Winter Travelling in America. The Steamboat.

Editor's note: This article is from the "Northern Echo" (Darlington, England) March 4, 1875., Thank you to Contributing Scholar George A. Thompson for finding and cataloging  the article. The language, spelling and grammar of the article reflects the time period when it was written.

Crossing East River on the Ice - Dangers of the Break-up. Image courtesy of Ephemeral New York- WordPress.com

Winter Travelling in America. The Steamboat. [from our own correspondent.]
I propose, in my next few letters, to give the readers of the Echo a few sketches of the various modes of travelling during the winter season in America, but I shall preface my remarks by a slight allusion to the kind of weather we are now experiencing. Although the cold is much more intense in this country than it is in England, the winter taken altogether is much more pleasant than it is “at home.” The air is keen but dry, and there is not that atmospheric dampness noticeable here that characterizes an English winter, and we escape that depressing heavy feeling which so frequently steals over us in England when the weather sometimes get a little out of sorts. This has been one of the coldest winters known in America for many years. Here, in New York, the thermometer has sometimes stood at 3 deg. Below zero, but within a half-day’s journey of us the cold has been much more severely felt, 16 deg. Below having been reported on more than one occasion; while in the “cold districts” the thermometer has stood at 40 deg. Below for days together. Of course, there have been a large number of casualties, and great loss of life in some parts. Steamships have been caught in the ice and kept there for days. Trains have been snowed up, and many a poor creature has been frozen to death. Hopes are now entertained that the worst has passed. There are many people here, as in England, live long distances from their places of business, and to watch the influx into New York every morning is a sight to be remembered. Some come by rail or steam-cars, others make their trips by tramway or horse car, and again vast numbers patronize the river boats and steam ferries. 
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It is with these latter that I shall deal now, leaving over the “tramways” – a subject by the way that old Stockton is considerably interested in – until a future occasion. The river steamers which several times a day make trips from Harlem to Fulton-street, New York, a distance of eight miles, are marvels of comfort and cleanliness. They are large enough to accommodate about 500 persons, and as they stop to take up and set down passengers at various places along the route, large numbers of persons avail themselves of the accommodations they afford. The fare is ten cents (5d) and when the river is clear of ice the trip is made in about thirty-five minutes, or nearly as fast as the steamers travel from Stockton to Middlesbrough. The saloons are fitted up in a style far superior to anything I have ever seen in English steamers; and, although the trip from point to point of travel is not a long one, the steamboat companies here, unlike their English brethren, minister to the comfort of their patrons. Notwithstanding that the river is blocked with miniature icebergs, I have this day made a trip in the “Harlem”, doing the eight miles in fifty minutes. When the captain of any of the boats sees a chunk of ice in his path, he does not ring his bell for the engineer to shut off steam, but directs the bow of the boat at the offending object, splitting the ice into pieces, and often smashing the steamer’s paddle wheels into splinters, while the passengers who have been watching the exploit suddenly find themselves so mixed up “in a heap” that it takes several seconds for each man to pick himself out of the pile of humanity, and make sure of his personal identity.

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Crossing East River on the Ice - Dangers of the Break-up. Image courtesy of Ephemeral New York- WordPress.com

