ity with which St. Louis was growing in business
and manufactures.
A comparison of the prices current for 1816 with
those for 1835 affords some idea of the progress indi-
cated, as well as of the articles which made up the
trade of St. Louis by the river at that time :
ST. LOUIS PRICES CURRENT FOR 1835.
Ale and porter, bbl $8.00
Bacon, ham, Ib $0.03 @ .09
" hog,round 05 @ .06
Beans, bush , .75
Beef, bbl 8.00 @ 10.00
Beeswax, Ib 16J @ .17
Butter, Ib 10 @ .12
Castings, ton 70.00
Castor oil, gall 1.35 @ 1.37
Candles, sperm, Ib 40 @ .42
" mould, Ib 13 @ .14
" dipped, Ib 11 @ .12
Clover-seed, bush 7.00 @ 8.00
Coal, bush 10 @ .12
Coffee (in demand), Ib .15J
Cordage, white, Ib 06 @ .08
" manilla, Ib 20 @ .22
Copperas, Ib 02 @ .03
Cotton, Ib 11 @ .12
" yarns, Ib 25 @ .27
Furs, beaver, Ib 3.50
" muskrat-skin 20 @ .25
" deer-skins, shaved, Ib 20 @ .22
in hair, Ib 10 @ .12
" raccoon-skins 30 @ .33
Feathers, Ib 37 @ .40
Flour, superfine Illinois, bbl 4.50 @ 4.75
" superfine Ohio, bbl 4.25 @ 4.50
Mackerel, bbl 6.00 @ 8.00
Glass, 10 x 12, box 5.00 @ 5.25
" 8 x 10, box 4.00 @ 4.25
Grain, wheat, bush 60 @ .62
Corn, bush 45 @ .50
Molasses, gall 35 @ .37
Nails, cut, Ib 06J @ .07
Oil, sperm, gall 65 @ .70
' linseed, gall 1.00 @ 1.12
" tanners', bbl 18.00 @ 20.00
Pork, mess, bbl 11.00 @ 12.00
" prime, bbl 10.50 @ 11.00
Potatoes, bush 25 @ .37
Rice, Ib 05 @ .06
Sugar, Ib 09 @ .10
loaf, Ib 15 @ .17
" Havana, Ib
" white, Ib 12 @ .13
Salt, Liverpool, bushel of 50 Ibs 85 @ .90
" ground, bushel of 50 Ibs 70 @ .75
" Turk's Island, bushel of 50 Ibs.. .62 @ .65
" Kanawhn, bushel of 50 Ibs 45 @ .50
Shot, bag 1.50 @ 1.62
Cognac brandy, gall 1.25 @ 1.75
American brandy, gal] 75 @ 1.00
Peach brandy, gall 1.25
Holland gin. gall 1.25 @ 1.50
Common gin, gall.. .50 @ .60
New Orleans rum, gall 50 @ .55
Jamaica rum, gall 1.10 @ 1.15
Whiskey, corn, gall 28 @ .30
" rye, gall 40 @ .45
RIVER COMMERCE OF SAINT LOUIS.
1125
Tallow, lb $0.08 @ $0.09
Tar, bbl 4.50 @ 5.00
Tea, Gunpowder, lb 1.25 @ 1.33
' Imperial, lb 1.20 (g) 1.30
" Young Hyson l.CO @ 1.06
Gunpowder, Dupont's, keg 7.00
" Kentucky & Delaware,
keg 6.50
Hides, dried, lb 11 @ .12
Iron, Missouri and Juniata, ton
2000 Ibs 120.00
Lard, lb .06
Lead, bar, lb .06
" pig, lb .0-1$
" white, in oil ^in demand), keg. 2.75
Linentow,yd , 13 @ .14
" flax, yd 20 @ .22
Vinegar, bbl 4.00 @ 5.00
Wine, Madeira, gall 3.00 @ 4.00
" Teneriife, gall 1.00 @ 1.25
" S. Madeira, gall 1.50 @ 1.75
" Port, gall 2.00 @ 2.50
" Malaga, gall 70 @ .75
" champagne, doz 14.00 @ 18.00
" claret, doz 4.00 @ 4.50
Provision market:
Beef, lb .05
Veal, lb .08
Mutton, lb .06
Butter, lb .12$
Eggs, doz .ll|
Chickens, full grown .25
" young .12$
The steamboat register for 1835 shows the
number of different steamboats to have
been 121
Aggregate tonnage 15,470
Number of entries '803
Wharfage collected $4,573.60
Wood and lumber liable to wharfage:
Plank, joists, and scantlings 1,414,330 feet.
