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Art. V. — COMMERCIAL CITIES AND TOWNS OF THE UNITED STATES. NUMBER III.

The Shipping and Import Trade of St. Louis.

IN a previous volume of the Merchants' Magazine, we published an article on the "Trade and Commerce of St. Louis," based upon data furnished by the United States census of 1840, Haskell's Gazetteer, the Missouri Republican and other equally authentic records. In that paper we gave a brief historical sketch of the early history of the place, its progress in wealth, population, as well as all those facts connected with its commercial advantages, including, of course, its location, shops, buildings shipping, imports, manufactures, that are calculated to add to the commercial character of a great industrial city or town. So rapid, however, is the material and industrial progress of our Western States and cities, that it is difficult to preserve the mere record in the pages of even a monthly journal. A year or two in the history of the great West exhibits a growth almost equal to that of a century in the cities and kingdoms of the old world.

As our magazine is a referred to at home and abroad, as an accredited source of information on all matter pertaining to the commercial resources of the country, we shall continue our efforts to exhibit, as heretofore, the most prominent facts connected with the industrial and commercial affairs of every section of it. In the prosecution of this plan we

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rely, in some measure, upon the promised aid of intelligent and reliable correspondents in the far West, the sunny South, and on the rock-bound shores of the Atlantic States.

With this object in view, we cheerfully avail ourselves of the labors of the intelligent editors of the Missouri Republican, who have collected with great care a large amount of information of the shipping, trade, and general resources of St. Louis, during the past and present years. The annexed statements concerning the arrival of steamboats are, they assure us, accurately taken from the books of the harbor-master. That officer at St. Louis, is required to keep in his office a register of the name and tonnage of, and every trip made by, each boat which arrives at that port.

In this branch of business, it will be seen that there has been a large increase in the number of boats which arrived, in their tonnage, and the trips made to St. Louis. During the year 1845, there were 213 steam-boats engaged in the trade of St. Louis, with an aggregate tonnage of 42,922 tons, and 2,050 steamboat arrivals, with an aggregate tonnage of 358,045 tons: to which may be added, 346 keel and flat-boats. During the year 1846, there were 251 steamboats, having an aggregate tonnage of 53,867 tons, engaged in the St. Louis commerce. These boats made 2,411 trips to our port, making an aggregate tonnage of 407,824 tons. In the same year, there were 881 keel and flat-boat arrivals.

For future reference, we subjoin a list of all the boats engaged in the trade of St. Louis durine the vear 1846, and their tonnage: —

