Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1904-03-18
ON THE CONNECTICUT
Stories Of Early Days of Navigation
When Freight Was Carried in Flat
Bottomed SooMs--surNlNlna Rlvermen.

Bottomed ScoWs--SurVlVlng Rivermen.
From the time of the close of the War
OF the Revolution when the colonies, first
banded together into a self-governing
country, and began to settle down from
the long and hard struggle and think of
the future, to the completion of the rail-
roads through the Connecticut valley in
1888, the larger part of the heavy freight
for all the people living in this broad val
ley was transported to and from the coast
by boats plying on the Connecticut be-
tween Hartford, Conn, and points as far
north as Wells River VT. At first, the
various falls in the river, at Enfield,
Conn, South Hadley Falls, Mass, Tur-
ners Falls, Mass, and Bellows Falls,
Summers Falls (between Hartland and
North Hartland) and at Wilder Vt,
formed very serious obstacles to naviga-
ton, it being necessary to unload the
freight below each of these falls, and
transport it by teams and reload it upon
other boats above them.
During the last decade of the 18th CEN
fury and the first few years of the 10Th.
canals were chartered by the various
states to pass these falls, and all were
built within the next few years and kept
i'm operations for nearly half a century,
thus allowing all but the very largest
boats to pass the falls without unload
ing. Another canal was also chartered
by the New Hampshire legislature. De
cemher 80, 1S2N, to pass the falls near
Brdttlcboro, but this canal was never
built, boats managing to get through the
rapids without unloading in the most of
cases. Since the abandoning OF these
canals for the passage of buats, they have
nearly all been used as the basis for eX-
tcusiVe water powers. second to but few
in the country for their commercial value
During the early years of navigation of
the river all the freight was carried in
large ilat-bottomod scows, the average
boat being of about 80 tons burden. These
boats were propelled by long poles set
in the river-bottom or against the shore
When the wind was in the right direction
one and sometimes two large sails were
set on a mast a little in front of the
centre of the boat to assist the men. OF
course, on the downward trip, the cur
rent was of great assistance These
boats required the services of three men
in addition to the captain" At various
points in the river where navigation was
particularly dangerous, men known as
swift water men" were taken on, who
knew the channel very thoroughly and
could guide the boat through in safety.
In addition to these boats used on the
river for so many years a large amount
of lumber was taken down the river
every summer in RATS from points north
of here to IIolyolle, Springfield and Hart
| ford. The logs were cut about so feet in
length and We're fastened together in
boxes about 10 feet in width. In smooth
water, six of these boxes were often fas-
tened together ana formed what was
known as a raft" Two men were usu-
ally required to guide these RATS, this
being done by long oars at the corners
These RATS We're broken up into their
constituent boxes at all canals or where
ever the water was at ali rough. Freight
which would not be injured by wetting.
was often piled upon these RATS and thus
taken down stream.
After the adaptation OF steam to nav
| igatiUn, steamers were used quite extern
siVely on the Connecticut, both for draw
ing large RATS of lumber and freight
boats, and as freight steamers themselves.
The claim is made by people living in the
town of Falrlee that the first boat ever
successfully propelled by steam, was run
on the Connecticut opposite that town by
Capt. Samuel Morcy just previous to
1907. However that may be, in Deem
Der, 1926 a steamboat named the Bar
net built in New York city, ascended
the Connecticut to Bellows Falls where
the locks were found too narrow to al
low of its passage and il returned to
Hartford, Conn, where it was later
broken to pieces. Other attempts to open
the river for the passage of steamboats,
were made in the years Immediately fol-
lowing, steamers going as far north as
Wells River, Vt. hut it was found to be
impracticable to attempt to run steam
ers through from tide water to any points
as far north as Bellows Falls
In 1881, the Connecticut Valley Steam
boat Co. built number of light draught
steamers at different points along the
river, intending to run one boat between
each two falls throughout the entire length
of the river and thus establish a chain of
boats making short time between tide
water and Wells River for passengers as
well as through freight, In addition to
three boats below South Hadey Falls
the william Holmes" was built at Bel
lows Falls to run between that place and
South Hadley Falls; David Porter
was built at IIartland, VT, to run be-
tween there and Bellows Falls; and the
adam Duncan" was built at White River
Junction to run from there north. The
company made a financial failure during
the first season and the attempt to nav
igate the Connecticut on any such scale
was abandoned. The fiat bottom pole
boats continued to be used till about
1858, when the railroad was built through
/ the valley.
So far as can be found out, only four
men are now living who were actively
engaged for any length of time in the
navigation of the Connecticut. l.. s. How
ard. for the past % years sexton Of Oak
Hill cemetery a Bellows Falls, was en-
ployed for several years on fat-bottom
freight boats running between that place
and Turner's Falls Charles Davenport
now living with n daughter in SaXtOns
River village, though over 90 years of
age, tells many interesting anecdotes of
the years spent by him on the river, for
a number of which he was captain of
boat owned at Fellows Falls and running
south from there: James NJ. Durkee, liV-
ing at Mortified Farms, Mass. spent all
his young manhood on the Connecticut,
employed on several different boats and
c. W. Bliss. at present n merchant in
West Fairlee VT, for time was mem
her of a rafting gang taking lumber to
| the Massachusetts, markets from north
ern Vermont and New Hampshire. All
of these men tell very interesting OK
periences of life on the river, which sound
peculiar to the ears of people of the
present generation, who have known only
the railroad as a means of access from
the outside world.
Aston Gibson Of Calera. Ala. has just
rpopbad tho 400 Of 11G boN-iuor fo,t,rbt in,