am-boat
explosions and consequent sacrifice of life, reports of which are daily
to be seen in the newspapers, weighed somewhat heavily on my mind, and
the latent fear was not lessened by seeing four barrels of pitch rolled
on board, the very moment I set foot on the deck of the _Narraganset_. I
had to console myself, however, as I best could under the circumstances,
and trust to Providence; but had it not been for the payment of my fare,
which had previously been arranged, and its inevitable loss if I stopped
behind, I believe I should have declined the passage, from my horror of
a race. Although, before the boat got under weigh, my lurking fears of
explosion were great, they were much enhanced just after starting, in
consequence of an opposition boat being loosed from her moorings at the
same minute that our vessel got clear of the levee. This accounted for
the barrels of pitch I had seen on deck, the heads of which were knocked
out just as we entered the Hudson, and a portion of the contents thrown
with the fuel into the roaring furnaces; this powerful generator of
caloric of course gave increased rapidity to the motion of the engines,
and in a couple of hours we left our opponent far behind.

It is remarkable that, although the Americans, as a people, travel
more, perhaps, than any other nation, so little attention is paid by
them to safety in transit. It is openly avowed that nothing is more
common than steam-boat explosions and steam disasters of various kinds
throughout this vast continent; and where boats are constructed to carry
1000 or 1200 passengers, as is usual on the American rivers, the loss of
life, in case of accident, is fearful to contemplate. I am aware that
the subject has been discussed in Congress, and that the question of
remedial measures has occupied the attention of the Executive during
several successive Presidentships; but still the evil remains, and the
public mind in America is almost daily agitated by disasters of this
nature. As long as the rampant spirit of competition and desire to
outvie their fellows, which prevails amongst a large class of Americans,
is tacitly, if not openly, encouraged by the governing powers, such a
state of things must exist, and will probably increase; but it is a
positive disgrace to a country possessing great natural attractions,
and, on this account, visited by many foreigners, that they should by
this system be exposed to daily peril of their lives. The acts