Since the early 19th century, steamboats were the workhorses of the Mississippi River – carrying agricultural goods, manufactured products, and passengers throughout the middle of the country.
The major tributaries of the Mississippi – the Ohio River (from the east) and the Missouri River (from the west) – made the Mississippi the primary engine of the mid-American economy until railroads completed their eclipse of steamboats by the last quarter of the 19th century.
Nevertheless, the steamboat remained a viable transporter of goods until industrial barges began to overtake the business in the 20th century.
Today, the steamboat remains as a novelty cruise option for travelers or tourists, but the transport of goods by river is almost completely performed by fleets of barges.
(I once took a steamboat for a Mississippi River cruise from New Orleans for an afternoon, and it was a wonderful experience.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboats_of_the_Mississippi
H. Jordan lived in Fort Worth, the historic center of Longhorn cattle trading in northeast Texas.
First established as an army outpost on a bluff above the Trinity River, Fort Worth is now one of the fastest-growing centers of business and industry in the US.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth,_Texas
In May of 1913, Mr. or Miss Jordan received a postcard from T. O’B.
The sender mailed the postcard from New Orleans, the beautiful French-influenced city and major port in Louisiana.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans
The face of the postcard is a hand-colored photograph of steamships being loaded at piers or wharves.
One can see bales of cotton among the goods being stowed or unloaded.
The image was published by the Acmegraph Company of Chicago.
On the reverse, the sender reports, “Arrived safely at New O(rleans)”.
The writer adds, “Some town.”
There is a further comment that I cannot decipher: “________ a little bit groggy but still in the ring.”
One hopes that H. Jordan was pleased to receive this souvenir of New Orleans, that the traveling party recovered from grogginess, and that the visitors enjoyed the splendid beauties of New Orleans.
