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John Benwell - An Englishman's Travels in America
alone, for I was not cheered by the inspiriting sound of a peal in any other part of the Union I visited,
although I think I have heard they are in use in Philadelphia and some of the eastern cities.
The time I had allotted to remain in New York having expired, and being anxious to proceed on my route
before the close of navigation, I reluctantly bade adieu to my kind friends in that city, and made
preparations to pursue my way to the more western part of the Union, hoping to reach the Mississippi
country before the season when the rivers and canals leading to it would be locked up in ice.
CHAPTER II.
"See how yon flaming herald treads
The ridged and rolling waves,
As, crashing o'er their crested heads,
She bows her surly slaves;
With foam before and fire behind,
She rends the clinging sea,
That flies before the roaring wind,
Beneath her hissing lea."
HOLMES - The Steam Boat.
My first stage, in proceeding to the interior of the country, was to Albany, 160 miles north of New York.
To effect this, I took passage, on board a splendidly-equipped steamer, called the Narraganset,
and esteemed at the time the swiftest boat on the Hudson River. I must confess I was rather timid when I
did so, for the reckless manner in which the crack boats are run, in order to maintain their character for
celerity, is proverbial, and, as may be supposed, is little consonant with safe travelling. The almost
constant recurrence of steam-boat explosions and consequent sacrifice of life, reports of which are daily
to be seen in the newspapers, weighed somewhat heavily on my mind, and the latent fear was not
lessened by seeing four barrels of pitch rolled on board, the very moment I set foot on the deck of the
Narraganset. I had to console myself, however, as I best could under the circumstances, and trust to
Providence; but had it not been for the payment of my fare, which had previously been arranged, and its
inevitable loss if I stopped behind, I believe I should have declined the passage, from my horror of a race.
Although, before the boat got under weigh, my lurking fears of explosion were great, they were much
enhanced just after starting, in consequence of an opposition boat being loosed from her moorings at the
same minute that our vessel got clear of the levee. This accounted for the barrels of pitch I had seen on
deck, the heads of which were knocked out just as we entered the Hudson, and a portion of the contents
thrown with the fuel into the roaring furnaces; this powerful generator of caloric of course gave increased
rapidity to the motion of the engines, and in a couple of hours we left our opponent far behind.
It is remarkable that, although the Americans, as a people, travel more, perhaps, than any other nation, so
little attention is paid by them to safety in transit. It is openly avowed that nothing is more common than
steam-boat explosions and steam disasters of various kinds throughout this vast continent; and where
boats are constructed to carry 1000 or 1200 passengers, as is usual on the American rivers, the loss of
life, in case of accident, is fearful to contemplate. I am aware that the subject has been discussed in
Congress, and that the question of remedial measures has occupied the attention of the Executive during
several successive Presidentships; but still the evil remains, and the public mind in America is almost
daily agitated by disasters of this nature. As long as the rampant spirit of competition and desire to outvie
their fellows, which prevails amongst a large class of Americans, is tacitly, if not openly, encouraged by
the governing powers, such a state of things must exist, and will probably increase; but it is a positive
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