Early Western Travels, 1748-1846 (Volume XXVI) Part 15

A manufactory of this hydraulic cement or water-lime is now established on the bank of the ca.n.a.l, on a scale capable of supplying the United States with this much-valued material for all works in contact with water or exposed to moisture; the nature of this cement being to harden in the water; the grout used on the locks of the ca.n.a.l is already _harder_ than the _stone_ used in their construction.

After pa.s.sing through the stratum which was commonly called the water-lime, about ten feet in thickness, the workmen came to a more compact ma.s.s of primitive gray limestone, which, however, was not penetrated to any great depth. In many parts of the excavation ma.s.ses of a bluish white flint and hornstone were found enclosed in or incrusting the fetid limestone. And from the large quant.i.ties of arrow-heads and other rude formations of this flint stone, it is evident that it was made much use of by the Indians in forming their weapons for war and hunting; in one place a magazine of arrow-heads was discovered, containing many hundreds of these rude implements, carefully packed together and buried below the surface of the ground.

The existence of iron ore in considerable quant.i.ties was exhibited in the progress of the excavation of the ca.n.a.l, by numerous highly-charged chalybeate springs that gushed out, and continued to flow during the time that the rock was exposed, chiefly in the upper strata of limestone.--_Louisville Directory for 1835._--FLAGG.

[7] A circ.u.mstance, too, which adds not a little of interest to the spot, is the old Indian tradition that here was fought the last battle between their race and the former dwellers in Kentucky--the _white mound-builders_--in which the latter were exterminated to a man. True or false, vast quant.i.ties of human remains have, at low stages of the Ohio, been found upon the sh.o.r.es of Sandy Island, one mile below, and an extensive graveyard once existed in the vicinity of s.h.i.+pping-port.--FLAGG.

[8] _Kentucke_ is said to have a similar meaning.--FLAGG.

[9] Ohio is thought by some philologists to be a corruption of the Iroquois word, "Ohionhiio," meaning "beautiful river," which the French rendered as La Belle Riviere; see also c.u.ming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 92, note 49.--ED.

[10] At the age of twenty-five, Henry M. Shreve (1785-1854) was captain of a freight boat operating on the Ohio. In 1814 he ran the gauntlet of the British batteries at New Orleans, and carried supplies to Fort St. Phillip. The following year, in charge of the "Enterprise"

he made the first successful steamboat trip from New Orleans to Louisville. Later he constructed the "Was.h.i.+ngton," making many improvements on the Fulton model. Fulton and Livingstone brought suit against him but lost in the action. May 24, 1824, at the instigation of J. C. Calhoun, then secretary of war, Congress appropriated seventy-five thousand dollars (not $105,000, as Flagg says) for the purpose of removing obstructions from the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

As early as 1821, Shreve had invented a device for removing snags and sawyers from river beds. But it was not until after two years'

fruitless trials with a scheme devised by John Bruce of Kentucky, that Barbour, at Calhoun's suggestion, appointed Shreve superintendent of improvements on Western rivers (December 10, 1826). This position he held until September 11, 1841, when he was dismissed for political reasons. In the face of discouraging opposition Shreve constructed (1829) with government aid the snagboat "Heleopolis" with which he later wrought a marvellous improvement in navigation on the Ohio and Mississippi. From 1833 to 1838 he was engaged in removing the Red River "raft" for a distance of a hundred and sixty miles, thus opening that important river for navigation. For a good biography of Shreve, see the _Democratic Review_, xxii (New York, 1848), pp. 159-171, 241-251. A fair estimate of the importance of his work can be gained from the following statistics; from 1822-27 the loss from snags alone, of property on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, including steam and flat-boats and their cargoes, amounted to $1,362,500; the like loss from 1827-32 was reduced to $381,000, although the volume of business had greatly increased.--ED.

[11] The "Baltimore" (73 tons) was built at Pittsburg in 1828; the "Roanoke" (100 tons), at Wheeling in 1835. It is reported that from 1831 to 1833, of the sixty-six steamboats which went out of service, twenty-four were snagged, fifteen burned, and five destroyed by collision with other boats. See James Hall, _Notes on the Western States_ (Philadelphia, 1838), p. 239.--ED.

[12] The keel-boat Hindoo, with merchandise to the amount of $50,000, is a late instance.--FLAGG.

[13] Brown's Island, two miles and a half long by half a mile at its greatest width, is located six or seven miles above Steubenville, Ohio, following the course of the river.--ED.

