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 of
Congress lately promulgated, although apparently stringent, are
virtually a dead letter, in consequence of the facilities for evasion,
and the ingenuity of the offenders. The effort to outrun a rival is
attended by an insane excitement, too often participated in by the
passengers, who forget for the time that they are in a similar situation
to a man sitting on a barrel of gunpowder within a few feet of a raging
furnace. I frequently found myself in such a position, in consequence of
this dangerous propensity, and the remedy suggested to my mind, and
which I recommend to others, was never to take a passage, on American
waters, in a first-class steam-boat, as the principle acted upon is to
maintain the character of a first-rater at all hazards, regardless of
the life or limbs of the helpless passengers.