~Mississippi River * Yahoo Images *
" No river can return to its source,
yet all rivers must have a beginning."
~Proverb
Greetings, dear readers! Long time no see, eh! Well, I have been around lately and have visited a few of my favorite blogs. Our current social situation, aka "The Pandemic", has kept me busy, as well as all of you, I'm sure. I have been home schooling my grandson since March, and he has now entered the 6th grade. It was a tough row to hoe, but he and I did it with grace!
* photo by suzanne
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With fall knocking on our door, my dreams consist of cooler weather, and harvest time. It also brings to mind tales of Huck Finn and Mark Twain's adventures! Mark Twain's favorite times in life were spent on the river. He wasn't much of a great river captain, but made a good hand on the riverboats, and received his Steamboat Pilot license at 23 years of age on April 9, 1859.
*Yahoo images *
"There's only one way to be a pilot, and that is to get this entire river by heart."
~mark twain
As I think of Mark Twain, and his life of many experiences on the rivers, I wonder about riverboats, steamboats, and, such, and I found a couple of interesting accounts from years ago.
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* Ohio River *
~ yahoo images
My quest for some historical river events led me to Ohio. The photo above gives us a small taste of what the Ohio River truly is as it runs about 981 miles, flowing through or along the border of 6 states. The Ohio River is the 3rd largest river by discharge volume in the United States, rolling north from Pittsburgh, PA. to the mouth of the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinois. It became the primary transportation route for pioneers during the western expansion of the early US in the late 18th century. Thomas Jefferson had said, "The Ohio is the most beautiful river on earth."
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I located evidence of a steamboat called "The City of Cincinnati". This boat , a side-wheel paddler, with a wood hull, was built in 1899, and operated on the Ohio River, transporting agricultural goods and manufactured products to Louisville, Kentucky. On the weekends, "The City of Cincinnati" would participate in a "Meet the Boat" trip where steamboats carrying passengers would meet each other and exchange passengers for their return trips.
* The City of Cincinnati steamboat *
* yahoo images
After about 19 years of service, "The City of Cincinnati's" days of excursions came to an end. The Ohio River had been frozen for 51 days, and, at the Cincinnati wharf, the hull of the "Cincinnati steamer" was crushed along with an estimated 6 other vessels. In January 1918, the boat was damaged as a result of an ice freshet, where meltwater flows into the river, lifting and breaking the ice, causing the jams.
* Info on Ice Freshet was acquired from "Special to the County" reporting by Ted Shapiro
www.thecounty.me
* "The City of Cincinnati" 1918 Ice Gorge"
* yahoo images
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Around the same time "The City of Cincinnati"steamboat was active, another beauty, called "Island Queen" made an elegant appearance on the river. Actually there were 2 Island Queen steamers, the first of which was built in 1896, a sidewheel, wooden hull as well as most other steamers. This Lady would ferry passengers between Cincinnati and Coney Island, and operate as a Tramp steamer in off-seasons when Coney Island Amusement park was closed. In 1922, her forward hurricane deck collapsed causing injuries to 27 children and paralyzing one. Later that same year, the Island Queen was severely burned along with some other steamboats in Cincinnati Harbor, thus ending her career.
* Island Queen explosion * Cincinnati Harbor * yahoo images
Well, folks...I reckon Mark Twain traveled up and down the Ohio River frequently, as well as the mighty Mississipi! He had so many exciting stories to share about his travels. Twain said, "Cincinnati once produced and shipped more barrels of whiskey than the salt pork which earned the town its "Porkopolis" nickname." I saw somewhere that he would sing river songs during some of his lectures, and to the children. I found one such folk song that was a favorite of Twain's.
Let's have a listen! "Down The River"
I hope you enjoyed the song/poem. There are so many more, I am sure that were sung by the steamboat pilots and captains.
I would like to say, "Many Thanks" for stopping by today to help me dust this blog! And, perhaps you learned a little something as I did during my readings of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
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Maybe you can find the time to step inside and say hello. Any comments will be much appreciated. I am sending best wishes to all for a safe and healthy weekend. Please come by any time!
I also want to thank Google
Blogger
historycentral.org
wikipedia
Youtube
nationalgeographic.org
Yahoo images
gypsyroadtrip.com
thewaltoncompany.com
steamboats.com
MARK TWAIN 😊
Again, thank you so much, and I will leave you with another of Mark Twain's quotes:
"Give everyday the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life."
~Mark Twain
Hugs to you all...see you next time! 💓
