the paths of inland commerce-第1节

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The　Paths　of　Inland　Commerce；　A　Chronicle　of　Trail；　Road；　and　Waterway

By　Archer　B。　Hulbert






PREFACE


If　the　great　American　novel　is　ever　written；　I　hazard　the　guess　that　its　plot　will　be　woven　around　the　theme　of　American　transportation；　for　that　has　been　the　vital　factor　in　the　national　development　of　the　United　States。　Every　problem　in　the　building　of　the　Republic　has　been；　in　the　last　analysis；　a　problem　in　transportation。　The　author　of　such　a　novel　will　find　a　rich　fund　of　material　in　the　perpetual　rivalries　of　pack…horseman　and　wagoner；　of　riverman　and　canal　boatman；　of　steamboat　promoter　and　railway　capitalist。　He　will　find　at　every　point　the　old　jostling　and　challenging　the　new　pack…horsemen　demolishing　wagons　in　the　early　days　of　the　Alleghany　traffic；　wagoners　deriding　Clinton's　Ditch；　angry　boatmen　anxious　to　ram　the　paddle　wheels　of　Fulton's　Clermont；　which　threatened　their　monopoly。　Such　opposition　has　always　been　an　incident　of　progress；　and　even　in　this　new　country；　receptive　as　it　was　to　new　ideas；　the　Washingtons；　the　Fitches；　the　Fultons；　the　Coopers；　and　the　Whitneys；　who　saw　visions　and　dreamed　dreams；　all　had　to　face　scepticism　and　hostility　from　those　whom　they　would　serve。


A。　B。　H。

Worcester；　Mass。；　　June；　1919。






CONTENTS

I。　THE　MAN　WHO　CAUGHT　THE　VISION　II。　THE　RED　MAN'S　TRAIL　III。　THE　MASTERY　OF　THE　RIVERS　IV。　A　NATION　ON　WHEELS　V。　THE　FLATBOAT　AGE　VI。　THE　PASSING　SHOW　OF　1800　VII。　THE　BIRTH　OF　THE　STEAMBOAT　VIII。　THE　CONQUEST　OF　THE　ALLEGHANIES　IX。　THE　DAWN　OF　THE　IRON　AGE　X。　THE　PATHWAY　OF　THE　LAKES　XI。　THE　STEAMBOAT　AND　THE　WEST　BIBLIOGRAPHICAL　NOTE





THE　PATHS　OF　INLAND　COMMERCE

CHAPTER　I。　The　Man　Who　Caught　The　Vision

Inland　America；　at　the　birth　of　the　Republic；　was　as　great　a　mystery　to　the　average　dweller　on　the　Atlantic　seaboard　as　the　elephant　was　to　the　blind　men　of　Hindustan。　The　reports　of　those　who　had　penetrated　this　wildernessof　those　who　had　seen　the　barren　ranges　of　the　Alleghanies；　the　fertile　uplands　of　the　Unakas；　the　luxuriant　blue…grass　regions；　the　rich　bottom　lands　of　the　Ohio　and　Mississippi；　the　wide　shores　of　the　inland　seas；　or　the　stretches　of　prairie　increasing　in　width　beyond　the　Wabashseemed　strangely　contradictory；　and　no　one　had　been　able　to　patch　these　reports　together　and　grasp　the　real　proportions　of　the　giant　inland　empire　that　had　become　a　part　of　the　United　States。　It　was　a　pathless　desert；　it　was　a　maze　of　trails；　trodden　out　by　deer；　buffalo；　and　Indian。　Its　great　riverways　were　broad　avenues　for　voyagers　and　explorers；　they　were　treacherous　gorges　filled　with　the　plunder　of　a　million　floods。　It　was　a　rich　soil；　a　land　of　plenty；　the　natives　were　seldom　more　than　a　day　removed　from　starvation。　Within　its　broad　confines　could　dwell　a　great　people；　but　it　was　as　inaccessible　as　the　interior　of　China。　It　had　a　great　commercial　future；　yet　its　gigantic　distances　and　natural　obstructions　defied　all　known　means　of　transportation。