[14] The keel-boat was usually from sixty to seventy feet long, and fifteen to eighteen broad at beam, with a keel extending from bow to stern, and had a draft of twenty to thirty inches. When descending the stream, the force of the current, with occasional aid from the pole, was the usual mode of locomotion. In ascending the stream, however, sails, poles, and almost every known device were used; not infrequently the vessel was towed by from twenty to forty men, with a rope several hundred feet in length attached to the mast. These boats were built in Pittsburg at a cost of two to three thousand dollars each.

The barge was constructed for narrow, shallow water. As a rule it was larger than the keel-boat; but of less draft, and afforded greater accommodations for pa.s.sengers.

Broad-horn was a term generally applied to the Mississippi and Ohio flat-boat, which made its advent on the Western waters later than the barge or the keel-boat. It was a large, unwieldy structure, with a perfectly flat bottom, perpendicular sides, and usually covered its entire length. It was used only for descending the stream.

"The earliest improvement upon the canoe was the pirogue, an invention of the whites. Like the canoe, this is hewed out of the solid log; the difference is, that the pirogue has greater width and capacity, and is composed of several pieces of timbers--as if the canoe was sawed lengthwise 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." Hall, _Notes on the Western States_, p. 218.--ED.

[15] Flint.--FLAGG.

[16] For an account of the first steamboat on the Ohio, see Flint's _Letters_, in our volume ix, p. 154, note 76.--ED.

[17] Latrobe.--FLAGG.

_Comment by Ed._ Charles J. Latrobe (1801-75) visited the United States in 1832-33. His _Rambles in North America in 1832-3_ (New York, 1835) and _Rambles in Mexico_ (New York and London, 1836) have much value in the history of Western travel.

[18] The first steamer upon the waters of the Red River was of a peculiar construction: her steam scape-pipe, instead of ascending perpendicularly from the hurricane deck, projected from the bow, and terminated in the form of a serpent's head. As this monster ascended the wilds of the stream, with her furnaces blazing, pouring forth steam with a roar, the wondering Choctaws upon the banks gave her the poetic and appropriate name of _Pinelore_, "the Fire-Canoe."--FLAGG.

[19] This quotation is from _Botanic Gardens_, book i, chapter i, by Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802).--ED.

[20] For Rome, see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume xxii, p. 160, note 77.--ED.

[21] Green River, rising in central Kentucky, flows west through the coal fields to its junction with the Big Barren; thence it turns north, and empties into the Ohio nine miles above Evansville, Indiana.

Beginning with 1808 the state legislature expended large sums of money for improving navigation on Green River. As a consequence small steamboats may ascend it to a distance of more than a hundred and fifty miles. The length of the stream is estimated at three hundred and fifty miles.--ED.

[22] Diamond Island, densely wooded, is located thirty-six miles below the mouth of Green River, and seven miles above Mount Vernon. Its name is perhaps derived from its shape, being five miles long and one and a half wide.--ED.

[23] For note on Hendersonville, see c.u.ming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 267, note 175.--ED.

[24] John J. Audubon, born in Louisiana (1780), was a son of a wealthy French naval officer; his mother was a Spanish Creole. Educated in France, he returned to America (1798) and settled near Philadelphia, devoting his time to the study of birds. In 1808 he went west and until 1824 made fruitless attempts to establish himself in business in Kentucky and Louisiana. He issued in London (1827-38) his noted publication on the _Birds of America_, which was completed in eighty-seven parts. During 1832-39 he published five volumes ent.i.tled _Ornithological Biographies_. Audubon died in 1851. See M. R. Audubon, _Audubon and his Journals_ (New York, 1897).--ED.

[25] For the historical importance of the Wabash River, see Croghan's _Journals_, in our volume i, p. 137, note 107.--ED.

[26] The Wabash and Erie Ca.n.a.l, which connects the waters of Lake Erie with the Ohio River by way of the Maumee and Wabash rivers, has played an active role in the development of Indiana, her most important cities being located upon its route. The Ohio section was constructed during the years 1837-43, and the Indiana section as far as Lafayette in 1832-40; the ca.n.a.l being later continued to Terre Haute and the Ohio River near Evansville. Although the federal government granted Indiana 1,505,114 acres for constructing the ca.n.a.l, the state was by this work plunged heavily in debt. After the War of Secession the ca.n.a.l lost much of its relative importance for commerce. June 14, 1880, Congress authorized the secretary of war to order a survey and estimate of cost and practicability of making a s.h.i.+p ca.n.a.l out of the old Wabash and Erie Ca.n.a.l. The survey and estimate were made, but the matter was allowed to drop. See _Senate Docs._, 46 Cong., 3 sess., iii, 55.--ED.

