ween Detroit and Port
Huron.

"At Goderich, C. W., or vicinity, a propeller; at Milwaukie, a barque
and brig, of large tonnage, 300 each. One of these vessels is nearly
planked up already, and will be down with a cargo of wheat as soon as
the straits are navigable; at Depere, W. T., a large-sized schooner,
and a yacht of 70 tons; at Chicago, a large brig, or schooner, for
Captain Parker, late of the Indiana; at St. Catherine's, C. W., a
brig; and at the mouth of the Genesee River a propeller, for a
Rochester company, making, in all, ten steamers, twelve propellers,
and twelve sail vessels--thirty-four in all."

Another American paper, in its remarks on the preceding article,
furnishes some additional information.

"The introduction of steam upon the lakes was gradual, yet
commensurate with our wants. From the building of the second boat, in
1822, to the launch of the Sheldon Thompson, at Huron, in 1830, six or
seven small steamers had only been put in commission, and for the
ensuing four years a press of business kept in advance of the
facilities. But the zeal and extended desire to invest capital in new
steamers was reached in 1837-8, when no less than thirty-three boats,
with an aggregate of 11,000 tons, were built at an outlay of 1,000,000
dollars. This period points to the maximum, and then came the
reaction. In 1840, only one steamer came off the stocks, and the same
prostration and dearth in this department continued for three years,
when it again received a new and fresh impulse, and now presents one
of the leading characteristics of investment in our inland trade. The
sum of 1,000,000 dollars has been diverted from other channels of
business to this branch within the past two years, in addition to a
very large outlay in sail vessels; and as the wants of commerce
develop, some marked changes may be observed. The small, or
medium-sized boats, into which the merchant farmer and foreign
immigrant were indiscriminately huddled, have given place to
capacious, swift, and stately vessels, in which are to be found a
concentration of all that is desirable in water conveyance. Such is
now the characteristic of steamboat building on the western lake.

"The following is the number and value of vessels owned and
exclusively engaged in the trade of Upper Canada in 1844:--

Dollars.
51 Steamers valued at 1,220,000
5 Propellers 46,000
80 Sail Vessels 114,000