Such　were　the　varied　and　contradictory　stories　told　by　the　men　who　had　entered　the　portals　of　inland　America。　It　is　not　surprising；　therefore；　that　theories　and　prophecies　about　the　interior　were　vague　and　conflicting　nor　that　most　of　the　schemes　of　statesmen　and　financiers　for　the　development　of　the　West　were　all　parts　and　no　whole。　They　all　agreed　as　to　the　vast　richness　of　that　inland　realm　and　took　for　granted　an　immense　commerce　therein　that　was　certain　to　yield　enormous　profits。　In　faraway　Paris；　the　ingenious　diplomat；　Silas　Deane；　writing　to　the　Secret　Committee　of　Congress　in　1776；　pictured　the　Old　Northwest　bounded　by　the　Ohio；　the　Alleghanies；　the　Great　Lakes；　and　the　Mississippias　paying　the　whole　expense　of　the　Revolutionary　War。*　Thomas　Paine　in　1780　drew　specifications　for　a　State　of　from　twenty　to　thirty　millions　of　acres　lying　west　of　Virginia　and　south　of　the　Ohio　River；　the　sale　of　which　land　would　pay　the　cost　of　three　years　of　the　war。**　On　the　other　hand；　Pelatiah　Webster；　patriotic　economist　that　he　was；　decried　in　1781　all　schemes　to　〃pawn〃　this　vast　westward　region；　he　likened　such　plans　to　〃killing　the　goose　that　laid　an　egg　every　day；　in　order　to　tear　out　at　once　all　that　was　in　her　belly。〃　He　advocated　the　township　system　of　compact　and　regular　settlement；　and　he　argued　that　any　State　making　a　cession　of　land　would　reap　great　benefit　〃from　the　produce　and　trade〃　of　the　newly　created　settlements。

*　Deane's　plan　was　to　grant　a　tract　two　hundred　miles　square　at　the　junction　of　the　Ohio　and　the　Mississippi　to　a　company　on　the　condition　that　a　thousand　families　should　be　settled　on　it　within　seven　years。　He　added　that；　as　this　company　would　be　in　a　great　degree　commercial；　the　establishing　of　commerce　at　the　junction　of　those　large　rivers　would　immediately　give　a　value　to　all　the　lands　situated　on　or　near　them。

**　Paine　thought　that　while　the　new　State　could　send　its　exports　southward　down　the　Mississippi；　its　imports　must　necessarily　come　from　the　East　through　Chesapeake　Bay　because　the　current　of　the　Mississippi　was　too　strong　to　be　overcome　by　any　means　of　navigation　then　known。


There　were　mooted　many　other　schemes。　General　Rufus　Putnam；　for　example；　advocated　the　Pickering　or　〃Army〃　plan　of　occupying　the　West；　he　wanted　a　fortified　line　to　the　Great　Lakes；　in　case　of　war　with　England；　and　fortifications　on　the　Ohio　and　the　Mississippi；　in　case　Spain　should　interrupt　the　national　commerce　on　these　waterways。　And　Thomas　Jefferson　theorized　in　his　study　over　the　toy　states　of　Metropotamia　and　Polypotamiabrought　his

。。。trees　and　houses　out　And　planted　cities　all　about。

But　it　remained　for　George　Washington；　the　Virginia　planter；　to　catch；　in　something　of　its　actual　grandeur；　the　vision　of　a　Republic　stretching　towards　the　setting　sun；　bound　and　unified　by　paths　of　inland　commerce。　It　was　Washington　who　traversed　the　long　ranges　of　the　Alleghanies；　slept　in　the　snows　of　Deer　Park　with　no　covering　but　his　greatcoat；　inquired　eagerly　of　trapper　and　trader　and　herder　concerning　the　courses　of　the　Cheat；　the　Monongahela；　and　the　Little　Kanawha；　and　who　drew　from　these　personal　explorations　a　clear　and　accurate　picture　of　the　future　trade　routes　by　which　the　country　could　be　economically；　socially；　and　nationally　united。

