The “Mary Powell.”
The decade from 1840 to 1850 was the golden age for steamboat proprietors on the Hudson River, as there was then no railroad competition, though there were several competitive steam-ship companies. In 1849 there were no less than twenty steamers on the route between New York and Albany, and the fares were cut as low as 12¹⁄₂ cents for the 145 miles. One of the steamers on the river in the ’forties was the Norwich. A few years later she was converted into a tug-boat, and up to the end of 1909 was still in active service. She has been repaired so often, however, that not much of her original hull is left, but her first engine is still in use. A steamer which is still held in affectionate memory by all frequenters of the Hudson River, the celebrated Mary Powell, was launched in 1861, and was never eclipsed in speed by any vessel until the modern torpedo-boats were built. She frequently covered 27 miles an hour. This remarkable boat came from the New Jersey yards of Messrs M. A. Allison. Originally she was 260 feet in length, but in 1874 she was increased to 286 feet, and again in 1897 to 300 feet. Her paddle-wheels were 31 feet in diameter, with 26 floats to the wheel, each float being 10¹⁄₂ feet long by 1 foot 9 inches wide and dipping 3¹⁄₂ feet. One vessel, the Glen Cove, attained notoriety if not fame by being the first to carry that novel musical instrument known as the calliope. Fortunately for New Yorkers, the innovation was not popular. The machine consisted of a large steam chest, on the top of which were arranged a number of valves according to the number of whistles to be blown. As a powerful calliope could be heard for a distance of some miles, and as the instrument frequently consisted of from eight to twelve whistles, and the selection performed upon it was of the “Shall we gather at the river” variety, it cannot be said that the English have been the only people to take their pleasures sadly. Three boats plying in New York Bay carried these excruciating instruments. The Glen Cove was sold with her calliope to ply on the James River in Virginia, and was sunk by the Confederates during the Civil War. The most aggressive calliope was carried on the Armenia. It had thirty-four powerful whistles.
The “Hendrick Hudson” (Hudson River Day Line), 1906.
In 1860, the Daniel Drew, a long and very narrow boat, reduced the time of the voyage to Albany to seven hours twenty minutes. It is impossible for the heavy steamers of the present day to travel on the up-river stages as fast as the lightly built boats of that time, but in the deeper waters of the lower river they are faster than the lighter vessels. A steamer of the latest type is the Robert Fulton, built for the Day Line by the New York Shipbuilding Company of Camden, N.J., and the W. and A. Fletcher Company of Hoboken. Her trials took place exactly 116 days after her keel was laid, and she began to run in 1909.
The development of the steam-ships on the lakes was no less remarkable than on the sea-coasts. At the outset the boats were of wood, which was gradually superseded first by iron and then by steel, and with the introduction of the latter has come also their greatest development in carrying capacity. The first steamer placed in service on the Great Lakes, above Niagara Falls, was launched in 1818, and bore the picturesque Indian name Walk in the Water, after a noted Wyandotte chief. She was of 338 tons gross and built at a spot which is now a part of the City of Buffalo. The machinery was furnished by Robert McQueen of New York, one of her owners.
By 1844 there were three large steamers of over 1000 tons each on the lakes, built wholly for the American passenger service from Buffalo. The first screw-propelled boat on the lakes was the Vandalia, built at Oswego in 1841. She was one of the earliest vessels to have her machinery placed right aft. By 1849 there were enrolled at Buffalo, which was the chief lake port, 29 side-wheelers, 18 of which were of from 500 to 1500 tons, and 10 screw-propelled boats of under 500 tons, but by 1862 the number of steamers had increased to 147 side-wheelers and 203 screw-propelled boats. The construction of the Welland Canal and the Sault Ste. Marie Canal with larger locks than hitherto had a most stimulating effect on lake shipping. American ingenuity devised freight-carrying steamers peculiarly adapted for work on the lakes. The largest boat on the Great Lakes is the William M. Mills, a “bulk-freighter.” She is virtually an immense box girder 607 feet in length, 585 feet length of keel, 60 feet beam, and 32 feet in depth, with triple-expansion engines. She is built on the hopper and girder system, and has a cargo hold 447 feet long without obstruction other than three screen bulkheads fitted for convenience in carrying grain; her cargo capacity is 514,505 bushels of wheat. She and her two sister ships can each carry 12,380 tons of ore. Her water-ballast tanks will take 7000 tons, and her pumps are so powerful that the whole of this quantity can be discharged overboard in three hours. The officers and crew are accommodated in a deck-house situated on the forecastle. Above this deck-house are the navigating bridge and steering-house. The engines are placed at the extreme end of the vessel, so that the whole space between the engine bulkhead and the forecastle is devoted to the cargo. The scantlings of the hull throughout are the heaviest on fresh water.
The “Robert Fulton” (Hudson River Day Line), 1909.
On the Mississippi River and its tributaries a type of large shallow steamers, propelled by immense side or stern paddle-wheels, was developed. These vessels were noted for their high superstructures and towering funnels. Racing was frequent among them.