Shingles 148,000
Cedar posts (S's) 7,706
Cords of firewood 8,066
A comparison of these figures with the same items
for 1831 shows an increase of more than one hundred
per cent.
The panic of 183*7 was attended with the ruin of
thousands of people all over the country, and with
the prostration of the business, trade, and commerce of
St. Louis. The arrivals and departures of steamboats
for 1839, however, were: arrivals, two thousand and
ninety-five ; departures, sixteen hundred and forty-
five. 1
1 The Jtepnllican of June 4, 1836, describes the commercial
condition of St. Louis at that time as follows:
"At no prior time has this city exhibited so many signs of
improvement as are now daily seen. Capital is finding its way
to us, and large investments are made in real estate, not, we
feel assured, with a view to speculation, which benefits no one
but those who are parties in it, but with the design of improv-
ing it. The sale of lots in Christy's addition to the town
amounted on the first two days to one hundred and one thou-
sand dollars. It was continued yesterda)', and will probably
reach one hundred and forty thousand dollars. Other sales of
property bordering on the town have recently been made
amounting to many thousands of dollars. Block No. 13, with
three or four houses upon it, fronting upon Main and Water
Streets, sold ten or twelve days ago for two hundred and forty
thousand dollars, and other property in the business part of the
city went for equally fair prices. We say fair prices, for they
72
It is impossible to give any concise statement of
the amount of the river trade of St. Louis, but some
of the leading and principal items for the year 1840
will afford an approximate idea of the volume of busi-
ness then transacted. From 1831, when the first in-
surance office was established, to 1840 the marine
risks amounted to $58,021,986. This sum does not
include the whole amount of property at risk, because
some of the boats and cargoes were insured at the
East and South, and some were not insured at all.
The estimate of property uninsured was put at thirty-
three and one-third per cent., which would raise the
value to $77,362,648. The receipts of lead at St.
Louis for 1839 were 375,000 pigs; for 1840, 390,-
000 pigs; and for 1841,395,000 pigs. A pig of
lead averaged sixty-nine pounds, and was estimated
at three and one-half cents per pound, making the
value of this trade for 1841, $13,825, and for the
three years nearly $50,000. " At least 8500 hogs-
heads of tobacco" passed St. Louis, with a value of
$912,500. There were shipped from St. Louis 80,-
000 bushels of wheat and 110,000 barrels of flour,
valued at $610,000.
When to these figures are added those for the trade
in beef, pork, bacon, lard, butter, corn, live-stock,
buffalo robes, furs, skins, and peltries, hemp, bag-
ging, bale-rope, and the many other articles that
comprise the industry of a growing community but
of which there exist no statistics, it will be seen that
are by no means so extravagant as have been obtained in other
AVestern towns, and are such as will justify the purchasers in
making permanent improvements upon the property. In many
cases it is their intention to do so.
"We have made some inquiry, and have found that upwards
of two hundred houses are now building in the city. They are
started in every direction, and it is probable that another hun-
dred will be put up during the season if contracts can be made
for them. One or two churches are to be erected, a splendid
theatre is under way, and a female seminary is to be commenced.
Many of the buildings will be handsomely finished for stores
and extensive warehouses, and it is to be hoped that before
another year passes away we shall be able to furnish houses for
the numerous business men who arc desirous of making estab-
lishments here. Our country friends who are engaged in mer-
cantile pursuits have in many instances determined to make
their purchases hereafter at St. Louis, as the competition and
increase of business has satisfied them that they can do so to
better advantage than in the Atlantic cities. Useful and
extensive manufactories are starting up at every point, and in
a short time we shall be independent of other places for our
steam-engines and other materials of daily use. The corporate
societies are not behind our citizens in making improvements.
