• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1963 Pre-Steamboat Navigation on the Lower Mississippi River. John Amos Johnson Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Johnson, John Amos, "Pre-Steamboat Navigation on the Lower Mississippi River." (1963). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 892. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/892 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This dissertation has been 64—5052 microfilmed exactly as received JOHNSON, John Amos, 1929- PRE-STEAMBOAT NAVIGATION ON THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER. Louisiana State University, Ph.D., 1963 G eography University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan PRE-STEAMBOAT NAVIGATION ON THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Geography and Anthropology by John Amos Johnson B.S., Memphis State University, 1951 M.A., The University of Tennessee, 1953 August, 1963 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Grateful and sincere gratitude is acknowledged to Professor Pred B. Kniffen who directed this dissertation. Helpful advice was given by the critical readers Professors William G. Haag, James P. Morgan, John H. Vann, and Harley J. Walker. Knowledge gained in courses from Professors Robert C. West and Richard J. Russell was invaluable back­ ground. Without the aid and understanding of my Wife, Sue Gibson Johnson, this dissertation would not have been possible. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................ ii LIST OF TABLES ........................................... Vi LIST OF FIGURES.............................................. vii LIST OF PLATES ........................................... ix ABSTRACT ................................................... X INTRODUCTION .............................................. xiv CHAPTER I. NAVIGATION DURING THE EXPLORATION AND EARLY SETTLEMENT PERIOD: THE PIROGUE AND BATEAU E R A .................. 1 The American Indian Period ......... 2 Background of European Settlement. ..... 6 Boat Types and Navigation Techniques .... 10 Indian Boat Types........................... 11 Birchbark canoe. ............ 11 Pirogues ................ 20 Boat Types Introduced by the French. 54 Ship's boat. ...... ................ 55 Canot. ............................ 56 Cha lo u p e ................................... 60 Bateau .............. .......... 63 Transportation by Pirogues and Bateaus. ................ 103 II. THE FLATBOAT AND KEEL BOAT ERA ..................... 112 General Settlement Pattern .................. 113 Flatboats. •• 116 CHAPTER PAGE The Flatboat's Identifying Characteristics of Size and Shape. ........................... 116 Method of Building the Flatboat........ 121 Fittings of the Flatboat ............... 127 Other Terms for Flatboats............... 130 Sub-Types of Flatboats ........ .. 134 Origin and Early Use of the Flatboat ............................. 141 Later Use and Evolution of the Flatboat ............................. 150 Keelboats................. .............. .. 152 Keelboat Description ................... 153 Barge.................................... 162 Keelboat Origin......................... 170 Keelboat*s Early Use and Later Evolution. ......................... 177 Trade in the Flatboat and Keelboat Era . 180 III. NAVIGATION TECHNIQUES AND NATURAL AIDS AND HAZARDS ......................... 190 Physical Characteristics of the Lower Mississippi River............ 191 Downstream Navigation..................... 201 Upstream Navigation................. .. 214 Speed and Travel Time................... 215 Seasons.................................. 218 Boat Types .............................. 220 M e a n d e r s ................ *............... 225 Rowing and Paddling..................... 232 Poling .................................. 235 Cordelling .............................. 243 Warping. ............................. 251 Bushwhacking ........................... 252 Sailing.................................. 253 Eddies .................................. 259 Hazards .................................. 261 Keeping in the Channel ................. 263 Bank Caving and Landings ............... 269 Snags, Planters, Sawyers, and Wooden Islands ....................... 276 iv CHAPTER PAGE Windstorms ................ 283 Fog. .....••••••••••■••. 285 Night Travel ......... ......... 286 Cramer1s Guidebook ................ 288 IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS....................... 304 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................312 VITA 331 LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE I. Flatboat Dimensions as Given in Early Source Accounts ..... .................... 119 II. Comparison of a Section of the Channel of the Early 1800's With Modern Conditions...................................... 291 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. Indian Method of Building Dugouts ....... 31 2. Fur Trader's Pirogue. ......... 42 3. Square Stern Pirogue. ............. 48 4. Square Stern Pirogue. ............. 48 5. Canot ..................... 57 6. Chaloupe. ..... ....... 61 7. Bateaux at Biloxi ............... 68 8. Bateau. .................... .......... 76 9. Description Plaque for Bateau ......... 76 10. Bateau or Mackinaw Boat Being Used on the Missouri River in the 1830's ..... 77 11. Bateau Still Being Used in West Virginia in 1878. ............. 93 12. Flatboat at Baton Rouge ............ 129 13. Sub-Types of Flatboats . ...... 136 14. Flatboats Docked at New Orleans ........ 139 15. Family Boat or Kentucky Boat. ...................140 16. Cross Sections of Durham Boat, Keelboat, and Flatboat. ......... 154 17. Keelboat.............................................. 159 vii FIGURE PAGE 18. B a r g e ............. 168 19. Bank Caving by Slump Block Action ................195 20. Old Town Bend Below Helena, Arkansas..............197 21. Cut-Off ........................................... 200 22. Comparative Routes of Keelboat and Modern Tow.................................. 231 23. Banded Lines of Willows on the Lower Side of a Point Bar ............. 246 24. Inundated Willows .................................274 viii LIST OF PLATES PLATE PAGE I. Canoe, Dugout, and Bateau Distribution . ............................ 81 II. Diffusion of Boat Types During Flatboat and Keelboat Era .............. 178 III. Selected Physical Features of a Mississippi River Meander. ......... 193 IV. Lower Mississippi River................ 292 ABSTRACT It has been the purpose of this study to match the character of the unimproved Mississippi against the evolving boating skills of the Europeans who used it in pre-steamboat } days. The steamboat era was preceded by two earlier naviga­ tion eras— the pirogue and bateau era, from earliest French settlement until the 1790's, followed by the flatboat and keelboat era. The simple boats of these eras were not, as often believed, original types built merely through neces­ sity and the stimulus of the river. They were borrowed from the Indians, introduced from the eastern seaboard, or brought directly from a European tradition. The river, however, had conditions to which certain types of boats were best fitted. The Mississippi presented features which became aids to navigation when particular techniques were applied. Other river features proved to be hazards and, if not properly avoided, caused serious problems. Most of the boats and the techniques of propelling them were traditional, but the total milieu of navigation on the lower Mississippi was unique. x Frenchmen coming from Canada first used birchbark canoes. The Indian's dugout and their term, pirogue, were soon adopted. When modified, pirogues became one of the main vehicles of commerce. Ship's boats, canots and cha- loupes, were tried. Their deep hulls were not suited to the river's current and shallows. Bateaus were long, narrow, flat-bottomed, and pointed at both ends. They were developed by the French on the St. Lawrence before being introduced to the Mississippi. Bateau, a general word in French, became a specific term with the British for this particular boat. Greater settlement after the Revolutionary War stimu­ lated the use of larger boats. Flatboats were introduced from the Atlantic seaboard where they were earlier introduced from Europe. They were built for one downstream trip then sold for lumber at New Orleans. On the Delaware River an internal keel was added to the bateau to form the Durham boat. On the Ohio and Mississippi Durham boats became keelboats when a cabin was added and the keel extended externally. Similar to the keelboat, but larger, was the barge. It had a different origin as it was introduced earlier by the French directly from Europe. Barges and keelboats were used both up and downstream. Flatboats drifted downstream at the current's speed. xi Other boats were hastened by rowing or paddling. The middle of the channel was followed. The preferred season was during spring floods. The main current had to be avoided in up­ stream travel, and the Mississippi's meanders

Load more

  355

Copy Link