Amarnath 220 Belleair 166 Dominion 186
Archer 148 Billow No. 2, 141 Eldorado 285
Atlas 135 Batesville 178 Eclipse, 530
Amulet 56 Bolivar 96 Fortune, 101
Allegheny 188 Belle of Arkansas 224 Falcon 142
Admiral, 242 Bon Accord 147 Frolic 126
Algoma, 209 Congress 334 Felix Grundy 166
Ambassador, 474 Champlain 428 Franklin 38
Andrew Jackson, 230 Confidence 139 Financier 125
Albatros, 298 Cumberland Valley 168 Galena 135
Annawan, 214 Clermont 111 Grace Darling 283
Alps, 112 Champion 314 Glencoe 428
Argo, 41 Concordia 450 Geo. Washington 303
Alhambra, 249 Convoy 750 General Brooke 143
Alvarado, 134 Corinne 183 Gladiator 236
Amelia, 152 Cutter 144 Germantown 194
Anthony Wavne, 164 Cecilia 112 Hibernain 152
Acadia, 118 Cambria 203 Herald 163
Anglo-Saxon, 215 Carolina 272 Highlander 346
Boreas No. 2, 222 Clermont No. 2 121 Huntsville 138
Boreas, 157 Columbia 150 Helen 61
Balloon, 154 Circassain 178 Harry on the West 490
Blue Ridge, 138 Colorado 172 Hannibal 464
Brunette 207 Chancellor 380 Homer 247
Big Hatchee, 195 Cote Joyeuse 142 Harkaway 288
Brunswick, 294 Cora 144 Hamlet 146
Ben Franklin 311 Charles Carrol 349 Hard Times 292
Belle on the west 200 Die Vernon 212 Hendrik Hudson 246
Billow 206 Domain 132 Iowa 249
Bulletin 498 Dial 139 Independence 274
Bridgewater 67 Dove 150 Iatan 173
Belle of Attakapas 247 Diadem 312 Iola 84
Belle of Mississippi 305 Denizen 326 Iron City 118
Belmont 115 Declaration 229 Inda 360
Brilliant 399 Dr. Watson 141 Isaac Shelby 168
Betrand 146 Defiance 135 John Aull 240
Jasper 83 New World 246 St. Croix 159
Julia Chouteau 318 North Alabama 173 Schuklkill 272
John Golong 144 Nathan Hale 135 Sea Bird 261
John J. Hardin 207 Olive Branch 293 South America 288
J. M. White 498 Omega 144 St. Laundry 242
John Hancock 293 Oliver Anderson 141 St. Anthony 185
John J. Crittenden 224 Odd Fellow 96 Simon Kenton 198
Jamestown 338 Ocean Wave 205 St. Louis 387
James Ross 149 Ohio 122 Saluda 223
Julia 235 Otter 92 Sultana 527
Luella - Osprey 128 Seventy-Six 192
Lewis F. Linn 162 Oregon 182 Santa Fe 108
Laclede 239 Ohio Mail 118 Sam Walker 127
Lehigh 176 Old Hickory 446 St. Joseph 218
Little Dove 76 Palestine 172 Swan 103
Lady Madison 148 Prairie Bird 213 Sunbeam 162
Lancaster 124 Potosi 115 Swatara 144
Lousiana 631 Patriot 214 Sam Seay 191
Little Missouri 199 Pride of the West 322 Tioga 170
Louis Philippe 295 Pearl 42 Tributary 149
Lynx 126 Princess 395 Tobacco Plant 207
Louisville 295 Pike No. 8 238 Time 119
Lady Byron 146 Pontiac 185 Tempest 211
Lightfoot 145 Putnam 108 Talisman 174
Luna 321 Planter 200 Tuscaloosa 320
Laurel 79 Pearl No. 2 64 Tom Corwin 194
Monona 174 Pilot 72 Toneleuka 169
Mail 211 Pioneer 200 Tamerlane 123
Mayduke 65 Palo Alto 156 Uncle Toby 110
Maria 692 Phoenix 130 Union 240
Missouri 886 Queen of the West 328 Viola 200
Montgomery 407 Robert Morris 233 Windsor 195
Mo. Mail 209 Radnor 163 Wapello 248
Mountaineer 213 Robert Fulton 199 Wiota 219
Marengo 326 Redwing 143 Warsaw 55
Mazeppa 347 Reveille 45 Western Belle 137
Monarch 398 Roscoe 225 Western 117
Memphis 463 Robert Emmet 148 White Cloud 262
Metamora 297 Revenue Cutter 101 Wm. Penn 145
Medora 199 Rio Grande 163 Wakendah 193
Muscle No. 2 169 Ringgold 138 War Eagle 155
Mendota 157 Swiftsure No. 3 199 Wing and Wing 210
North Carolina 190 St. Louis Oak 109 Westwind 208
New Haven 86 Senate 106 Whirlwind 226
North Bend 120 Susquehanna 142 W. R. King 234
Nimrod 210 Superb 536 Yazoo City 230
National 198 Sam Dale 305 Yucatan 141
North America 248 Star Spangled Banner 275    

To exhibit the time of their arrival and their tonnage, and to show at what period the heaviest portion of the commerce of St. Louis is carried on, we subjoin a statement of the arrivals fro each month: —

Arrived No. of Steamboats Tonnage Flats and Keels
January 53 8,917 6
February 152 26,111 35
March 158 31,580 22
April 195 49,334 44
May 372 78,124 68
June 295 60,043 38
July 193 46,554 68
August 211 37,553 75
September 171 28,331 72
October 237 37,538 162
November 185 31,346 171
December 190 32,393 120
  2,412 467,824 881

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From the foregoing table it will be seen that the greatest number of arrivals occurred in the month of May, being 372, or equal to twelve arrivals per day. The intelligent merchant can form some estimate of the shipping business of that city, when it is known that it furnishes employment for twelve boats per day, and of the bustle and stir upon the wharf, where so many boats are discharging and taking in cargo.

The reader will also bear in mind, that St. Louis is the terminus of the voyages of these vessels. Here their freights are discharged and either passes into store or are transshipped for some other point. To give some idea of the course of the shipping business, we subjoin the following table, showing the various points from which these boats arrived. It may be well to state that those classed under the head "Ohio River," embrace all the boats arriving from any place above Cairo. Under the head "Other Points," we include all boats arriving from Cairo, or any other point between the mouths of the Ohio and the Missouri. Under the head "Upper Mississippi," we include all arrivals from the Mississippi above the mouth of the Missouri.