[27] For an account of New Harmony and its founder, George Rapp, see Hulme's _Journal_, in our volume x, p. 50, note 22, and p. 54, note 25.--ED.

[28] Flagg is evidently referring to Robert Owen, the active promoter of the scheme. A brief history of his activities is given in Hulme's _Journal_, in our volume x, p. 50, note 22.

For Robert Dale Owen see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume xxiv, p. 133, note 128.--ED.

[29] "Declaration of Mental Independence" delivered by Robert Owen (not Robert Dale Owen) on July 4, 1826, was printed in the New Harmony _Gazette_ for July 12, 1826. An extended quotation is given in George B. Lockwood, _The New Harmony Communities_ (Marion, Indiana, 1902), p.

163.--ED.

[30] For an account of William Maclure, see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume xxii, p. 163, note 81.

In reference to the Duke of Saxe Weimar, see Wyeth's _Oregon_, in our volume xxi, p. 71, note 47.--ED.

[31] On Shawneetown and the Shawnee Indians see our volume i, p. 23, note 13, and p. 138, note 108.--ED.

[32] For a brief statement on the salines, see James's _Long's Expedition_, in our volume xiv, p. 58, note 11.--ED.

[33] An excellent account of the Mound Builders is given by Lucien Carr in Smithsonian Inst.i.tution _Report_, 1891 (Was.h.i.+ngton, 1893), pp.

503-599; see also Cyrus Thomas, "Report on Mound Explorations" in United States Bureau of Ethnology _Report_ (1890-91).--ED.

[34] Hanging Rock is the name given to a high sandstone escarpment on the right bank of the river, three miles below Ironton, Ohio.--ED.

[35] Blennerha.s.set's Island is two miles below Parkersburg, West Virginia. For its history, see c.u.ming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p.

129, note 89.--ED.

[36] A brief description of Rock Inn Cave (or Cave-in-Rock) may be found in c.u.ming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 273, note 180.--ED.

[37] For Schoolcraft, see Gregg's _Commerce of the Prairies_, in our volume xx, p. 286, note 178.--ED.

[38] It is a remarkable circ.u.mstance, that this term is employed to signify the _same_ thing by all the tribes from the Arkansas to the sources of the Mississippi; and, according to Mackenzie, throughout the Arctic Regions.--FLAGG.

[39] See c.u.ming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 268.--ED.

[40] Ford's Ferry is today a small hamlet in Crittenden County, Kentucky, twenty-five miles below Shawneetown. Flagg is referring probably to the Wilson family. Consult Lewis Collins, _History of Kentucky_ (Covington, 1874), i. p. 147.--ED.

[41] Since the remarks relative to "the remarkable cavern in the vicinity of _Tower Rock_, and not far from Hurricane Island," were in type, the subjoined notice of a similar cave, probably the same referred to, has casually fallen under my observation. The reader will recognise in this description the outlines of _Rock-Inn-Cave_, previously noticed. It is not a little singular that none of our party, which was a numerous one, observed the "hieroglyphics" here alluded to. The pa.s.sage is from Priest's "American Antiquities."

"_A Cavern of the West, in which are found many interesting Hieroglyphics, supposed to have been made by the Ancient Inhabitants._

"On the Ohio, twenty miles below the mouth of the Wabash, is a cavern in which are found many hieroglyphics and representations of such delineations as would induce the belief that their authors were indeed comparatively refined and civilized. It is a cave in a rock, or ledge of the mountain, which presents itself to view a little above the water of the river when in flood, and is situated close to the bank.

In the early settlement of Ohio this cave became possessed by a party of Kentuckians called 'Wilson's Gang.' Wilson, in the first place, brought his family to this cave, and fitted it up as a s.p.a.cious dwelling; erected a _signpost_ on the water side, on which were these words: 'Wilson's Liquor Vault and House of Entertainment.' The novelty of such a tavern induced almost all the boats descending the river to call for refreshments and amus.e.m.e.nt. Attracted by these circ.u.mstances, several idle characters took up their abode at the cave, after which it continually resounded with the shouts of the licentious, the clamour of the riotous, and the blasphemy of gamblers. Out of such customers Wilson found no difficulty in forming a band of robbers, with whom he formed the plan of murdering the crews of every boat that stopped at his tavern, and of sending the boats, manned by some of his party, to New-Orleans, and there sell their loading for cash, which was to be conveyed to the cave by land through the States of Tennessee and Kentucky; the party returning with it being instructed to murder and rob on all good occasions on the road.