Nathaniel Bishop (1837 - 1902) was an American travel writer — and very successful cranberry grower.
This book, the full title of which is Four Months in a Sneak-box: A Boat Voyage of 2600 Miles Down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and Along the Gulf of Mexico , is a little-known gem of early American travel writing; it was first published in 1879 (Boston: Lee & Shepard) and recounts the author's travels by "sneak-box" (a small, low-profile open boat developed originally developed — and still used today — for waterfowling) downriver from Pittsburgh to the Gulf Coast.
Bishop's book is full of observations of people, nature, and culture, and includes a few remarks on the early history of steamship travel on American waterways. After discussing the initial popular resistance to the introduction of steamboats — many believed them to be an affront to Divine Order and even a sign of the coming Apocalypse — Bishop makes the following comment about the first steamship to navigate the Ohio River; this remark includes the work's only mention of a Newfoundland dog — whose name, we know from other sources, was "Tiger":
The first steamboat which descended the Ohio and Mississippi rivers was christened the "New Orleans." It was designed and built by Mr. N. J. Roosevelt, and commenced its voyage from Pittsburgh in September, 1811. The bold proprietor of this enterprise, with his wife, Mrs. Lydia M. Roosevelt, accompanied the captain, engineer, pilot, six hands, two female servants, a man waiter, a cook, and a large Newfoundland dog, to the end of the voyage. The friends of this lady — the first woman who descended the great rivers of the West in a steamboat — used every argument they could offer to dissuade her from undertaking what was considered a dangerous experiment, an absolute folly. (104 - 105)
Mrs. Roosevelt showed bravery not only in ignoring the advice that the trip was too risky for a woman, but in ignoring that advice while pregrant. (That child was actually born on board the steamship during this voyage.) That trip, Bishop goes on to note, was a resounding success.
Interesting side note: the New Orleans had its maiden voyage on the Mississippi River during the great New Madrid Earthquake of 1811. That must have signalled bad luck, for despite being the first steamboat to successfully sail the Mississippi, the New Orleans sank in 1814 after hitting a tree stump.
The Newfoundland's presence on this historic trip was mentioned by other writers whose works are discussed here at The Cultured Newf: John Morrison's History of American Steam Navigation (1903); and Clive Cussler and Craig Dirgo's Sea Hunters II (2002).