  New Orleans Ohio River Illinois River. Upper Mississippi. Missouri. Other Points.
January 15 8 3 5 7 15
February 33 24 42 31 1 21
March 25 26 40 36 10 21
April 27 35 44 55 20 14
May 59 65 80 115 43 10
June 36 52 51 98 47 11
July 23 30 32 60 32 16
August 32 44 32 56 29 18
September 30 37 15 46 27 16
October 32 48 41 61 18 37
November 34 24 30 56 14 27
December 49 27 36 44 8 26
Total In 1845, Total 395 250 420 406 446 298 663 647 256 249 232 167

The total of arrivals from the various points, compared with the totals of the previous year, shows a wholesome and thrifty increase in the shipping business in every channel leading to St. Louis. This increase, the editors of the Republican say, took place in the face of unusually low waters, in nearly all the rivers, during a large portion of the summer and fall.

The foregoing statements do not include the trips of the daily packets to Alton. In the flats, keels, &c., we have not included the arrivals of any of the keels and barges towed in by steamboats. These are very numerous, but are not recorded.

The United States Surveyor for the port of St. Louis, Captain Gray, has furnished us the following statement, from the books in his office, of the boats enrolled and registered in the district. As the list contains information of considerable interest to shippers, and to boat-owners and boatmen, we insert it entire. In fact, it is only by gathering together information from detached sources, that we are enabled to exhibit anything like a proper idea of the trade of this important point.

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Name of Boat. When built. Where built. Name of Boat. When built. Where built.
Mendota, 1844 Cincinnati. Wagoner, 1842 St. Louis.
L. F. Linn, 1844 Pittsburgh. Grampus, 1842 Pittsburgh.
Nebraska, 1845 Elizabeth, Pa. Lynx, 1844 Cincinnati.
Little Dove, 1845 St. Louis. Iowa, 1845 St. Louis.
Luella, 1843 St. Louis. Gov. Briggs, 1845 St. Louis.
Le high, 1841 Pittsburgh. Amaranth, 1841 Pittsburgh.
Convoy, 1846 St. Louis. Frolic, 1844 Louisville.
Missouri, 1845 Cincinnati. White Cloud, 1843 Pittsburgh.
Nimrod, 1844 St. Louis. St. Louis Oak, 1842. St. Louis.
Harry of the West, 1843 Cincinnati. Alvarado. 1846 St. Louis.
Pride of the West, 1845 Cincinnati. Helen. 1845 St. Louis.
Independence, 1844 Pittsburgh. Old Hickory, 1845 Louisville.
Potosi, 1849 St. Louis. North Alabama, 1844 Louisville.
John Golong, 1843 Ice Creek, 0. Oregon, 1844 Freedom, Pa.
Uncle Toby, 1844 Pittsburgh. Bon Accord, 1846 St. Louis.
Osprey, 1842 Pittsburgh. Amelia, 1846 St. Louis.
Atlas, 1845 Pittsburgh. St. Joseph, 1846 St. Louis.
Confidence, 1845 Wheeling. Pearl, 1845 Elizabeth, Pa.
Falcon, 1843 Louisville. Huntsville, 1841 Smithland,Ky.
Otter, 1840 Cincinnati. Prairie Bird. 1845 St. Louis.
Warsaw, 1842 Boonville, Mo. Virginia Belle, 1846 St. Louis.
Wapello, 1844 Pittsburgh. Tobacco Plant, 1843 Pittsburgh.
Omega, 1840 Pittsburgh. Tamerlane, 1846 St. Louis.
New Haven, 1841 Pittsburgh. Lightfoot, 1846 Cincinnati.
Odd Fellow 1845 Smithland, Ky. Western Belle, 1841 N. Albany, La.
Reveille, 1844 St. Louis. Julia, 1846 Elizabeth, Pa.
Boreas No. 2, 1845 Pittsburgh. Olitipa.   Griggsville,Ill.
Boreas, 1841 Pittsburgh. J. M. White, 1844 Pittsburgh.
Cutter, 1844 Beaver, Pa. Canandaigua, 1846 Naples, Ill
Brunswick 1844 Beaver, Pa. John Aull, 1843 Cincinnati.
St. Croix, 1844 St. Louis. Revenue Cutter, 1844 Pittsburgh.
Little Missouri, 1846 Cincinnati. Illinois, 1843 St. Louis.
Highlander, 1842 Pittsburgh. Cora, 1846 St. Louis.
Algoma, 1846 Cincinnati. Santa Fe, 1846 W. Wheeling.
Tempest, 1846 St. Louis. Belmont, 1842 Pittsburgh.
Ocean Wave, 1846 St. Louis. Annawan, 1842 Cincinnati.
Bridge water, 1842 Pittsburgh. Montezuma, 1846 Montezuma.Il.
Archer, 1844 Pittsburgh. Belle of Naples, 1846 Naples,Ill.
Die Vernon, 1844 St. Louis. Hannibal, 1844 Elizabeth, Pa.
Laclede, 1845 St. Louis. William's Return 1846 Philip Fer.,Ill.
John J. Hardin,. 1846 Pittsburgh. Tributary, 1845 Pittsburgh.
Inda, 1842 St. Louis. Lighter, 1844 Illinois river.
St. Louis, 1843 Pittsburgh. Rover, 1846 Peoria,Ill.
Eclipse, 1842 Louisville. Laurel, 1846 St. Louis.
Dial, 1845 St. Louis. Gen. Dodge, 1845 Burlington, Ia.
Maria, 1844 Cincinnati. U. Rasin, 1842 Naples, Ill.
Ohio, 1841 Pittsburgh. Domain, 1844 Pittsburgh.
Gen. Brooke, 1842 Pittsburgh. Champlain, 1842 Louisville.
Balloon, 1843 N. Albany, Ia. Ole Bull, 1846 Hennepin.
Red Wing, 1846 Cincinnati. Amulet, 1844 Wheeling.
Clermont, 1843 N. Albany, Ia. Tioga, 1840 Wheeling.
Cumberland Valley 1842 Smithland,Ky. Amaranth, 1846 St. Louis.
Pearl,   Not known. Galena, 1841 Pittsburgh.
Time, 1845 Louisville. Creole, 1846 Alton.
Saluda, 1846 St. Louis. Whirlwind, 1846 Pittsburgh.
War Eagle, 1845 Cincinnati. Mazeppa, 1842 Louisville.,
Missouri Mail, 1843 Pittsburgh. Clermont No. 2, 1845 Cincinnati.
Ohm Mail, 1843 Pittsburgh. Lighter, 1845 Naples, Ill.
Ozark, 1843 Cincinnati. Monona, 1843 St. Louis.

