Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1874-01-29
M1LLERsBuRe HOLMES County, o. THURSDAY 49, 1874.

time from Buffalo to Troy: First triI
6 days IS14 hours; second trip, I day
and 200 minutes; third trip, 6 days AZ
hours. She carried about the same car
go as the William Baxter on those trip;
viz: POI to 204 tons. The boat William
Newman is Sc feet long, 1711s feet wide
with a carrying capacity of PA tons
drawing feet of water. The steam
boat Dawson, an old, full-modelled ca
nal-boat, of 205 tons, drawing 6 feet o
water, made three test trips in 1872
with the following result: First trip
Buffalo to Troy, 8 days hours, whole
time; second trip, days, 13 hours, Il
minutes; third trip, left Buffalo July
and passed Schenectady July p; tint
of arrival at Troy not given. The ca
nal steamboat Hemje also made two
trips from Buffalo to Troy, with 20l
tons, her time being II. days II hour;
10 minutes for the first trip, and 9 days
Z hours for the second. The Fountain
City, an old lake boat, 81 feet long
made one trip from Buffalo to Troy II
days, 20 hours and 30 minutes; carry
ing $50 TONS The steamer Port Byron
made three round trips, the average
time between Troy and Buffalo being
IL days II hours and 20 minutes, carry
ing 200 tons down and lis tons back.
The George A. Feeter went from Buffa-
10 to Troy in about 10 days with 16s
tons.
EXPERIMENTS WITH STEAM AND HORSE
POWER.
1t is estimated that a boat towed by
horses, with an average cargo of $500
bushels of grain, will transport from
Buffalo to Troy $4,000 bushels of grain
in six trips in one season, at an aggre-
gate cost of $3,229.62, including 10 per
cent. per annum on cost of boat for re-
pairs, &c. 1t is also estimated that a
steamer of the character of the Baxter
can make ten trips with a cargo of 1900
bushels, or 10000 bushels for the whole
season at an aggregate cost of s., ,232.
The average cost per bushel for steam
towage at this rate would be 61-10O
mills, against7 17-1OO mills per bushel
by horse power. The aggregate ex-
penses of steamer per trip is estima-
ted at $323.2O, against $53S.27, expenses
for horse-boat per trip.
The Belgian system of towage, which
has been put in practical operation on
the Danube, the Rhine, the Neva, and
the Seine, has also been examined by
the State Commissioners appointed by
the Legislature. By this system the ap-
plicatlon of power is direct and with
out loss, whereas about One-half the
power of the screw is lost in the
shallow water of the canals. Expert
ments were made several years since on
a mile of cable in the Erie Canal below
Black Rock. A small clip-drum was
placed on the bow of o canal-boat, and
work by a small steam engine, the ca
BILE being thrown over the drum. The
boat carried 200 tons of coal, and had
two other boats in tow, each carrying
100 tons. The three boats with 400 tons
cargo were moved with the greatest
ease at fair rate of speed, the current
of the canal being very strong in the
opposite direction, requiring the Ordin-
ary boats to put ON double teams. The
experiment was considered great sue
cess, and Immediately the Steam Cable
Towing Company was organized in
New York. In 1871 orders were sent
to Europe for the construction Of six
miles of steel-wire cable one inch in
diameter, an engine, Fowler clip-drum,
and other necessary machinery. Dur
ing the same year a tow-bOat of 75 feet
keel and IA feet beam was built in this
country from plans obtained from Bel
gium. The cable, on its arrival, was
laid between Albany and Troy, in the
bottom of the Erie Canal. The expert
mental test was satisfactory, and soon
after cable was laid between Buffalo
and Lockport. 1t has since been work.
ing, taking six to eight boats in tow
between Buffalo and Lockport. By the
steam cable system it is claimed that
boats can be towed through the canal
at three miles per hour, which would
be about six days, including stOppages,
and the cost--at $40 day for running
a Fowler drum-$240 for towing six
boats with 1900 tons cargo. against
$12.20 for towing one boat by animal
power. The Steam Cable Company de-
termined to continue their cable on
from Lockpsrt to Rochester, ninety
six miles further, at cost to the Com
pany for equipment of 100000.
CONNECTING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER WITH
LAKE MICHIGAN.
A Company began some years since
the work of connecting the waters of
the Mississippi with Lake Michigan, on
the plan of making the Fox and Wis
consin rivers nayigable. This would
give an outlet to the commerce of all
the lakes down the Mississippi and vice
versa; would ixtend the direct water
frem New York to st.
Paul 400 miles further into the North
ives, towards the Red River country
which is only just opening up to the
world. The Company, alter partially
completing the work, turned it over to
the General Government; the best pos
sible proof that it was an unsound
scheme and could never be made to pay.
The plan is as follows: Starting from
Green Bay, which is an arm of the lake,
a natural channel is found up the Fox
River to Winnebago Lake, and thence
to Oshkosh, whence there is canal to
Portage City, on the Wisconsin River.
The course is then down the Wisconsin
River to its junction with the Mississip-
pi at Wyamsing. The whole distance
from Green Bay to the Mississippi Riv-
er is 27S miles. The summit level of
the improvement is at Portage, which is
200 feet above Lake Michigan and 169
feet above the level of the Mississippi at
the mouth of the Wisconsin. The full
volume of the Wisconsin is three-fifths
as large as the Mississippi at st. Paul.
Twenty-three locks had been built or
commenced when the Government took
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