, 1880-07-08
Garfield as a Canal Boy,

al
M I92 Monticello avenue, Jersey CiTy,
N, N odd wears ago was che captain Of a
"sral 90 boat on the Ohio canal He it
was who gave the first employment to
elm" Garfield, as he was then known,
. moor, but bright and intelligent lad OF
II A reporter called on Mr. Myers a
fsv davs ago, and the following con-
rsr,ation occurred concerning the boy
"Mr. Myers," asked the reporter,
will YOU be kind enough to state what
vou know concerning young Garfield
3ybile he was in your employment as a
driver Of your boat"
.tHe was driver for me on the Ohio
canal" replied Mr.. Myers. 81 have
watched his career ever since he left me,
and have felt very much interested in
him, and gratifed to see what he has
achieved. The first time he ran for the
LEGISLATURE Of Ohio he was in my dis
+r;ct and + voted tor him; after that l
moved East, and thatis the only time l
voted for him. When he left me he
did not boat any more. II is mis-
take about bis ever being steers
man. He was not large enough for
steersman. When he was in my en-
ploy he was not more than l3 years Of
are. 1 remember well when he ap-
plied to me for a job on my boat. He
was stout, healthy hoy, and his, frank,
open countenance' impressed me SO much
that lat once employed him. ~He was
always'fuIt Of fun, and exceedingly good
natured. EIA meyer saw him pad, He
was with me about three. months. He
was always very attentiveito- his busil
ness. He was also great boy to read.
If he was not busy he was always read
ing, l scarcely even saw him idle. One
day, as we were coming up the canal, he
came to me and said that he would like
to get place where he, could work and
attend school j knew Of a doctor by
the name OF Robinson, who lived near
me, and who was in need OF q, boy to att
tend his.horse and do chores about his
place. I told Jim he lad better 60 up
and try the doctor. and if he had not
got a boy he had better get the place. l
disliked to part with him, but l saw he
was too intelligent lad to be driving
canal BOAT. He went up and the doctor
froze' to him at once. The doctor was
what You might call minister. He
was a Campbellite, and very good man,
indeed. During the Grst Winter Jim
was with ahe doctor he got converted,
and after he got converted they 'froze'
to himtlghter than ever. When Spring
came, Jim' wanted to get some work to
enable him to buy some clothes, and he
spoke to the doctor about it. The doc
tor told him that he must nos leave
school; that he must 60 through now.
Jim saids Doctor, but, haven't got
any money! The doctor told him that
was all right; that he would stand be-
hind hiH,% BWB Ht(AT {a4LV
soap ain, do you remember anything
about him as1he camet to, you, when. you
first saw hih3Ia % ,4sJ4AAA& i'G..a''
"All I remember is that he was a
very poor boy, and that / was very
favorably impressed with him. These
canal boys were generally q shiftless lot
of fellows, and it was hard work to get
u good boy. Our boats were different
then from what they are now. We
used to have them fitted up nicely to
carry passengers as well as freight. My
wife used to be on the boat with me,
and she thought good deal Of jim.
His mother was alive, but his father
was dead. His father had been far
mer, but he left his family so very poor
that they all had to put to it. Jim
had a brother and two sisters. The
sisters are married and are farmers
wives. Hts brother was farmer, who
now lives in Michigan. When Jim
was converted he became Campbellite,
and he is still Of that persuasion, l be-
lieve After completing his EDUCATION
he preached some and also studied law
He was also admitted to the bar, but |
don't believe he ever practced much.
He WAS elected to Congress in 1862,
but did not take his seat till 1884, be-
cause he Vas in the army.
9Th great difficulty we had with the
drivers on our boats" continued the
captain, 'Is that they would lie, but If
you got anything from Jim you could
always rely on il. | never caught him
in a lie while he was with me. He was
getting $l0a month and his board, and
that was considered very big wages