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From the foregoing statements, which may be relied upon, the reader can form some opinion of the extent of the navigation of our western "inland seas," and how far such a commerce has claims to the protection and assistance of the United States government — how important it is, and how essential its preservation is to the people of the whole Union. It is not, and from its very nature cannot be, regarded as local or sectional. Every steamboat which departs from our wharf, bears to market a portion of the products of the Valley of the Mississippi, and helps to swell the commerce of the sea and the exports of the nation. They bring, also, the produce or manufactured articles of other parts of the Union, and from every civilized country with which this nation has intercourse — thus helping to swell the amount of imports, and to enlarge the revenue which the United States derives from that source. Destroy this trade, or materially check its progress by the unreasonable neglect of the great channels through which it is carried on, and the loss must be felt by the whole nation. There is, in fact, no difference between the imposition of clogs and fetters upon commerce, and the permitting of them to spring up by reason of inattention and a wanton disregard of the duty of the government.

The trade of St. Louis, in 1846, employed, as we have stated, 251 boats, of an aggregate tonnage of 53,867 tons. If we estimate the cost of these boats at $50 per ton, which is below the true average, we have an investment in the shipping of this city of $2,693,350; and if we allow an average of twenty-five persons, including all those employed directly upon the boat, to each vessel, we have a total of 6,275 persons engaged in their navigation. Add to these, the owners, workmen, builders, agents, shippers, and all those connected or interested in this commerce, from the time the timber is taken from the forest, or the ore from the mine and the list will be swelled to many thousands. But it should be remembered that the numbers we have given above, appertain only to St. Louis. There are many other important cities and towns within the Valley of the Mississippi, the commerce of each of which is carried on by steamboats. Several of these cities and towns might furnish a list nearly as large as that which belongs to St. Louis.

