Excerpt from Manual of Marine and Inland Insurance: For the Use of the Agents of the Protection Insurance Company in the Mississippi Valley The hazards of insurance against loss or damage on the cargoes of sea vessels, and on the cargoes of steamboats upon the Western waters present a wide field of operations for the agent who is entrusted with Marine as well as Fire powers. There are difficulties however in the management of this department of the business which are peculiar to itself, requiring on the part of the agent a most thorough attention to every circumstance of the risk, and a prompt but cautious judgment in some cases upon a partial representation, and when the actual condition of the property is unknown. This is a marked feature of Marine risks, in the strict meaning of the term, and on this account as well as the possibility of a heavy conjunction of risks taken at our several agencies on one vessel between New Orleans and Eastern ports, we urge your special and careful attention to every application before it is accepted, and a rigid observance of the annexed rules and suggestions. The risks of inland transportation in the Mississippi Valley present also difficulties which are peculiar to the country, and render the application of the principles of Maritime insurance extremely difficult, and in some cases impossible. In what other country or district of country are to be found these almost innumerable and extensive navigable streams? Where such an accumulated number of steamboats? Where shall we find such a strange, unmanageable and frail contrivance as a Western Flat Boat to transport a cargo 2000 miles and in number almost without limits? And where is the risk from snags, fire, collision considered the principal and leading danger of the navigation to the underwriter? Where do waters periodically rise so high and fall so low? Or, where else in the world, does not the principal hazard of Marine insurance arise from storms, hurricanes, a lee shore, piracy or capture from national enemies. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.