Washington's　experience　had　peculiarly　fitted　him　to　catch　this　vision。　Fortune　had　turned　him　westward　as　he　left　his　mother's　knee。　First　as　a　surveyor　for　Lord　Fairfax　in　the　Shenandoah　Valley　and　later；　under　Braddock　and　Forbes；　in　the　armies　fighting　for　the　Ohio　against　the　French　he　had　come　to　know　the　interior　as　it　was　known　by　no　other　man　of　his　standing。　His　own　landed　property　lay　largely　along　the　upper　Potomac　and　in　and　beyond　the　Alleghanies。　Washington's　interest　in　this　property　was　very　real。　Those　who　attempt　to　explain　his　early　concern　with　the　West　as　purely　altruistic　must　misread　his　numerous　letters　and　diaries。　Nothing　in　his　unofficial　character　shows　more　plainly　than　his　business　enterprise　and　acumen。　On　one　occasion　he　wrote　to　his　agent；　Crawford；　concerning　a　proposed　land　speculation：　〃I　recommend　that　you　keep　this　whole　matter　a　secret　or　trust　it　only　to　those　in　whom　you　can　confide。　If　the　scheme　I　am　now　proposing　to　you　were　known；　it　might　give　alarm　to　others；　and　by　putting　them　on　a　plan　of　the　same　nature；　before　we　could　lay　a　proper　foundation　for　success　ourselves；　set　the　different　interests　clashing　and　in　the　end　overturn　the　whole。〃　Nor　can　it　be　denied　that　Washington's　attitude　to　the　commercial　development　of　the　West　was　characterized　in　his　early　days　by　a　narrow　colonial　partisanship。　He　was　a　stout　Virginian；　and　all　stout　Virginians　of　that　day　refused　to　admit　the　pretensions　of　other　colonies　to　the　land　beyond　the　mountains。　　　But　from　no　man　could　the　shackles　of　self…interest　and　provincial　rivalry　drop　more　quickly　than　they　dropped　from　Washington　when　he　found　his　country　free　after　the　close　of　the　Revolutionary　War。　He　then　began　to　consider　how　that　country　might　grow　and　prosper。　And　he　began　to　preach　the　new　doctrine　of　expansion　and　unity。　This　new　doctrine　first　appears　in　a　letter　which　he　wrote　to　the　Marquis　de　Chastellux　in　1783；　after　a　tour　from　his　camp　at　Newburg　into　central　New　York；　where　he　had　explored　the　headwaters　of　the　Mohawk　and　the　Susquehanna：　〃I　could　not　help　taking　a　more　extensive　view　of　the　vast　inland　navigation　of　these　United　States　＇the　letter　runs＇　and　could　not　but　be　struck　by　the　immense　extent　and　importance　of　it；　and　of　the　goodness　of　that　Providence　which　has　dealt　its　favors　to　us　with　so　profuse　a　hand。　Would　to　God　we　may　have　wisdom　enough　to　improve　them。　I　shall　not　rest　contented　till　I　have　explored　the　Western　country；　and　traversed　those　lines；　or　great　part　of　them；　which　have　given　bounds　to　a　new　empire。〃

〃The　vast　inland　navigation　of　these　United　States！〃　It　is　an　interesting　fact　that　Washington　should　have　had　his　first　glimpse　of　this　vision　from　the　strategic　valley　of　the　Mohawk；　which　was　soon　to　rival　his　beloved　Potomac　as　an　improved　commercial　route　from　the　seaboard　to　the　West；　and　which　was　finally　to　achieve　an　unrivaled　superiority　in　the　days　of　the　Erie　Canal　and　the　Twentieth　Ce