The whole line of the wharf is rapidly being macadamized, and
before the winter sets in it will present a better appearance than
any port in the Western country. Many contracts are made
for paving the streets, and two or three years of industry will
bring about the completion of this work throughout the city."
1126
HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.
St. Louis had in 1840 made considerable progress
on the road to that commercial prosperity which she
now enjoys. The imports were valued at from ten to
fifteen millions of dollars.
A slight idea may be gathered of the trade of
St. Louis in 1843 from the following table, which
exhibits the imports and exports of the city from the
13th of January up to the 12th of August, 1843 :
Imports. Exports.
Beeswax, bbls 470 777
" Ibs 36,007 26,655
Buffalo robes, bales 8,983 4,186
Corn, sacks 28,091 27,688
Flour, bbls 59,965 88,393
Hemp, bales 26,947 17,629
Lead, pigs 398,225 397,213
Lard, bbls 10,751 19,243
" kegs 15,581 18,337
Oil lard, bbls 559 3,060
Pork, bbls 16,633 30,097
Tobacco, hhds 14,599 13,498
"Wheat, bbls 58,777 22,241
" sacks 78,299 27,945
The receipts of tobacco for the year 1842 were
1754 hogsheads, of which 1645 hogsheads were sold,
leaving on hand on the 1st of January, 1843, 109
hogsheads.
In the Prices Current for 1844 the population is
estimated at 40,000, and the registered tonnage at
20,420 tons, against 14,729 tons in the year 1842,
thus showing an increase in less than three years of
nearly 40 per cent. This tonnage was the property
of citizens of St. Louis, and it may be safely said that
at least as much more was employed in its trade and
commerce the property of other cities. The arrivals
during the year amounted to 2613, against 2105 the
previous year, showing an increase of 508 arrivals.
The annual trade of St. Louis was then estimated at
50,000,000. Nearly 47,000 bags of coffee, 11,000
hogsheads of sugar, 758,000 pigs of lead, 31,000
bales of hemp, 13,000 hogsheads of tobacco, 132,000
barrels of flour, and nearly a million bushels of wheat
were imported into St. Louis in 1843, being an average
increase of nearly 20 per cent, on that of the previous
year.
The harbor-master's report for 1845 shows that
during the year there were 2050 steamboat arrivals
in the harbor of St. Louis, with an aggregate tonnage
of 358,045 tons, and 346 arrivals of keel- and flat-
boats, and that the trade of the city was carried on
by 213 steamboats, with an aggregate tonnage of
42,922 tons.
From the same report there has been compiled the
following table of the places from whence these ves-
sels came, showing the arrivals from each quarter for
each month, as follows :
New Ohio Illinois M .Y:^f n r ni Missouri Other
Orleuns. Kiver. lliver. Mls l J? * '' pl Itiver. Points.
In January 17 5 15
February 13 13 20
March 27 42 57
April 24 39 36
May 35 49 52
June 27 33 29
July 16 46 26
August 20 44 26
September.... 25 38 7
October 22 45 13
November 21 47 17
December 3 5
250 406 298
Biver.
1558
12 2 7
67 11 S
75 23 10
102 49 13
66 42 21
58 29 18
63 25 22
60 22 19
48 20 16
74 20 24
311
647 249
167
From the foregoing it appears that during 1845
there were 250 steamboat arrivals from New Orleans ;
406 from different ports on the Ohio River, including
arrivals from the Cumberland and Tennessee ; 278
from ports on the Illinois River ; 647 from ports on
the Mississippi above the mouth of the Missouri, not
including the daily trip of the Alton packet; 249
from ports on the Missouri River; and 168 from
other points, chiefly from Cairo and intermediate
ports between that point and St. Louis.
