Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-07-22
SENTIMENT ON THE CANAL.
How Things Have Changed Since the Water
ways Were First Opened.
New York Times.

Delaware and Hudson canal, who was ly-
ing on his oars, so to speak, while his
boat was tied up, along with half hun
dred others, waiting aor the repairing of
a break in the canal down the line. EEWhGn
I first went to boatin', long fore the war,
people know'd how the boys stood on
matters and things in general, cause they
always painted their sentiments on the
stern, or on the bow, or long the sides of
their boats, so as a man had to be terri
BILE blind or else fearful short O. school
in if he couldn't make out the rules and
regulations them boats was RIM on. Now
adays things is changed. Maybe it's
cause the boys amt maxim no money
an their hearts amt light, an maybe it's
cause they don't run their own boate no
more, but have to sail on the company's
own craft. Anyhow, it's only now and
then that Teller sees any poetry verses
on boat, Or any cheerin proverbs, or
the like [ kin member when there
wasn't boat th't didn't sail under some
kind O. cOlOrs or a name that made the
bows either laugh or feel good other ways
when they seen it was a scarce lot o TIM
Der 'twixt here an the ROUndOut. Some
old-timers kinder tries to keep up the
circus, but they're rather lonesome.
II kin call up some o. the sentiments o
the old boats that was beautifuller than
print. Some smart fellow used to find
little fault with the spellin', and said
the stops an p'nts wasn't slapped IN llst
right, but them sentiments was beautiful
for a. that. An then the funny verses
that the boys writ an then Il canaller who
had idees bigger'n he could handle hisself
would get a townboy here or in Rondout
maybe, to fix it up for him, an then he'd
= ! L. LII l. F,1
prouder'n a tOwpath boy on a new mule
that hadn't lost an eye yit an was sound
in every leg. Now, what do you think o
this for proper talk? said the old boat
man. shutting his eyes and scratching his
head as he recalled one of the old canal
boat notices. 'It goes like this" said he:
'|The miseries O. life
FIRST [ want to tell YOU" said the veteran,
interrupting himself, and opening his
eyes to explain: II want to tell you this
poetry was writ by Squire Eltin' o Ulster
county, an it's my sentiments to dot.
The miteries O. life an the tOrments O
hades
For the canaller that wont go his last
cent on the ladies.
"Hows that fur the proper doctrine?
Of course you know what hades means.
That verse got a cheer every time the
boat that carried it went through a lock,
and all the boys greed to it, till one season
Sam Decker, who was captain of the
boat, got the mitten from a gal at Ron
dout on one O. his trips. That kinder
soured Sam, and he daubed on his boat,
in big red letters, this little stanzy. 1t
was a little strong, but then we couldn't
none o us 'zactly go back on it, neither.
Sam writ like this:
'sThe miseries o. life an the torments O.
For the woman as won't treat a canaller
we'll
''The old-timer canaIlers thought heap
o the fair sex, and used to write miles O.
poetry on 'em. Nobody couldn't find no
fault with the spirit that Capt. Riley
throw'd into the verse he writ and posted
on his boat. 1t went as follows, as nigh as
] kin call it up:
''WOman, lovely woman
"That's the uncompromisin' way the
captain begun his lines,'' the veteran
broke in on the line of his "reminiscences
to explain. ''There wasn't no two sides
to them sentiments:
"Woman, lovely woman, God bless her!
We run coal all summer in the winter fur
to dress her.
1.-THE trouble with Capt. Riley was,
though, that he wanted to carry his senti-
ments a little too fur. He tried to dress
more lovely women in the winter thin
what he made runnin' coal in the sum-
mer would stand, an so the fust thing he
knOw'd he run agin a snag, an the sher-
Tiff had to step in and sell his boat, senti-
ment an all. One of the boys got a
young chap named BrOadhead, down in
70 Ia !
fair sex. [ never could jist understand
them lines, but the way they used to
jingle when the boys ID holler 'em out as
the boat bearin' 1em went by made it
plain that they had the right doctrine, an
that every canaller proved of 'em. This
is the way they use to run:
"No canawler hain't an Apoller.
But when a lady loves a canawler
There amt nothing else that can ever
appal her.
''All [ said [ couldn't never list git it
through me Wheeler the lines was favorin'
the fair sex or the canalIer-youu notice
that the man that writ the poetry called
'em canawlers SOS the jingle wouldn't be
sp'1t-but that was as popular long the
canal as Zip Coon on the Gordon.
The names that the boatmen give in
them good old times to the boats was
touchin' sometimes, an sometimes anmus-
in, and the fair sex always figured in 'em.
[ member jolly Pat Collins. He had a
boat that he called the Lightnin' Fanny.
She was named after a gal he thought he
was goin' to marry-that is, the Fanny
part of the name came from her. The
lightnin' part he hitched on to it cause
he made trip once that beat the best
record made by more'n an hour. He
didn't marry Fanny cause Fanny wasn't
willin' to make her weddin' trip on Pats
boat; so Pat married the wilder of
soapmaker, when he changed the name of
the boat to the Glidin' Jane, arter the
wilder. To make the christenin' o the
boat more strkin' Pat painted a verse on
the bow o his boat. Stand Aside, the
poetry began:
stand aside, let me glide.
What makes me seech skidder?
The cap is married an his bride
Was soap-fat peddler's wilder.
"Ihem lines made the boys howl every
time the Gilden' Jane hove in sight, an