Winter Travelling in America. The Steamboat. [from our own correspondent.]
I propose, in my next few letters, to give the readers of the Echo a few sketches of the various modes of travelling during the winter season in America, but I shall preface my remarks by a slight allusion to the kind of weather we are now experiencing. Although the cold is much more intense in this country than it is in England, the winter taken altogether is much more pleasant than it is “at home.” The air is keen but dry, and there is not that atmospheric dampness noticeable here that characterizes an English winter, and we escape that depressing heavy feeling which so frequently steals over us in England when the weather sometimes get a little out of sorts. This has been one of the coldest winters known in America for many years. Here, in New York, the thermometer has sometimes stood at 3 deg. Below zero, but within a half-day’s journey of us the cold has been much more severely felt, 16 deg. Below having been reported on more than one occasion; while in the “cold districts” the thermometer has stood at 40 deg. Below for days together. Of course, there have been a large number of casualties, and great loss of life in some parts. Steamships have been caught in the ice and kept there for days. Trains have been snowed up, and many a poor creature has been frozen to death. Hopes are now entertained that the worst has passed. There are many people here, as in England, live long distances from their places of business, and to watch the influx into New York every morning is a sight to be remembered. Some come by rail or steam-cars, others make their trips by tramway or horse car, and again vast numbers patronize the river boats and steam ferries. 
​
It is with these latter that I shall deal now, leaving over the “tramways” – a subject by the way that old Stockton is considerably interested in – until a future occasion. The river steamers which several times a day make trips from Harlem to Fulton-street, New York, a distance of eight miles, are marvels of comfort and cleanliness. They are large enough to accommodate about 500 persons, and as they stop to take up and set down passengers at various places along the route, large numbers of persons avail themselves of the accommodations they afford. The fare is ten cents (5d) and when the river is clear of ice the trip is made in about thirty-five minutes, or nearly as fast as the steamers travel from Stockton to Middlesbrough. The saloons are fitted up in a style far superior to anything I have ever seen in English steamers; and, although the trip from point to point of travel is not a long one, the steamboat companies here, unlike their English brethren, minister to the comfort of their patrons. Notwithstanding that the river is blocked with miniature icebergs, I have this day made a trip in the “Harlem”, doing the eight miles in fifty minutes. When the captain of any of the boats sees a chunk of ice in his path, he does not ring his bell for the engineer to shut off steam, but directs the bow of the boat at the offending object, splitting the ice into pieces, and often smashing the steamer’s paddle wheels into splinters, while the passengers who have been watching the exploit suddenly find themselves so mixed up “in a heap” that it takes several seconds for each man to pick himself out of the pile of humanity, and make sure of his personal identity.

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Image from "New York Bay Steam Vessels" by Samuel Ward Stanton.

To a stranger is is rather hard work to appear perfectly composed and unconcerned at the sudden shocks he experiences from these collisions; but I do really believe that if a captain were to try and dodge one of these obstacles instead of smashing it, the whole crowd, ladies as well, would turn out on to the promenade decks and mob him. Each steamer is fitted up with refreshment bars, ladies’ saloons, smoking compartments for the gentlemen, wash-rooms, where soap and clean towels are always on hand, store-rooms for parcels and, above everything, in the winter time every part of the boat is comfortably heated, either with stoves or warm water pipes. In the day time, the numerous windows in both decks – there are two decks – make the compartments very cheery and lightsome; and in the evening the saloons are brilliantly lighted with lamps. There are large polished glass mirrors fixed up in different parts of the saloons, and when the boats are lighted up, they certainly do present the appearance of floating palaces; and for speed, comfort, economy, and the civility which the traveller meets with from the officials, this river travelling beats anything of its kind that it has been my fortune to have every witnessed in the Old Country. 

The huge ferries which daily carry thousands of passengers, and horses, and wagons of all kinds, to and from New York and Brooklyn on the one side, and Jersey City on the other, are also well worthy of notice; but as the trip, when the river is clear, only takes a few minutes, there has not been that attention paid to the comforts of the passengers that is to be met with in the boats making the longer trips. The fare on these ferries is two cents per passenger, and this winter there have been several instances in which the unfortunate passengers have received considerably more than their money’s worth. The distance across the river to Brooklyn is only about 200 yards, but the ice has come up the river in such tremendous quantities that in some instances persons have been four hours crossing. There is no bridge, and the only way to get across is by the ferries, unless one likes to chance jumping from piece to piece of detached ice to gain the New York side – a foolhardy feat that has been accomplished by numbers of people this year. The steamboats have in many instances become wedged in by fields of ice, and have either been compelled to remain stationary in the middle of the river, or have drifted far down the water away from their proper destination. Only about a week ago, one steamer had to remain with a full cargo embedded in the ice all night, in sight of both shores, without the passengers being able to get to land or help being afforded by those on terra firma. Under these circumstances, steamboat travelling is not altogether an unalloyed pleasure, and if “the novelty of the situation” is somewhat romantic, it is not very charming. G.S.B. New York, February 19th, 1875

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