Читать книгу The Ohio River Trade, 1788-1830 - Hazel Yearsley Shaw - Страница 4

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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of navigation, as the commerce carried on would appear the effect of an indulgence to an individual, which could be withdrawn at any time.[49] Wilkinson appointed his friend, Daniel Clark, his agent at New Orleans, returned to Charleston in a vessel, and on his arrival in Kentucky,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]