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。 As early as 1782； we are told； Jacob Yoder； a Pennsylvania German； set sail from the Monongahela country with the first flatboat to descend the Ohio and Mississippi。 As the years passed； the number of such craft grew constantly larger。 The custom of fixing the widespreading horns of cattle on the prow gave these boats the alternative name of 〃broadhorns；〃 but no accurate classification can be made of the various kinds of craft engaged in this vast traffic。 Everything that would float； from rough rafts to finished barges； was commandeered into service； and what was found unsuitable for the strenuous purposes of commercial transportation was palmed off whenever possible on unsuspecting emigrants en route to the lands of promise beyond。
Flour； salt； iron； cider and peach brandy were staple products of the Ohio country which the South desired。 In return they shipped molasses； sugar； coffee； lead； and hides upon the few keel boats which crept upstream or the blundering barges which were propelled northward by means of oar； sail； and cordelle。 It was not； however； until the nineteenth century that the young West was producing any considerable quantity of manufactured goods。 Though the town of Pittsburgh had been laid out in 1764； by the end of the Revolution it was still little more than a collection of huts about a fort。 A notable amount of local trade was carried on； but the expense of transportation was very high even after wagons began crossing the Alleghanies。 For example； the cost from Philadelphia and Baltimore was given by Arthur Lee； a member of Congress； in 1784 as forty…five shillings a hundredweight； and a few months later it is quoted at sixpence a pound when Johann D。 Schoph crossed the mountains in a chaisea feat 〃which till now had been considered quite impossible。〃 Opinions differed widely as to the future of the little town of five hundred inhabitants。 The important product of the region at first was Monongahela flour which long held a high place in the New Orleans market。 Coal was being mined as early as 1796 and was worth locally threepence halfpenny a bushel； though within seven years it was being sold at Philadelphia at thirty…seven and a half cents a bushel。 The fur trade with the Illinois country grew less important as the century came to its close； but Maynard and Morrison； cooperating with Guy Bryan at Philadelphia； sent a barge laden with merchandise to Illinois annually between 1790 and 1796； which returned each season with a cargo of skins and furs。 Pittsburgh was thus a distributing center of some importance； but the fact that no drayman or warehouse was to be found in the town at this time is a significant commentary on the undeveloped state of its commerce and manufacture。
After Wayne's victory at the battle of the Fallen Timber in 1794 and the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795； which ended the earlier Indian wars of the Old Northwest and opened for settlement the country beyond the Ohio； a great migration followed into Ohio； Indiana； and Kentucky； and the commercial activity of Pittsburgh rapidly increased。 By 1800 a score of profitable industries had arisen； and by 1803 the first bar…iron foundry was； to quote the advertisement of its owner； 〃sufficiently upheld by the hand of the Almighty〃 to supply in part the demand for iron and castings。 Glass factories were established； and ropewalks； sail lofts； boatyards； anchor smithies； and brickyards； were soon ready to supply the rapidly increasing demands of the infant cities and the countryside on the lower Ohio。 When the new century arrived the Pittsburgh district had a population of upwards of two thousand。
One by one the other important centers of trade in the great valley beyond began to show evidences of life。 Marietta； Ohio； founded in 1788 by Revolutionary officers from New England； became the metropolis of the rich Muskingum River district； which was presently sending many flatboats southward。 Cincinnati was founded in the same year as Marietta； with the building of Fort Washington and the formal organization of Hamilton County。 The soil of the Miami country was as 〃mellow as an ash heap〃 and in the first four months of 1802 over four thousand barrels of flour were shipped southward to challenge the prestige of the Monongahela product。 Potters； brickmakers； gunsmiths； cotton and wool weavers； coopers； turners； wheelwrights； dyers； printers； and ropemakers were at work here within the next decade。 A brewery turned out five thousand barrels of beer and porter in 1811； and by the next year the pork…packing business was thoroughly established。
Louisville； the 〃Little Falls〃 of the West； was the entrepot of the Blue Grass region。 It had been a place of some importance since Revolutionary days； for in seasons of low water the rapids in the Ohio at this point gave employment to scores of laborers who assisted the flatboatmen in hauling their cargoes around the obstruction which prevented the passage of the heavily loaded barges。 The town； which was incorporated in 1780； soon showed signs of commercial activity。 It was the proud possessor of a drygoods house in 1783。 The growth of its tobacco industry was rapid from the first。 The warehouses were under government supervision and inspection as early as 1795； and innumerable flatboats were already bearing cargoes of bright leaf southward in the last decade of the century。 The first brick house in Louisville was erected in 1789 with materials brought from Pittsburgh。 Yankees soon established the 〃Hope Distillery〃； and the manufacture of whiskey； which had long been a staple industry conducted by individuals； became an incorporated business of great promise in spite of objections raised against the 〃creation of gigantic reservoirs of this damning drink。〃
Thus； about the year 1800； the great industries of the young West were all established in the regions dominated by the growing cities of Pittsburgh； Cincinnati； and Louisville。 But； since the combined population of these centers could not have been over three thousand in the year 1800； it is evident that the adjacent rural population and the people living in every neighboring creek and river valley were chiefly responsible for the large trade that already existed between this corner of the Mississippi basin and the South。
In this trade the riverman was the fundamental factor。 Only by means of his brawn and his genius for navigation could these innumerable tons of flour； tobacco； and bacon have been kept from rotting on the shores。 Yet the man himself remains a legend grotesque and mysterious； one of the shadowy figures of a time when history was being made too rapidly to be written。 If we ask how he loaded his flatboat or barge； we are told that 〃one squint of his eye would blister a bull's heel。〃 When we inquire how he found the channel amid the shifting bars and floating islands of that tortuous two…thousand…mile journey to New Orleans； we are informed that he was 〃the very infant that turned from his mother's breast and called out for a bottle of old rye。〃 When we ask how he overcame the natural difficulties of tradelack of commission houses； varying standards of money； want of systems of credit and low prices due to the gluttin