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Domestic News
September 13, 1819
Daily National Intelligencer
Washington, District Of Columbia
What is this article about?
The Ohio River is at an unusually low level near Shawneetown, Illinois, preventing boat passage since late May and stranding steam boats, exacerbating economic distress in the Western country.
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SHAWNEETOWN, (ILL.) AUG. 21
The Ohio River is perhaps at a lower ebb now than has been known for many years. Hardly has a boat of any kind passed this place since the latter end of May. Several steam boats have been lying between here and the mouth of the river all summer; some nearly or quite out of the water, others barely afloat. It is astonishing to think that the Ohio, one of the largest rivers in the world—the Ohio, whose swollen waters some months ago presented a current of fifteen hundred miles in length, and from one to ten in width, and whose depths were almost unfathomable, should now be (comparatively) a small stream, fordable in many places, and literally seeking its way over pebbles to the great Father of Rivers, the Mississippi.
This interruption to our commerce is the more injurious to the Western country, as it happens when symptoms of general distress, induced by other causes, are so sensibly felt.
The Ohio River is perhaps at a lower ebb now than has been known for many years. Hardly has a boat of any kind passed this place since the latter end of May. Several steam boats have been lying between here and the mouth of the river all summer; some nearly or quite out of the water, others barely afloat. It is astonishing to think that the Ohio, one of the largest rivers in the world—the Ohio, whose swollen waters some months ago presented a current of fifteen hundred miles in length, and from one to ten in width, and whose depths were almost unfathomable, should now be (comparatively) a small stream, fordable in many places, and literally seeking its way over pebbles to the great Father of Rivers, the Mississippi.
This interruption to our commerce is the more injurious to the Western country, as it happens when symptoms of general distress, induced by other causes, are so sensibly felt.
What sub-type of article is it?
Weather
Economic
Shipping
What keywords are associated?
Ohio River
Low Water
Boat Passage
Steam Boats
Commerce Interruption
Western Distress
Where did it happen?
Shawneetown, (Ill.)
Domestic News Details
Primary Location
Shawneetown, (Ill.)
Event Date
Aug. 21
Outcome
interruption to commerce; steam boats stranded or nearly out of water; general economic distress in the western country.
Event Details
The Ohio River is at a lower ebb than known for many years, with no boats passing since late May; several steam boats idle between Shawneetown and the river's mouth; the river, once vast, is now a small, fordable stream over pebbles.