Watercraft Continued

The Boeuf River is said to be one the most crooked water ways in the bayous of Louisiana. Steaming up these water ways was first recorded in 1819, but at this time the steamers were infants in their development and experienced constant mechanical issues. It was not until the 1830's that the steaming business began to pick up only to be stifled by the Civil War. After the war, the steaming business came back and with much more power. In the 1870's, steamers coming up and down the Boeuf was a regular sight just as the whistle blow was a regular sound. Steamers going up the river would often bring sugar, flour, coffee, whiskey, candy, and snuf. These commodities would be dropped of on the way up the river at various places where small towns had stores. On the way back, these steamers would take on several hundred bales of cotton as well as lumber. As time progressed, trade up the Boeuf slowed down. The establishment of Locomotives nudged the steamers out and blocked up some waterways with low-water trestles. By the end of the century, the steamers were only going up the Boeuf for special orders, such as 20 sacks of oysters, oak-post beds, and pianos. This "special delivery" service became widely known by many of the rich upstream and it is recorded that a man once ordered "10,000 feet of lumber and 4,300 bricks". The customized delivery service reached it's peak in the 1890's and by the turn of the century, railways had taken control of shipping. (HIXON, RICHARD)

The letters between the Torrence family exemplify the importance of steaming in America. From it's humble beginnings, John Torrence and a partner of his started a business that included importing goods from outside the country. His sons grew up and were taught the ways of the trade in England. They were more than prepared to take over, Daniel more so than his brothers. Between the years 1840 and 1846, Daniel exchanged many letters with his brothers and father, talking almost completely of steam engines and other steamers. It became a bit of an obsession with Daniel as he recorded horsepower and speed of many different steamers he came across. One such steamer had high pressure engines that could float in the low water of the Alabama river. He had traveled down there and learned about the cotton trade route that ran up and down the river and led out into the Gulf of Mexico. The river steamers were new to Daniel who was used to the wide open Great Lakes and their depths, not the four feet of water that normally filled the Alabama River. John Torrence's business stretched across the Lawrence River and sometimes travelled down the Hudson River to the Atlantic Ocean. There was normally much bartering over steam boats and much selling as bigger and better steamers were always appearing. The shipments across the Great Lakes signified an important trade route and also sparked competition between fellow steamers. (Fisher, Rob)