The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-06-10
CANAL BOAT COLONY LIFE.
SOCIAL ASPECTS AND BUSINESS
CHANCES HAVE CHANGED.
ne p,tneslty In Makias Tr'ps Pay-"Brsats"
In the Canal Most Dresdsd-TAs women Of
the Colon,-Thelr Domestic L~ife-Trainins
.na Eaucattou Of the Boys and the Girls.

"a. Co,on,-Their Domestic Life-Training
ana Education Of the Boys and the Girls.
c.nal boat life isn't what it used to be. The
decline in profits has affected the disposition
Of the average captain, and the traditional
cheerful content Of the boat folk IL OCCASION
allv clouded over with gloom. Inc railroads
! hov. done IL. Railroads are increasing their
I facilities for transportation and lowering thier
freight rates. The boatmen must meet the
reduced rates. although their facilities do not
cb,nge and so the wall OF the canal freighter
, echoes from Buffalo 20 Coenties slip. This IL
the busy season for the canal folk; and from
morning until night there Is a mighty SURFING
! around the docks where the boats tie up. Each
! can,ain's one desire is to unload and reload az
! ouicsly ~ possible. and hurry Of. so that he
NAV shorten his trips. Sometimes things 20
his wsy. and he has only three or -FOUR days in
mort and no accidents. More often, he has to
wait a week or ten days before he can get his
load. and all sorts Of accidents hold him back
In the canal.
This most exasperatine Of these hinderanoes
Ia A break in the canal. and the canal boat cap
| tain who can accept a break with phllosophic
| fortitude is fitted for a place beside Socrates
and Plato in the ElyAan Fields. A boat crawis
| TRANQUILITY along the canal. making far time.
| Suddenly there Is a break somewhere along the
bank. the water Of the canal pours on INTO ad-
joining fields. and the boat Is left sticking in the
| mud until the bank can BE- repaired. Recently
| there have been so many breaks that the boat
!, mems tempers are worn to q fraz,'e, and one
CAPTAIN Who struck three breaks on his last
| trip down swears he'll sell his boat and so to
| farming the bottom Of the canal.
1-ba IN fraioht cnpaista pbipNy of dTy ROOde,
groceries. &c. and the captains have no com
| plant to make about il. Any frst-class boat
| has little difficulty in getting all the up freight
| it can carry, and the second-class boats are well
loaded but the third-class boats are OF no use
for freight that must necessarily be kept dry.
On the down trip grain OF one kind or another
Ia the chief freight, and there Is where
the boatman loses his money. By the time
he has paid and fed his men and horses and
| paid tow rates. toll. insurance, shortage, &c,
the Transportation rates established by railroad
competition will hardly cover expenses.
The average boat carries five men and SIX
horses. Sometimes a boat goes out short
handed but the captains insist that this is a
| short sighted economy and, in the long run, re-
suits disastrously. The horses. boats and cargo
do not get proper care. and the damage done
DUStE llt IlOllt1 SdNtus n avn ''N'N NN
! tugs drop the boats into the canal, two drivers
are taken on, and the captains wife has her
work cut out for her In feeding the seven hearty
! men and caring for her inevitable large family
OF children.
There Is a wide difference Of opinion among
the women folk OF the canalboats as TO the
merits and dement's OF the life, The difficulties
| OF the situation would be appalling to a lands
-L.a a hrtla NrpA infn thu nannl-
boat circles she has troubles Of her own for
the first year or so. Even the ordinary East
Side fiat looks spacious compared with the
oanalboat cabin, but when one has learned
the ~room-saving devices OF the boat. and mas
settled down into ship-shape methods OF work.
the cabin is large enough for a whole Iamlly
70 rattle around in, The men sleep Forward,
but eat in the cabin-and uncommonly good
eating IL is a. a rule; for the captains wives
are good cooks and have very little 70 dis.ract
one has gone over the route for a few seasons
the scenery Isn't interesting and the locks are
an old story. and passing Though the towns
isn't thrilling. Save when tied up in port there
is no neighboring; so the woman OF the family
entertains herself by taking care OF her cabin
both cabin and children show convincing
evidence OF the care. Inside the cabin every
thing shines. and the degree OF tidiness Is al,
most OPPRESSIVE The woOdwSrs Is painted
as the decks OF a man-o'-war, There is OIL
cloth on the floor. with, perhaps, a few small
brisht-colored rugs scattered over t. IN a
tiny alcoye at one corner Is the kitchen, Just
large enough for a range and a cook; but the
wall OF the alcove Is sprinkled with latches
and buttons, and each one OF them opens q
cupboard or drawer. The cook can stand
over the stove and reach everything needed
IN her cooking. yet not a pot or pan or bottle
or box is in sight. With tie coming Of warm
weather the range Is covered. and an oil or:
gasoline stove act on top Of IL and used for all
ordinary cooking, an innovation which does
away with he greatest woe o. the oid,s.in ne
summer made the tiny cabin almost intolera-
BILE. Some OF the smaller cabins have a table
that folds up against the wall, but the larger
reduces to exceedingly small dimensions be-
tween meals. In the corner opposite the kitchen
Is q double bunk set back In an alcoye so that
that Il does not cut into the room OF the cabin.
On one side OF the wall buttons, open slides
and show a china closet and wardrobe. Along
the Dashboard are drawers. Each a." step q
and reveals a place for keeping %natIrons, brushes
tools. &c. A button on the wall beside the
large wardrobe apparently indicates another
down a large folding bed. $500,
Altogether. the surprises hidden In the shiny
white wall OF that square little cabin are a reve-
latlon to the landlubber and might raise envy
in the hearts OF jewellers in dlttered city
fats. Another detail OF the furnishing which
is calculated to stir a city housewife to tears
is the color OF the bedspraad and linen; Surely
never, even in the most rural districts. wa
linen 80 white as the canalboat linen. The
washing Is done In the cabin, but the clothes
are hung on deck. In the wind and sunshine,
while the boat crawls along between green
banks, far away from city dirt and smoke
and the result Il enough to make any mortal,
doomed TO sleep between city dried sheets.
forswear towns and take TO a canslboat.
Her beddins Is the pride OF the average boat
woman's heart. During the seven months
boating season she is alone most OF the time'
The men are busy. the children play on deck,
and there are no neiehbors within hail. Even
the most rampant advocate OF cleanliness car
not spend all OF every day upon the polishing
Of a i2xl4 cabin. and the feminine heart, a.. a
the yards upon yards Of crocheted lace, the knit
ted socks and petticoats, and the mittens. the
SUNRISE quilts and loa-cabin quilts. and crazy
quilts that are evolved in that cabin and on
the deck. The new-fashloned boat wife does
rem aissance lace work and embroidery, but
the old-fashioned woman sticks TO quilts and
can show a store OF them that does credit to
The canal boat children are as admirable A.
the quilts. or course there are exceptio ms
Where the parents are rouSh and disreputable,
tho children echo them and there's a chance
larry. around the docks but il the captain and
his wife, as Is ordinarily the case. are respec.
table people. with ambitions for their chill.
dren. they have a fair chance TO brina UP the
youngsters In the way they should 60. A
small boy or girl can't get very far away from
influences TO which city children who play
on the streets are subjected. don't come neal
the canal boat children. They can have a
wholesome. out-of-door life, with close sur.
veillance and II would be hard "a find a better.
hammered. cleaner-minded small boy than tht
boat decks or along the docks down in the
canal boat colony. The mothers plume them