., 116.
[110] Ibid., IV., 279.
[111] Louisiana Gasette, VI., 648; III., 286.
[112] Louisiana Gasette, III., 286.
[113] ibid., iii., 298.
[114] Ibid., VI., 525.
[115] Ibid. Louisiana Moniteur, May 10, 1809.
[116] Ibid., May 10, 1809.
[117] Louisiana Moniteur, May 10, 1809.
[118] Louisiana Gasette, p 2, Col. 3. May 21, 1808.
[119] Schultz, C., Travels, II., 200.
[120] Cuming, F., Tour, Early W. Travels, IV., 264.
[121] Schultz, C., Travels, II., 126.
[122] Niles, Weekly Register, I., 71.
[123] Cuming, F., Tour, Early W. Travels, IV., 97.
[124] Schultz, C., Travels, II., 56.
_CHAPTER III._
_EMIGRATION. GROWTH OF THE RIVER TOWNS._
One of the greatest hindrances to the early settlement of the
western territory was the continued hostility of the Indian tribes
living in that portion of the country. The two leading causes
of disquiet among the western people during the years 1787-1788
were due to this cause, and to the Spanish possession of the
Mississippi.[125] At Fort Harmar, January 9, 1789, one treaty was
made with the Iroquois, confirming the previous one of October 22,
1784, at Fort Stanwix,[126] and another with the Wyandots, Delawares,
Ottawas, Pottawatomies, and Sacs, confirming and extending the
treaty of Fort McIntosh, made in January 21, 1785.[127]
These treaties were not respected, and the year 1790 saw the old
frontier troubles renewed. The Wabash Indians, especially, who had
not been bound by any treaty as yet, kept up incursions against
the Kentucky settlers, and the emigrants down the Ohio.[128] Three
boats descending the Ohio River in March, 1790 were attacked
by twenty-two Indians, above the Falls, and twenty-six horses,
merchandise valued at from twelve to fifteen pounds, and several
saddlebags containing cash were lost by being left in the two
abandoned boats.[129] "The pioneers who descended the Ohio on their
way westward, will remember while they live, the lofty rock
standing a short distance above the mouth of the Scioto, on the
Virginia shore, which was occupied for years by the savages,
as a favorite watch-tower, from which boats ascending and
descending, could be discovered at a great distance. The murders
and depredations committed in that vicinity at all periods of the
war were so shocking as to attract universal notice, and letters
were written to General Harmar, from various quarters, calling his
attention to the subject. They informed him that scarcely a boat
passed the rocks without being attacked, and in most instances
captured; and that unless something were done without delay,
the navigation of the river would necessarily be abandoned."[130]
September 19, 1790 Governor St. Clair notified the War Department
that the depredations continued on the Ohio and Wabash; that nearly
every day brought an account of some new robbery or murder; and
that shortly before this, a boat belonging to Colonel Vigo of
Post Vincennes, was fired upon near the mouth of Blue River, and
three men killed, and later, in attempting to ascend the Wabash,
the boats were attacked and the crew's personal baggage and arms
stolen. As the boat was navigated by Frenchmen, the Indians
suffered them to depart with the peltries.[131] Pope, in 1791, speaks
of being frequently alarmed at the hostile appearance of Indians
onboth sides of the Ohio, who suspecting that the number of white
men was greater than their own, were deterred from attacking
them.[132]
The savages who assailed the new settlements in the West, resided
chiefly on the northwest side of the Ohio River. The British
government, alarmed at the advance of the United States westward,
had established agencies among them for the sole purpose of keeping
alive their hatred against the American people.[133] The frequent,
predatory movements of the savages, following in such rapid
succession, produced universal alarm throughout the country, and
the sttlers began to think that they would be obliged to abandon
it.[134] The glorious campaign of General Wayne with his defeat
of the western savages at the Battle of the Miami, 1794, put an
end to this warfare.[135] The Treaty of Greenville,[136] signed
by the various Indian nations, on August 3, 1795, and ratified by
the Senate on December 22, closed the old Indian Wars of the West.
In 1796, after some delay, the British government surrendered the
northern posts,[137] thus removing the danger from that quarter.
On July 13, 1787 the Ordinance of 1787 was passed;[138] which because
of its wise provisions and liberal terms, may be considered as one
of the most important documentsin our history. The whole territory
lying north and west of the Ohio, extending to the Mississippi,
and to the northern lakes, was comprehended within one district,
for temporary government. The act contained a provision for the
creation of not less than three, nor more than five States, each
State to have at least 60,000 free population.[139] The prohibition
of slavery probably aided in attracting settlers to this region
The fourth article provided that "thenavigable waters leading into
the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between
the same, shall be common highways and forever free, as well to
the inhabitants of the said territories, as to the citizens of the
United States, and those of other States that may be admitted to
the Confederacy without any tax, import, or duty therefor."[140]
In the year 1787, the Ohio Company purchased 1,500,000 acres of
land from Congress. The total price agreed upon was nearly three
and a half million dollars, but the payment was made in public
securities worth only about twelve cents on the dollar.[141] Joel
Barlow was sent to Europe to sell the lands, and a subordinate
association, called the Scioto Company, was formed to aid him. Mr.
Barlow made considerable sales to individuals and companies in
France, and many emigrants came to this country, who would have
been ruined by the bad faith of the Company, had not the government
generously interfered in their behalf.[142] From 1790-1795 the Ohio
Company expended more than $11,000 in defending their settlements,
which was never repaid them by the United States.[143] J. C. Symmes
of New Jersey in 1787, entered into a contract with Congress for
the purchase of a million acres between the two Miami Rivers. He
finally paid for about one third of it, for which he received a
patent.[144]
The early adventurers to the Northwest Territory were men who had
spent the prime of their lives in the War of Independence. Many
of them had exhausted their fortunes in maintaining the desperate
struggle, and retired to the wilderness to conceal their poverty.
Some of them were young men, descended from revolutionary patriots.
Others were adverturous spirits to whom any change might be for the
better.[145]
The emigration westward, even in 1788, was very great, the
commandant at Fort Harmar reporting forty-five hundred persons
having passed that post between February and June of that year.[146]
Emigrants were constantly passing down the Ohio for Kentucky in
1789.[147] Prior to the year 1795, the east side of the river,
for about ten or twenty miles below Wheeling was generally well
settled. There were few settlements on the opposite shore until the
Muskingum River was reached, and from here to Limestone, "except at
the mouth of the Great Kanhaway," the country on both sides of the
river was a wilderness.[148] "Till the years 1796-1797 the banks of
the Ohio were so little populated that they scarcely consisted of
thirty families in a space of four hundred miles."[149]