little craft, constructed by the surf-man, was, for the amount it cost
and the advantages it gave me, the best investment I had ever made in
things that float upon the water. Without a name painted upon her
hull, and, like the "Maria Theresa" paper canoe, without a flag to
decorate her, but with spars, sail, oars, rudder, anchor, cushions,
blankets, cooking-kit, and double-barrelled gun, with ammunition
securely locked under the hatch, the Centennial Republic, my future
travelling companion, was ready by the middle of November for the
descent of the western rivers to the Gulf of Mexico.

Captain George Bogart, attentive to the last to his pet craft,
affectionately sewed her up in a covering of burlap, to protect her
smooth surface from scratches during the transit over railroads. The
two light oaken strips, which had been screwed to the bottom of the
boat, kept the hull secure from injury by contact with nails, bolt-
heads, &c., while she was being carried in the freight-cars of the
Tuckerton, New Jersey, Southern and Pennsylvania railroads to
Philadelphia, where she was delivered to the freight agent of the
Pennsylvania Railroad, to be sent to Pittsburgh, at the head of the
Ohio River.

Here I must speak of a subject full of interest to all owners of
boats, hoping that when our large corporations have their attention
drawn to the fact they will make some provision for it. There appears
to be no fixed freighting tariff established for boats, and the
aquatic tourist is placed at the mercy of agents who too frequently,
in their zeal for the interests of their employers, heavily tax the
owner of the craft. The agent of the Pennsylvania Railroad in
Philadelphia was sorely puzzled to know what to charge for a BOAT. He
had loaded thousands of cars for Pittsburgh, but could find only one