. The Westward Movement; the colonies and the Republic west of the Alleghanies, 1763-1798; with full cartographical illustrations from contemporary sources. d toindicate the Potomac as the best site for the proposed federalcity, to which the water carriage on the Ohio was not so favora-ble. This easier passage to the two hundred thousand squaremiles, constituting the valley of the Ohio and its tributaries,was found by either the Alleghany or the Monongahela, andwas now without a rival. The route westward by the Mohawk,across the valley of the Genesee to Niagara, was slow in devel- 412 THE COND
. The Westward Movement; the colonies and the Republic west of the Alleghanies, 1763-1798; with full cartographical illustrations from contemporary sources. d toindicate the Potomac as the best site for the proposed federalcity, to which the water carriage on the Ohio was not so favora-ble. This easier passage to the two hundred thousand squaremiles, constituting the valley of the Ohio and its tributaries,was found by either the Alleghany or the Monongahela, andwas now without a rival. The route westward by the Mohawk,across the valley of the Genesee to Niagara, was slow in devel- 412 THE CONDITIONS OF 1790. oping, and the retention of the posts on the northern lakesoperated against a passage by Oswego and the Great Lakes. The Ohio boat, now become a familiar object in westernexperience, was an anomalous construction of various sizes andshapes. It had sometimes a keel, but, on account of the diffi-culties of the return voyage, it was oftener built as cheaply aspossible, with flat bottom and square corners. It was some-times constructed with stories, having a level or hipped roofatop, and was steered by a long sweep at the stern. The usual. OHIO FLATBOAT. [From CoUots Atlas.~\ cost of these cheaper builds was five dollars a ton, and a boattwelve feet beam and forty feet long — a common size — meas-ured about forty tons. Some of them were arranged for stall-ing domestic animals, and others afforded rough conveniencesfor domestic life, as the temporary homes of journeying immi-grants. The trading-boats sometimes passed on to a distantmarket, or tied up at the landings as they went for a localtraffic. When his merchandise was disposed of, the traderusually sold his boat, and, on his next visit, he would find itsplank and boards matched in new tenements or huckstersbooths, within the young town. It was of such material thatFort Harmar and other stockades had been built in part, theliving forest supplying the rest. The cost of transportation from Philadelphia over the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectunitedstateshistory
