The morning journal-courier., 1908-09-04

for his accommodating and gentle manly conduct, likewise to the citizens of Northampton for the cheerful greeting and cordial reception of the boat and party in that village. This with Mir. Gradley's handsome boat, the American Eagle, of Pennington, which passed up on an excursion Of pleasure northward,' being the two first boats which have navlgated this part of the line, afforded a scene no less interesting from its novelty than gratifying to our citizens. as an event furnishing evidence of the completion of the canal"
 The problems confronting the canal engineer seems to have called for great CT skill and ingenuity than those in- volved in constructing railways. Sur vcyors must take account of noun tain levels with reference to water sup ply. Reservoirs for storage must be built in view of leakage, lockase and evaporation; spllways or waste weirs must be made and connected with streams to protect adjacent property in case of floods The construction of locks Is a special science, while night and day the engineer has to face the treacherous nature of water held in confinement,
 Breaches In the side of the canal often occur which involved the loss of thousands of dollars for repairs. The dates of some of these accidents are given below. once boat loaded with coal happened to be opposite an open ing suddenly made In the bank by a flood In Pennington and was precip- itated by the rushing waters in the river below. Henry Farnam of New Haven was identified with the canal as engineer from the beginning to the end of its active existence. Ills son writes: The weight of responsibility ous care with which he bore it are H. lustrated by a curious fact, In his later years. long after he had given | up active business, If by chance his usually sound and healthy sleep was disturbed by distressing dream, hts mind almost always reverted to the | days of the canal. He would often say when he awoke In the morning after such night, l have been spend ing the whole night repairing a breach in the canal
 The canal in Simsbury was hastily and cheaply built-a ditch thirty feet wide in loose sand Plank boxes con veyed the water over culverts. Bridges over the canal with steep grades were a constant annoyance to teamsters. l while they were so near the water that passengers were obliged to He fiat on the deck of the boat as 1t passed under them. Water was all ways escaping over the sides of the ca nal and percolatlng through them SC that dry land in its vicinity wac con- lyerted into swamps
 Between New Haven and Northamp- on, distance of eighty miles, there were sixty locks, almost one for every oy single lock. extended from Gran by to Southington, over twenty miles The nearest intakes for our sec ton r5re at southwick and Farming ton. In s;imsbury the canal was bridged Irppos ic the Congregational church. hy the Methodist church and bv Mir J. B. McLean's property. The remains of the culvert crossing the stream at the foot of Mir Horace Belden's lawn show good masonry. but no signs ol the aqueduct superstructure which wa! lof wood.
 Disconnected Facts.
 The dimensions Of Captain George Rowland's new canal boat are pub
 Ished as follows; Length, \ feet. bean II feet l-2 inches. depth : feet inches Crhe width of the canad lock was feet inchee).
 Simsbury. as noted in published re ports of yearly transportation, ship ped to New Haven, wood, stone. apple cider and cheese.
 Extract from bylaws, is3s; "Nc boat or other float shall move on the caanl faster than the rate of fou, miles an hour BIO forfeit. Of the cana stock. Simsbury took forty-six share'
 at siOo"
 The following brief chronology show, Ithe canals activities and vicissltudes: 1892. Chartered
 1925, First work of excavation begun 1926. The stock of the New Havei and Farmlngton Canal company wa united with that of the Hampshire am Hampden Canal company.
 lS21. Funds from stock subscription . exhausted. Embarrassment from wan Of funds. Damages by freshets and b. malicious individuals.
 1928. Opened as far as Westfeld iron New Haven.
 1929 New Haven subscribed s100, 90 and paid s2O,ooO.
 1s30 Canal completed to Northamp ton and hereafter In operation till 1s47
 1892. City bank of New Haven bough slO0000 of stock.
 ls36 New Haven and Northampto
 company organized. The financial re adjustments of the old companies re suited in cash capital Of sl2o,1St. Los to the companies s1.377,15664 f ls3s. Freshet, damage s7O0O
 iS37 Freshet. damage st5.540
 lS39 F'reshet. damage s20O00 an
 more. New Haven issued bonds fo
 q canal loan, s2o00O.
 1836-1s40. Receipts $3a,o0O Mainten
 ance SIs1 ,3s7.
 1893. Floods. Whole number of boat , up and down. 1, 1,43s Tons, 2144S I 1st5. Drought. Canal imperative fc , six weeks.
 Besides its financial and natural dit 6cutes the company were assalled bitter foes in New Haven
 The following extracts from conten poraneous files Of the New Haven ReI