The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1873-11-29
The December Magazines.
iiarper's.


: The illustrated articles are The waite
Ways Of New York Around Lake Leman
Northern California; South Coast Sauntcr
ings The Living Link; and the Colder
Wedding In the first we have u graphic a.
we'll as not unpleasant glimpse of life on tn,
raging canal The writer having taken
trip on cline boat" from New York city Il
Buffalo, describes what he experienced and
saw. The writer introduces the more enter
tang part of his sketch with some figures
which are, to say the least, instructive;
The principal lines of transportation from
the West TO the East include 10000 miles of
railway, 1000 miles by river, 800 miles by
lake and 600 by canal, and the total amount
Of through freight carried over them in one
year 1873 was 9,033,2l4 tons Of this the
New York Central received 2250,000 tons,
the Erie railroad 1,2G2s Sl the Pennsylvania
Central ,292 $40 tons, the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad 100 31j tons, the Wclland canal 800
600 tons, and the Erie canal 30S7,2l2 or near
/ ~ One.third of the entire tonnage! And this
Notwithstanding the railroads are carrying
all the year round while the canals are only
open six months.
Concerning the great problem of cheap
transportation, after abiding to some ot the
IeXtrayagant ideas advanced upon the subject
the writer thinks:
A calm consideration of the subject indi
Gates that the solution of the problem depends
largely upon the construction of additional
canals. Greater speed than is now attained
by the old system OF horse-tOwage is equally
essential, and the fact that boats are moved
by stesm on the Hudson river at half the cost
of towagc on the canal, and at twice the speed
leads to the conclusion that that power will
Isupersede the present motive
The writer's two weeks association with
the boatmen and their families on the waters,
left with him better impression of them as
a class than the world usually entertains
Humorous and kindly, AS we have said
these people are worthy of study and dcserv-
ing respect. In their ways and thoughts they
are distinctly national, Racy of the soil, they
are also temperate, Industrious energetic
Their lives are simple but picturesque, and
in the length of our journey we did not meet
with discourteous word or rude action.
In Around Lake Leman" Ralph Keller
gives Us not only beautiful pictures, but many
very entertaining "reminiscences of Switzer.
lands most beautiful as well as historically
interesting lake Associated with SO many
events and great names rs lake Geneva is, it
would be strange indeed if so pleasing writ
er should produce anything but a very capt..
waiting sketch. Noltaire, Gibbon, Byron, De
Stacl, Josephine, Downward, Napoleon and
scores of similar names at once spring to the
recollection with the name of this peerless
sheet Of water, and we have them all pleasant
! ly set out in the sketch before US.
| But if Lake Leman Is great in historic asso.
Citations, her scenery is surpassed by Northern
California, as the reader will readily cOnCedc
on reading Charles Nordhotl's splendid arti-
Gle under that heading.
De Miles story of THE Living Link"
reaches its 18th chapter, and deepens in inter.
est The Golden Wedding" a poem, Is both
profuscly and comically illustrated; and
south Coast SaunteriEgs' winds mp the pic
lures, with longing for more, Half dozen
of minor poems, several stories, staving ar.
ticle on the Panic in Wall Street. bring us to
the Editors Record, Editors Drawer, &c.