OHI—0111 36l
blj not advance a mile an hour. It is subjectto extreme elevations and depressions. Theaverage range between high and low water, isfilly feet. Its lowest stage is in September;and its highest in March. But it is subject tosudden and very considerable rises through theyear. It has been known to rise 12 feet in anight. When these sudden elevations takeplace, at the breaking up of the ice, a sceneof desolation sometimes occurs; and boats andevery thing in its course are carried away bythe accumulated power of the ice and the wa-ter. Its average descent in a mile, is not farfrom six inches. At Cincinnati , the surface ofthe river at low water, is supposed to be 130feet below the level of Lake Erie , and 430above that of the tide-water of the Atlantic.Between Pittsburg and the mouth, it makesthree and a half degrees of southing in lati-tude. The average time of the suspension ofits navigation by ice, is five weeks. One-halfof the remainder of the year, on an average,it is navigable by large steam-boats in its wholecourse. The other half, it can be navigatedeasily only by steam-boats of a small draft ofwater. Since the Louisville and Portland canalhas been completed, steam-boats of small draftcan descend at all times from Pittsburg tothe Mississippi . Flat and keel-boats descendthe river at all seasons ; but in periods of lowwater, with frequent groundings on the sand-bars, and the necessity of often unloading toget the boat off. It would be difficult to de-cide when the Ohio has the most beautiful ap-pearance—in the spring, when it rolls alongbetween full banks, or in the autumn, whenbetween the ripples it is calm and still, withbroad and clean sand-bars; or in the ripples,where its transparent waters glide rapidly overthe pebbly and shelly bottom, showing everything, as through the transparency of air. TheOhio , and all its tributaries, cannot have lessthan 5,000 miles of boatable waters ; and ta-king all circumstances into consideration, few;rivers in the world can vie with it either inutility or beauty.
The following table of distances is takenfrom Dr. Drake; the distances are founded on
the surveys made by the U. S. on
the north
bank:
miles.
whole dist.
Big Beaver river....
...30...
.30
Little Beaver river...
...13...
.43
...26...
.95
Marietta.
...83...
. ...178
Great Kenhawa river
....87...
....265
Big Sandy river .. .
..47...
....312
Scioto river.
. ...352
Maysvillc ..
. ...402
Little Miami river ...
..56...
....458
Great Miami river...
...20...
. ...485
...48...
...533
Louisville.
...54. .
. ...587
...93..
.fiin
Anderson’s river.
...98...
....708
Green river..
...52...
. .760
...61...
. .821
2 V
Shawnectown.10.831
Cave-in-rock.20.851
Cumberland river. 40.891
Fort Massac. 8.911
Mississippi.38.949
WHOLE NUMBER OF STEAM-BOATS BUILT ON THEWESTERN WATERS.
When
built.
Whole
No.
Now
running
Lost orworn out.
1811
i
i
1814
4
4
1815
3
3
1816
2
2
1817
9
9
1818
23
23
1819
27
27
1820
7
i
6
1821
6
i
5
1822
7
7
1823.
13
i
12
1824
13
i
12
1825
31
19
12
1826
52
36
16
1827
25
19
6
1828
31
28
3
1829
53
53
1830
30
30
1831
9
9
348
198
150
68
2
12
-New Albany,
7-
-Marietta,
2
1
-Fredericksburg
1-
-Westport,
1
-Silver Creek,
1-
-Brush Creek,
2
1
-.Nashville,
2
1
-Smithland,
1
-Economy,
6
3
-Portsmouth,
2
2
-Beaver,
1
3
1
10
-Not known where.
198
Of this whole number, 111 were built atCincinnati , 68 of which were running in 1831.Of the 150 lost or worn out, there were 63of the latter, 36 lost by snags, 14 burnt, 3 lostby collision, and 34 by other accidents notascertained. Total 150.
OHIO , one of the U. States. See p. 134.
OHIO , co. XIV. part of Va. bounded N\V.and W. by the Ohio , N. by Brooke co. andPennsylvania, E. by Pennsylvania , SE. byMonongalia and Harrison cos. and SW. by