During the year 1848-49, St. Louis began to
receive heavy shipments of the products of the
Southern States, and orders for articles hitherto
sent to other cities were sent to the merchants,
manufacturers, and mechanics of St. Louis. Direct
communication with the lakes and the Canadas
also presented great advantages to the shipping
and commercial interests of the city. The total
receipts of tobacco by the river for the period of
five years, from 1844 to 1849, was 49,918 hogs-
heads, an exhibit which shows " a steady decrease
in the production of that staple in the State of
Missouri since 1844." The decrease in the pro-
duction of tobacco was compensated by an increase
in that of hemp, the entire crop of which in 1846
was 80,000 bales, of which 47,152 bales were re-
ceived by the river. The receipts of lead by the
river were, for 1847, 749,128 pigs, and for 1848,
705,718 pigs. The receipts of flour by the river for
1847 were 328,568 barrels and 686 half-barrels, and
for 1848 they were 387,314 barrels and 541 half-
barrels. In addition the city mills produced 400,000
barrels. The total production was over 700,000 bar-
rels, which, at $4.25 per barrel, made an aggregate
value of $2,975,000. The wheat crop of 1847-48
was an unusually fine one throughout the river States,
and the receipts by way of the river for 1847 were
2,432,377 bushels, and for 1848, 2,194,798 bushels.
The receipts of corn by the river were, for 1847,
1,016,318 bushels, and for 1848, 699,693 bushels.
The Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in 1847-48,
drawing off 316,625 bushels. The receipts of oats
RIVER COMMERCE OF SAINT LOUIS.
1127
for 1847 were 202,365 bushels, and for 1848, 243,700
bushels. '' Of the entire shipments from this city,"
it was stated about this time, " it is computed that fully
three-fourths reach the city of New Orleans." The
beef receipts for 1848 were 9381 tierces, 7876 bar-
rels, and 47 half-barrels ; and of pork, 97,662 barrels
and 1923 half-barrels, together with 25,820 casks,
3603 hogsheads, 2847 barrels, 3775 boxes of bacon.
Of lard there were received 6579 tierces, 67,329
barrels, and 14,180 kegs, showing an immense im-
provement in the provision trade. The lumber trade
for 1847 amounted to 16,917,850 feet, and for 1848
to 22,137,915 feet; shingles for 1847, 13,098,800,
and for 1848, 15,851,500. There were also 42,282
cords of wood received by the river in 1847, and
38,857 cords in 1848. Of coal the receipts by river
in 1847 were 1,454,048 bushels, and in 1848, 1,623,-
687 bushels.
As elsewhere stated more in detail, two calamities
visited St. Louis in the year 1849, the cholera and
the great conflagration of steamboats and other prop-
erty on the 17th of May, which exerted a disastrous
influence on every branch of her trade, commerce,
and business. A mortality of seven thousand eight
hundred and twenty-one persons and the destruction
of three million three hundred and thirty-five thou-
sand four hundred and fifty dollars of property could
not but have administered a check to enterprise and
retarded progress. It is surprising, however, to note
the alacrity, energy, and perseverance which were ex-
hibited by the people of St. Louis in repairing the
losses and obliterating the evidences of these visita-
tions. Before the expiration of six months com-
merce, if not fully recovered, at least exhibited no
signs of impairment, but was in full motion, and all the
routine of mercantile affairs was in active operation.
The estimated value of thirty-one of the leading
articles of produce received at the port of St. Louis
during the year 1849, with total valuation, is as
follows :
AllTICLKS.
Aggregate Amount.
Average Rate.
Estimated Value.
Tobacco, leaf
9,879 hhds
$50.00 per hhd . ..
$493 950 00
" manufactured
5,904 boxes
15.00 " box
88 560 00
9,258 tons
110 00 " ton
1 018 380 00
Lead T
16,428 tons
85.40 " ton
1 402 951 20
Flour
306,412 bbls
4.20 " bbl
1 286 930 40
Wheat
1,792,535 bush
.80 ' bush
1 434 028 00
Corn
305 333 bush
31 ' bush
94 653 23
Otits
252 291 bush .
28 ' bub
70 641 58
J&rley
92,463 bush
.70 ' bush
64 724 10
Ifove
5,844 bush
.40 ' bush
2 337 60
Behns
9,078 bush
.40 ' bush
2,731 20
Beef
10,687 tierce."
9.00 ' tierce
96 183 00
><
12 336 Ibis .
8 00 " bbl
98 688 00
Pork
113,862 bbls
8.00 " bbl
920 896 00
" bulk
9 651,656 Ibs
.02i " lb
241 291 40
Lard
15,801 tierces
17.50 " tierce
276 517 50
f"
58,270 bbls
1300 " bbl
757 510 00
M
18,845 kegs
3 50 keg
64 957 50
Bacon
16,880 casks
30.00 cask
580 400 00
3,245 bbls. and boxes...
