In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

THE CAULDRONS OF HADES: Fires and Boiler Explosions p l HE EARLY 1840s WAS A TIME OF GREAT EXCITEMENT in the United States. The country's population had ^ grown by almost a third during the prior decade, bolstered by the steadily increasing flood of immigrants who had been arriving from Europe almost daily since the end of the War of 1812. Many of the new immigrants were bound for the expansive frontiers opening up west of the Appalachians, especially the territories around the Great Lakes. Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee were among the fastest-growing cities in the country, and they aggressively competed with each other to attract new settlers from the East Coast and Europe. Nothing had a greater impact on development of the Great Lakes region than completion of the Erie Canal in 1825. The canal provided an efficient water route between New York's Hudson River and the port of Buffalo at the eastern end of Lake Erie, which immediately became the gateway for travel to and from the cities along the shores of the Great Lakes. Where it had cost $120 a ton to laboriously move freight overland bywagon from the East Coast to the Great Lakes, cargo could be shipped through the Erie Canal for only $4 a ton.1 The opening of the canal also led to significant reductions in the cost of traveling to the Great Lakes region. Perhaps even more importantly, it was finally possible to travel from the East Coast to any location on the Great Lakes in the relative comfort of a boat, instead of making the arduous overlandjourney. Almost immediately, the region also became a popular tourist destination for affluent travelers who wanted to experience life on the American frontier. One of the regions early tourists was famed British author Charles Dickens. In the early 1840s, Dickens s Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, and 93 94 The Cauldrons of Hades Nicholas Nickleby had established him as one of the world's preeminent contemporary authors and brought him fame and wealth. He made the first of several visits to the United States in 1842, at the age of thirty, arriving in New York City in January. Dickens was an instant hit, not just with the city's literati, but with liberals from all social classes who applauded him because his books had been catalysts for a crusade to eliminate slum conditions in London. As much a social reformer as he was a writer, Dickens had barely settled into his New York hotel when he began speaking out against slavery in the United States, which he regarded as a great evil. After spending the winter months on the East Coast, Dickens left New York in April for a tour of the Great Lakes. He traveled from Sandusky, Ohio, to Buffalo and Cleveland aboard the passenger steamer Constellation. When he arrived in Cleveland on April 25,1842, Dickens was still suffering the effects of a serious bout of seasickness he had experienced during the brief but stormy passage from Sandusky. A large and enthusiastic crowd greeted his arrival at the dock in Cleveland, and despite being under the weather, Dickens paused briefly to share with them some of his initial impressions of the region and travel on the Great Lakes.2 The Constellation was then one of the finest ships operating on the lakes, and residents of Cleveland were proud that it regularly called at their waterfront. Their pride was no doubt buoyed when Dickens acknowledged that the steamer was "handsomely fitted up." On the other hand, theywere undoubtedly taken aback a bit when the influential author expressed some misgivings about the Constellations high-pressure engines. The engines, he said, "conveyed that kind offeeling to me, which I should likely experience, I think, if I had lodgings on the first floor of a powder mill."3 If any owners of steamboats were present in the crowd that day, it's likely they paled noticeably at Dickens's graphic comment. The last thing they needed was an influential, internationally acclaimed author publicly suggesting that their ships might be unsafe. The steamboat fleets were already under enough pressure due to the number of fires and explosions aboard their ships. The first steamboats on the Great Lakes, the Canadian Frontenac and the American-flag Ontario, went into operation during the 1817 season, a decade after Robert Fulton's pioneering Clermontfirstchugged its way across the waters of the Hudson River. The fleet of steamboats grew...

Share