~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! 💓
Hi, Suzanne!
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasant surprise to log on this morning and find a new post from your KardKornerKrib site atop my reading list. Although I have only ever taken rides on rowboats, ferry boats and sailboats, 19th century steamboats and riverboats like the ones in your article have always fascinated me. I enjoyed learning about a few of the most famous ones, their roles in history and their unfortunate demise by ice jam, fires and explosions. With little regulation and few safety features in place during those boom years, I can imagine that mishaps, injuries and deaths were common. I also enjoyed learning about Mark Twain's love of the river, his work on the boats and his travels on the Ohio and the Mighty Mississip. I enjoyed listening to "Down The River," one of Twain's favorite songs. I needed to look up the word "hoecake." I learned that a hoecake is an "unleavened cake made with flour or corn meal." It was "originally baked on a hoe but now usually cooked on a griddle." Further research revealed the following: "The term hoecake is first attested in 1745, and the term is used by American writers such as Joel Barlow and Washington Irving. The origin of the name is the method of preparation: they were cooked on a type of iron pan called a hoe." This info is all new to me.
Imagine the pioneers navigating the Ohio River as a gateway to the West. Imagine how much fun it was to ride the Island Queen from Cincinnati and Coney Island. It's interesting that the boat was used as a tramp steamer in the off season. I also like the The City of Cincinnati's "Meet the Boat" trip idea in which steamboat passengers traveled to the halfway point of their journey and then boarded a different vessel for the return trip. Thanks for that interesting essay on riverboats and steamers, dear friend!
That is an excellent picture of Scootie! I know you have had a challenging year home schooling him and prepping him for the next grade level. I admire and applaud you for your tireless efforts and I congratulate Scootie for entering 6th grade. I wish him a safe, healthy, happy and productive school year no matter what form it takes. Humans have the capacity to adjust and that capacity is surely being tested this year.
Thank you again for the educational article, pictures and song video along with the latest on Scootie. Have a restful weekend, dear friend Suzanne. I hope to see you next week over at Shady's Place!
Hi Shady!
DeleteIt's good to see you here. I had planned to post this morning, but after a few tiring proofreads, I decided to post last night before going to bed. Like you I have only ridden in row boats, ski boats and fishing boats. I am fascinated by the steamboat era, and there were plenty out there, more than I knew of. I've only seen parts of the Mississippi while riding Amtrak from Kansas City to St. Louis, MO one year, and going through Memphis and Kentucky in the past few years. I get excited to see these rivers, such as the Red River and the Kaw (Kansas River).
I have never eaten a hoe-cake, or Johnny cake either. I've read parts of the book written by Andrew Beahrs called "Twain's Feast". He accounts some of Twain's travels abroad, and the foods he eats along the way. I've had the book for about 6 years, and haven't finished it, but have picked it up again to browse. It is a very great account of how some of the food was acquired, along with oysters, and other treats during Twain's travel. What sticks with me most, is that Twain dearly loved American food the most...he would quickly tire of European foods and coffee.
So, Shady, I am glad you enjoyed my post. Steamboats were a fairly dangerous form of transportation. Sometimes the boilers would explode when too much pressure was built up, and they were noted to be fast through rough waters, but not good on ice!
Thank you so much for coming by dear friend. I love your great comments and interest in the steamboat era. Scootie is still trying to adjust to school, but I think he can do it. He is growing up now too fast! Have a wonderful weekend, Shady! Take care!
Hello Suzanne! Lovely to see you again. Your year has certainly been very busy and the responsibility of home schooling your dear grandson would have been a very big one. That's a beautiful photo of Scootie and his certificates... I can imagine how proud all of you must be for him to have achieved his current level of education.
ReplyDeleteSeeing how you approach each subject with much research and skill, he's very fortunate to have you as his home-teacher as well as a loving family member. These times will have been made all the more tolerable for him as he navigates his way through his tender years.
There is certainly so much history of steamboats that you've discussed in this post. I didn't quite realise some of those dangers.
We too, in Australia, have a rich history of steamboats (on our Murray River ... "the Mighty Murray" as we call it) as just one example. Remote settlements dependent on the to and fro of people, necessary supplies, produce and animals.
Modernity has taken over, as it does but, as I'm sure you have over there, fortunately there are some beautifully restored and treasured steamboats for our younger generations to see.
Stay well Suzanne and it is so nice to make contact again xxxxxxx
Hi Sue! It's so good to see you here. Lately my posts are far and few between, but I still love to write when I can. Thank you for your compliments on my post, it's true...I am much the researcher, haha! Poor Scootie had to learn how to research to do his studies. I have my father to thank for the habit. If ever we had a question, he was there researching the answers with his books of encyclopedia and dictionaries. And, now, dad would have loved to check the internet for answers...he was quick to learn new technology. I learned a lot and revisited history during the home school hours.
DeleteI looked up your "Mighty Murray", and Oh what a beautiful river! It says it is one of the world's longest navigable rivers, and as you said, many paddleboats have traveled its waters. I watched a short video of the Murray river moving along beautifully at its mouth. It looks like it is enjoyed and loved by many boaters, fishermen and campers.
I am so glad to see you Sue, thank you so much for coming by. I suppose you are heading into the spring of things, as we, hopefully, are heading into autumn and winter. I have enjoyed seeing your gardens and pond this summer. Take care, hope to see you again soon! xxoo Hugs from Texas!