12.50 box and bbl
40 562 50
Pickled hams and shoulders
10,564 casks
14 56 cask
153 178 00
Whiskey
29,085 bbls
7.50 bbl
217 997 50
Tallow
721,460 Ibs
.06J lb
48 698 55
Butter
1,255,280 Ibs
.OS lb
106 698 80
19,065 coils
7.25 coil
142 21 1 25
1,079 pieces
15 106 00
103 500 bush. .
.30 bush
31 050 00
Onions
21,350 bush
.50 bush
10 675 00
Grease
351,851 Ibs
.03J lb
12 314 78
Hide?, dry and green
Hay
68,902
920 tons
1.80 oa h
16.00 p r ton
124,033.60
14 720 00
Flaxseed
26,500 bush
.85 bush
22,525 00
Feather?
62,340 Ibs
.28 lb
17 455 20
Brooms
1 1,023 dozens '.
1.60 doz....
17 636 SO
Dried fruit
63,102 bush
.90 bush. .
56 791 80
Green apples
Wool
20,583 bbls
1,274 bales
1.50 bbl
22.50 bale ..
30,874.50
28 665 90
$10 087 327 99
During 1849 the arrivals of steamboats at St.
Louis were: From New Orleans, 313; Ohio River,
401; Illinois River, 686; upper Mississippi, 806;
Missouri River, 355 ; Cairo, 122 ; other points, 217.
The total number of arrivals of steamboats and
barges in 1848 was 3468 ; in 1849, 2975 ; of keel-
1128
HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.
and flat-boats in 1848, 332, and in 1849, 166. The
total tonnage of steamboats and barges in 1848 was
688,213, and in 1849, 633,892.
The prevalence of yellow fever at New Orleans in
1853 proved a serious check to the river trade of St.
Louis, and the difficulty of shipping crews, except at
enhanced wages, threw a large amount of tonnage out
of the trade and advanced freights to a high figure.
All descriptions of agricultural products ruled un-
usually high in prices, and the farmers reaped a rich
reward for their enterprise and industry, the profits
realized enabling them to enlarge the area of cultiva-
tion, to improve their residences, and to invest to a
large extent in the railroad enterprises that were then
being projected in every direction through the West.
In this year (1853) the statistics and transactions of
a railroad were reported for the first time in connec-
tion with the river trade. The Missouri Pacific
Railroad was that year completed a distance of forty
miles, through a section of country which, though
contiguous to St. Louis, had not been brought under
cultivation. Without a farm along its line, and with
its western terminus in a dense forest, this great
railroad began to connect the Mississippi with the
"back country," and overpaid the expenses of
transportation more than ten thousand dollars, fore-
shadowing the immense profits from the investment.
The " receipts per Pacific Railroad" were : Tobacco,
48 hogsheads and 3 boxes ; lead, 1556 pigs; iron,
88,350 pounds pig, 530 blooms; wheat, 3418
bushels; hides, 5200 pounds; whiskey, 214 barrels;
wood, 370 cords; wine, 9 casks, 7 barrels, and 8
boxes, native; hubstuff, 25 cords; and hoop-poles,
570,000.
A comparison of the tonnage of Western cities at
the end of the year 1853 will show the rapid strides
that St. Louis had made in the river trade.
The official returns of tonnage, June 30, 1853,
were:
Cincinnati...
Louisville
Nashville....
St. Louis ....
Tons.
10,191
14,166
3,414
45,441
Decrease from 1851
Increase " "
Decrease " "
Increase " "
Tons.
3,996
1,229
163
11,136
These returns also show that St. Louis had then
more steam tonnage than Wheeling, Cincinnati, Louis-
ville, New Albany, Nashville, and Memphis combined.
The arrivals of vessels at St. Louis for 1853 num-
bered 3307, or 529 more than at New Orleans. 1
The official returns of tonnage for the year ending
June 30, 1854, give the following table of steam ton-
nage, showing the amount enrolled at several ports,
viz. :
1 "Thoughts about St. Louis," by John Hogan, pp. 6 and 7.
Tons.
