William A. Alcott

“ Be it our first business, then, our great business, our only business, so to conduct while on the passage-boat of life, that whether we are sailing on the Ohio River, or traveling elsewhere, we may always be found in the path of duty, and always ready for anything whatever to which we may be called, here or hereafter. ”

“ Every one on board this steamboat—every one in the world—resembles his fellows in the general structure and aspect of his features. Every one looks forward and upward, and not downward like the [Pg 40] beasts that perish. Every one has the projecting brow, with the well-defended eye under it, the more prominent nose and chin, &c.
So every one thinks highly of himself, his friends, possessions, home, &c. Every one, unless by divine grace made a true Christian, is more or less selfish. Every one loves, and, in his way, seeks happiness, and hates misery. ”

“ On board our steamboat was one man, a citizen of Cincinnati, whose extensive and intimate acquaintance with the country through which we were traveling made his society both interesting and valuable.
As we were passing between some very abrupt hills, he took occasion to remark that all this was once the hunting ground of Logan, the celebrated Mingo chief, whose sad story is familiar, as I suppose, to nearly every school-boy in the country.
Logan was a savage; but he was, at the same time, a man, and had a man's heart. Indians are men, and have the feelings of men ”

“ The Ohio River is very crooked. It turns to nearly every point of the compass. In one instance, in going up it, for example, I well remember that after going for some time in a northerly and then in a north-westerly direction, we suddenly turned to the west, as if we were going back again to Cincinnati.
The hour at which the steamer was to sail, according to the advertisement in the papers, was ten o'clock. Most of the passengers were on board before this time. There was, however, a large amount of freight to come on board afterward. ”

“ One puzzler to the traveler is, where the earth was obtained for building such a huge pile; for it is situated almost in the middle of a large plain, on and near which is no appearance of any former excavation for this purpose. There are, however, several smaller mounds a little east of it.
The country near the Ohio abounds with these mounds. What they were, and by whom they were formed, is quite uncertain. The general opinion that they are the graves of some ancient people is sustained by the fact that they contain human bones, sometimes in considerable numbers. ”

“ When they have penetrated several hundred feet into these coal hills, and the air does not circulate freely enough, and especially does not carry away the smoke of their powder far enough, they sometimes dig a well or hole from the top of the hill directly over the line of the excavation till it meets it. This serves as a chimney and ventilator, and is of great and lasting service.
To carry the coal, they have in general small cars drawn by one horse each. For this purpose a railroad is made, as far as the excavation extends. ”

“ When the coal is brought out of the excavation, there are many curious ways of unloading it; but I have not time to describe them all. In some instances the coal is slid down an inclined plane a long distance, by means of ropes and pulleys, and the emptied cars brought back by the same means.
I found the bases of the hills on the banks of the Ohio, especially on the northern side, full of these excavations. The amount of coal which is dug here yearly must be immense. ”

“ Augusta, in Kentucky, is a considerable [Pg 18] village, and has one or two important schools. It has also a few antiquities. So full is the earth of decaying human bones, that they can hardly dig a hole for a post without finding some of them.
The water of the Ohio at this season has a turbid or milky appearance. It is used, on board the steamboats, for all purposes, even for drinking. To me it was disagreeable; but to some of the passengers it was more than disagreeable to their taste, for it deranged their stomachs. ”

“ The boat stopped at Wheeling an hour or more to unload a part of her freight. This gave us a fine opportunity to go on shore and view the town. It is well built, but, like most of the places all the way from Cincinnati to Pittsburg, has quite a sooty appearance, caused by the dust of the coal, which they burn here in large quantities. Wheeling is, moreover, a place of considerable manufacture. ”

“ These are just what is to be expected when it is considered what the far greater part of our travelers place their chief happiness in—what they most think of and talk of, at least when they have little else to do. ”

“ In the latter case, the lower or freight deck is at one end of the boat, formed into a cabin which communicates only by means of a stairway with the next deck above it.
The best cabins are carpeted as nicely as our best parlors, and the furniture is often as costly. The state-rooms are also well furnished, and sometimes well ventilated. The beds are narrow. But the beds on board the Pittsburg, though narrow, were quite comfortable. ”

“ These are more numerous on the Ohio side than on that of Kentucky. Whether this is owing to the effects of slavery, or to other reasons, I am not informed. One thing is certain—that nature is not at fault in the construction of the country; for never in my life have I seen a prettier variety of hills and dales than on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River.
The water of the river was high, and the boat could stop at nearly every considerable village. The principal places we passed, for the first sixty miles, were Columbia, Point Pleasant, Neville, Higginsport, Ripley, and Aberdeen, in Ohio ”

“ Long flats or scows, deeply laden with this necessary article, proceeding from the shore meet the steamer in the middle of the river, and by means of chains or ropes are immediately lashed to her sides—usually two of them—one on each side. The men on board the flats, aided perhaps by the crew of the steamer, immediately fall to work with their shovels and throw the coal on board when it is wanted. ”

“ Examine, if you please, the faces of nearest relatives—brothers, sisters, parents, children, and even twins themselves—and though you may and sometimes will find a very striking similarity, yet you will, after all, find a difference in some one or more particulars. No two, in any assembly or company, look exactly alike. ”

“ The fare to Pittsburg was $7. True, there was on board a large amount of freight of various kinds, which perhaps made up the deficiency.
But as the grave, according to Solomon, is never satisfied—never says enough—so the men who are engaged in carrying passengers and freight seem never satisfied as long as they can carry any more.
Those who drive large numbers of cattle from Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, &c., to [Pg 20] New-York and the Eastern States, find it very tedious to drive them all the way by land, as well as very expensive ”

“ In truth, it is very difficult for those who are the most careful, economical, and systematic in regard to their time, to keep everything straight while traveling, especially while traveling at the rapid rate of modern times, and with such crowds. ”

“ The berths or sleeping places are at their sides. They, too, are mere broad shelves, but they have bed-clothing and curtains.
On the upper deck the cabins are still more ample, as well as better furnished. There, instead of shelves at the sides, there are small rooms connected with the shelves, called state-rooms.
Were it not that the cabins on those upper decks are unusually long in proportion to their breadth, and did you not feel the motion of the boat while occupying [Pg 11] them, the traveler would hardly know that he was not in a large and comfortable hotel or dwelling-house. ”

“ In some instances they are printed and hung up at the sides of the cabins and elsewhere, in conspicuous places. They relate to the treatment of furniture, the hours of rising, meals, retiring to rest, &c.
No person, for example, is allowed to let his chair, while sitting, rest against the wall, or to put his feet on the cushions of the chairs or sofas. No lights are permitted in the state-rooms—cases of severe sickness or other extremity alone excepted.
The female passengers have every reasonable convenience for washing, dressing, &c., in their state-rooms. ”

“ It is not very difficult, therefore, to guess how the various minds on board this steamer are occupied. No one is talking about the wants, the ignorance, or the means of improving the condition of his neighbor. No one is talking, unless the thought is suggested by another, about the welfare of the great Jehovah's kingdom. ”

“ Byington, a famous missionary to the Choctaw Indians. It is, I believe, nearly thirty years since she and her husband devoted themselves to the great work of trying to instruct and improve those poor people, and make Christians of them. Such a person will care for the good of others, and the honor of God, even on board a steamboat. Those who have been philanthropists and Christians as long as Mr. ”