The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-05-13
The Erie Canal.

Mr.. Editor Il remember when resident
of Vermont--a state in which there are no
canals looked upon canals and their navi-
CATION with good deal of curiosity. Many
of the towns of central New York began
their greatness by the Erie canal passing
through them. The Erie is three hundred
fifty miles long-running from Buffalo to
AlbaHy-seventy feet wide and ten feet
deep. 1t is great thoroughfare for west
ern grain and lumber to New York city,
and has been navigated for over sixty years.
Every boat navigating the canal used to
pay toll to the state, for the purpose of pay
ing for the original construction and the
repairs of the canal-it being owned and
controlled by the state-but last year all
canals of the state were made free. The
ordinary canal-boat is about one hundred
feet long and sixteen feet wide, and drawn
by a span of horses or mules. The horses
walk upon the bank of the canal, called the
tow-path, driven by a boy walking behind
them, and to avoid the boat from running
into the bank of the canal, the horses are at
tached to a cable, about three hundred feet
from the boat. The captain takes his family
and all of his provisions on board the boat.
1t takes four horses or mules to "a boat; and,
whilst "a span are on the tow-path, the other
span are in their stable in the bow of the
boat, feeding and resting. In the stern of
the boat is the cabin, where all hands live
and keep house as. comfortably as though
they were on land. The boatmen know no
night or Sunday, but are continually on the
move. The water in the canal does not flow
like a river, but is at rest. Now you re-
member the old statement in your philos-
ophy, that " Water at rest always finds its
level" But don't imagine that the canal
from Albany TO Buffalo-three hundred
fifty miles-is one vast "level,' for there
are seventy two "levels" A level is
that portion of the canal between the
locks, and varies from few rods to
D.. ia LAM InFr fn ln
lay of the land" The locks are used
to convey the boats from one level to
another. To get an idea of lock, imagine a
large box about one hundred twenty-five
feet long, twenty feet wide and twenty feet
deep with movable ends, or gates. To
take a boat from lower to a higher level
the lock is nearly emptied of water and the
boat is drawn or tloated into the lock; the
gate is closed behind the boat and the gate
at the other end of the lock is'opened; the
water rushes into the lock from the higher
level making the water in the lock on a
level with the higher level, and the boat
passes out. To go from higher to a lower
level, this process is reversed. The water
for the canal is run into it through the
" feeders running from the adjoining
rivers and lakes. The old-fashioned canal
boat, drawn by mules, is fast giving away to
a similarly made boat, propelled by steam.
The canals are under the supervision of our
state superintendent of public works, and
the navigation season, which averages
about two hundred days, is officially opened
and closed. For conveying grain from Bur
falo to New York the boatmen get from
| five to six cents bushel. The average
boatoad is about eight thousand bushels,
and it takes about ten days to make the
! trip. AT the above rate boatman gets
| from S400 to $500 a cargo from Buffalo to
! New York. But, even at these rates, with
| two important railroads.&c. New York
| Central and the West Shore Buffalo
covering almost the same line of travel, the
boatmen complain bitterly. II takes foul
men and four horses to run a boat. THESE
boats make their trips on the Hudson, be
tween Albany and New York, by being
lowed by steam-tugs Some boats are nicely
fitted up for the purpose of carrying pas
sengers and express. They are steamers
and make daily trips between towns from
twenty to fifty miles apart. There is moi
near as much business done on the canal a
formerly, and it is difficult now for boatmer
to pay expenses by running their boats. Il
is believed by many that the time is not fa
distant when the Erie canal, that has cost
the state of New York over forty-six million
of dollars, will cease To be " the raging
canal" and become a dry and useless ditch
CHARLES Is. GooDRICH.
Syracuse, n. Y, NAV 7, 1888.