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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.