New York 101,487.41
New Orleans 57,174.54
St. Louis 48,557.51
Philadelphia 24,523.93
Cincinnati 23,842.73
Louisville 20,122.89
Mobile 18,110.40
Baltimore 14,451.14
Nashville 5,726.73
Wheeling 4,127.89
New Albany 2,952.31
Memphis 1,894.80
St. Louis was then the third city in the Union in
the amount of enrolled steam tonnage, nearly doub-
ling Philadelphia, with more than Philadelphia and
Baltimore combined, with more than Cincinnati, Louis-
ville, and Wheeling together, and paying duties on
foreign imports amounting to more than seven hundred
thousand dollars. 2
The navigation of the rivers in the West was im-
peded to a greater extent and for a longer period in
1860 that ever before within the recollection of the
oldest boatmen. This condition of the rivers led to
action on the part of St. Louis merchants, which for
a while induced the hope that new and entirely differ-
ent methods were about to be adopted. The necessity
of changing the mode of handling grain consigned to
the merchants of St. Louis had long been felt, and
the commission houses and millers of the city had be-
come convinced that sacks should be dispensed with,
and that grain should be transported in bulk. The
Chamber of Commerce aided in the movement by pre-
senting a memorial to the City Council requesting it
to grant an elevator privilege to Messrs. Henry and
Edgar Ames and Albert Pearce, who had offered to
construct upon their own responsibility two elevators
upon the Levee, one near the foot of Carr Street,
in the northern part of the city, and the other near
the foot of Myrtle Street, in the southern part. The
elevators were to have been of the most approved con-
struction and material, with a capacity of half a million
bushels each, and to have been exclusively used for
the storage of grain in bulk. The City Council, after
an able report from a special committee of that body
had been submitted, promptly passed the ordinance,
but it was vetoed by the mayor, and the inauguration
of the elevator system of handling grain in St. Louis
was postponed until 1863.
The subject of bridging the Mississippi at Rock
Island, which had been under discussion for several
years, was brought before the Hon. I. M. Love,
judge of the District Court of the United States,
who decided at the April term of the court in 1860
" that that portion of the railroad bridge across the
Mississippi River at or near Davenport, within the
2 Ibid.
RIVER COMMERCE OF SAINT LOUIS.
1129
State of Iowa, being part of the bridge commonly called
the Rock Island bridge, and which is part of the Missis-
sippi and Missouri Railroad, is a common and public
nuisance, and a material impediment and obstruction
to the navigation of said river by steamboats and other
craft," and ordered it to be removed. This action of
the court was approved by the St. Louis Chamber of
Commerce, and the connecting of the railroad systems
east with those west of the Mississippi was postponed ,
until a period of more enlightened ideas with regard
to transportation had arrived.
In consequence of low water during I860, freights
on the upper Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois ruled
very high, and there was an increase in marine dis-
asters, reaching as high as two hundred and ninety-
nine boats, with a loss of life amounting to two hun-
dred and fifty-four.
The arrivals and departures of vessels at St. Louis
during 1859 and 1860 were:
1859.
1860.
Upper Mississippi
.... 1,501
1,524
Lower Mississippi
.... 616
767
Missouri
... 396
269
Illinois
... 679
544
Ohio
.... 367
277
Tennessee
58
3t
Cumberland
31
35
Arkansas
7
Barges, canal- and flat-boats..
.... 1,397
1,724
Total
... 5,045
5,178
Departures
5,104
5,218
Tonnage
768,905
844,039
During the period of the civil war (1861-65) there
was almcst complete stagnation in the river trade and
a general paralysis of the industries and commerce of
St. Louis. The condition of affairs, industrial as well
as political, during the great crisis of the nation's his-
tory, is fully set forth in the chapter on the civil war.
The following, however, is a copy of circular instruc-
tions issued by C. G. Memminger, Secretary of the
Treasury of the Southern Confederacy, in March,
1861, relating to the commerce of the Mississippi.
These instructions related to importations from places
north of the then so-called Confederate States. Vessels
descending the river were required to come to at Nor-
folk, or Nelson's Landing, on the Mississippi, and the
master was to report the arrival to the collector, exhibit-
ing duplicate manifests of the whole cargo and declaring
the name of the vessel, name of master, where from,
the port of destination, and a full and particular de-