To give some idea of the value of the cargoes transported by these boats, and their character, we have made up, from all the sources within our reach, statements of the imports to this city for the past year. To do this, we have resorted to the registers of the harbor-master, which, at best, are imperfect, and, as is well known by merchants engaged in the trade, fall far below the actual amount of many articles received, whilst there are many not noticed at all. We have endeavored to make the list more complete, by resorting to the published manifests of boats, but even here we find many important omissions. The following table, in several of the leading items, may with propriety be said to be very nearly accurate: —

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  1845. 1846.   1845 1846.
Apples — green, bbls. 6,314 3,728 Lead, white, kegs. 3,466 1,526
dried, do 2,989 3,255 Molasses, bbls. 11,788 14,996
do. sacks... 2,147 2,768 Nails, kegs. 21,587 28,073
Beef — bbls. 5,264 17,116 Oils — linseed, bbls. 695 826
half bbls. 99 169 castor, do. 78 95
Bacon — casks. 6,180 11,803 lard, do. 284 298
boxes 149 618 Onions — bbls. 217 463
bulk, lbs. 94,274 207,446 sacks. 1,893 4,752
Butter — bbls. 558 823 Oakum, bales. 1,104 1,378
kegs and firkins. 3,424 3,940 Oats, bush. 16,112 95,612
Beeswax — bbls.. 319 476 Pork — bbls. 15,702 48,981
bxs. & sacks. 631 646 half bbls. 89 39
Bagging, pieces. 4,217 3,243 bulk, lbs. 261,754 630,765
Beans — bbls. 2,091 4,370 Peaches — green, bbls. 735 420
sacks. 1,320 2,199 dried, do. 1,000 1,210
Barley, bush. 32,231 20,277 do. sacks. 826 295
Buffalo robes. 14,475 16,717 Potatoes — bbls. 2,449 3,625
Corn, bushels. 107,927 688,644 sack. 12,045 26,979
Castings, tons. 1,590 1,604 Peltries, packages. 917 1,266
cheese — casks. 221 430 Rice — tierces. 869 916
boxes. 8,822 11,232 bbls. 34  
Cider, bbls. 763 421 Rye, bush. 3,054 5,283
Coffee, sacks. 46,204 65,128 Rope, hemp, coils. 8,890 5,122
Cotton yarn, packages. 10,756 13,260 Shot — kegs. 28 462
Flour — bbls. 139,282 220,457 bags 2,112 1,026
half bbls. 563 1,059 Skins 25 205 23,872
Furs, packages. 2,255 3,011 Salt, domestic, bbls. 21,157 58,498
Feathers, sacks. 816 768 Liverpool, sacks. 99,272 169,373
Flaxseed, bbls. 2,136 3,693 Turk's Island, bag1 i 13,412 8,391
Ginseng — bbls. 20 19 Sugar — hhds. 10,259 11,603
sacks. 63 58 bbls. 3 721 4 400
Glass, boxes. 23,563 24,630 Havana, boxes 516 1,352
Hemp, bales. 30,997 33,853 Tallow — casks. 75 303
Hides. 70,102 63,396 bbls. 688 1,114
Iron — bar, tons. 2,282 2,484 Tar — bbls 1,630 1,558
pig, do. 1,480 2,326 kegs. 4,128 5,776
Lead — pigs. 750,879 730,820 Tobacco — hhds. 11,564 8,588
bars, lbs. 88,650 7,621 manuf. Boxes. 7,777 7,903
Lard — bbls. 7,652 26,462 Tea — chests. 434 2,091
kegs 6,659 14,734 half chests. 1,652 1,963
Liquor — Whiskey, bbls. bbls. 29,798 29,882 Vinegar, bbls. 1,032 1,086
Brandy, do. 1,886 1,698 Wheat, bush. 971,025 1,838,926
Wine, do. 3,600 3,084      

By an examination of the foregoing table, and particularly on reference to some few of the leading articles, and the institution of a comparison between them and the exports from the United States for the last year, as reported by the Secretary of the Treasury to Congress, it will be seen now far our freights have contributed to swell the export trade of the whole Union. Our space and leisure do not permit us, at this time, to run out the comparison.

The lumber-master and the wood-master's books, show the following receipts at the wharf during 1846: —

  1846. 1845.   1846. 1845.
Cords of wood. 29,476 22,646 Coopers' stuff 966,963 441,700
Lumber, feet. 13,169,332 10,389,332 Posts   6,997 5,263
Shingles, M 10,652,900 13,927,500 Laths   1,807,780 2,328,700
           

nts

Notes.

1. Sunk.

2. Tore up.

3. Burnt.

4. Sold out of the district.

5. Mule-boat.

6. Keel-boat propelled by sail.

7. Sail-boat.

8. Barge.

9. Schooner.

10. For a similar table of the imports of the years 1844 and 1845 compared, see Merchants' Magazine, Vol. XV., No. 2, for August, 1846, page 168.

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