Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-09-10
Hon. oIrer caIver--A RenI Pleneer.

AmoAg the arrivals at the Weddell Satur-
day evening, we were happy to greet the
venerable o11vER CULVER, ogBrighton. n. Y.
He left Rochester at in the morning and
arrived here at $50 P. NJ, so little iatigued
by the rapid fight that he appeared cheerful
and gay as a lark, and full of old time REM
iniscences and pleasurable untieipations Of
enjoying the inauguration ceremonies. He
was accompanied by his old friend AHELARD
REYNOLDS, the first Postmaster of Rochester
still hale and vigorous and by bis old ply
sician and friend DR. BoWEN-
Mr.. CULvER is very appropriately the hon.
ored guest Ofthe ' City on the Lake Shore
he was at the founding OF way back in
in the. wilderness Of 1851 He is one -ofthe
few, if not the only surviving member the
Surveyors of those days, and many viii re-
member with pleasure his presence at the
Pioneer Celebration of the Cuyahoga County
Horticultural Society two years ago. He
aided in opening to the sun the first garden
spot in Cleveland, heated where the Ameri-
lean House and the Leader Office now stand.
Though not in the Battle Of Lake Erie Mr..
CUIvER participated actively in some of the
results of that glorious victory A deiAeh-
ment ofsoms sixty Ofthe prisoners was sent
down to oswego. When they arrived at Ham
ford's Landing near Rochester, Mr. Culver was
about toleave for Oswego in schooner, after
load Of salt. BE took the miserable men,
many of them wounded, on board of his YES
sci, and landed them at Oswego
Mr.CULyER's name is also honOrsbly con-
nected with that mighty monument to the
genius Of Hawley and Clinton, the Erie
Canal. BE was master spirit in cutting
a commercial channel through the mountain
rock at Locllport. he was then about 43 years
Of age, and an account of the " "Herculean.
task" he accomplished says.
In May, 1921, this Pioneer, with his three
partners, having in contract the Lockport ex-
eavation, first began, then toiled and wres-
tied Jacob-like with the mounIain rock until
the mighty task was about half done, and
the three partners having but small means Of
their own, this Pioneer found himself about
S24, 600 in debt and Atlas-like, with a
mountain on his shoulders that he could nei-
ther carry nor east of. He then saw that his
means were so far used up that he could go
no further, with any reasonable hope Of ever
paying his laborers, which reputation his
noble soul disdained. At this crisis Of his
affairs he went to see Gov. Bouck as the ca
nal officer having the matter in charge, and
revealed to him his dilemma An arrange
ment was then made for him to be paid 500
900 toward his debt Of S24, 600, and he to
superintend tho work for wages until il was
finished, aud the Empire State TO pay for its
completion. Under this arrangement, this
Pioneer augmented his laborers tools and
blasting powder to that degree that the noun
tain soon, Sinai-like, seemed to quake be-
meath his tread, while the rending blasts and
Whizzing fragments bespoke that the work
was amply besieged. And after about four
years Of incessant toll the waters of Lake
Erie and the ponawanda began for the first
time to flow through the artificial ehannel
for future commercial and hydraulic purposes.