The Washington herald., 1909-01-31
Day of the Batteaux on James River

tobacco. he could hail a passing freight
boat. which would tie up at the barn, and
! bcathands, working with farmhands,
would have the cargo aboard in 4 Jiffy.
10 be taken safely AZ a rate OF two miles
an hour. Il Is true, bat az one-tenth the
cost Of the railroad. now built on the
towpsth of the Old abolished canal.
AT present the farmer is obliged 10
haul his tobacco. one hogshead AZ a
time. some miles away. over poor roads
T 10 a depot, and pay all sorts Of prices
20 get IL to market
/ If he desired a trip 10 Richmond he
could wait at any point whatever on the
! tOwpath for the packet" "A passenger
boat drawn by three horses. travelling
about four miles an hour. htted out with
/ every convenience to suit the traveller.
with saloon and bsrroom. hunks. stored
away by day and hung ND. three in a
row, at night, so that he could retire and
sleep, lulled into sweet dreams by the
/ long-drawn notes Of the drivers horn
/ signaling to some f0ck-keeper 10 open
! the gates for the boats passage through.
/ He could spend a happy evening with
cOngenial companions. chatting. between
/ drinks. about crops. &c. as the 'packet"
pursued its winding way down that val
/ ley OF sweet waters 10 the city. where he
would wake Up the next morning. ready
/ to transact his business. and take the re
/ turning packet" the next evening. with
a renewal Of eonvivial cup and conversa-
ton.
Old Days Gone Forever
Oh. those were halcyon days for the
traveller on the cid canal But they are
gone forever. The canal is dried up ex-
cept in small stretches here and there.
where a mill must have water power.
Its iock-gates no longer swing open TO
the musical call Of the boatsman's horn.
The old tOwpath which. during so many
years echoed the step OF the boatman's
team. is nov the bed Of a railroads iron
way. and the roaring or long trains. with
the screech OF the engine. reverbrates Up
and down that valley
The country has steadily gone down in
prosperity since the Inauguration OF this
railroad between Richmond and Lynch
burg. The former smiling and prosper
Gus villages along the old canal have
gradually lost Hfe, and their prosperity
has taken fight 20. heaven knows where.
possibly to Richmond or Lynchburg.
This Richmond and Allegheny line was
il was in process Of construction reports
Of its approach. Of course. came along
every day. Many Of those people. both
white and colOred. had never seen an en-
gine. and when. AZ last. the screeching
monster came in sight. there were many
Tide-eyed starers at II. one old cOlored
woman imagined that the train might
leave the track and pursue her. so she
ran with All speed. al its approach. and
hid herself under the river bank a quar-
ter Of a mile away.
A cOlOred man. who had been accus-
toned 10 the methods OF the packet"
which took a passenger aboard at any
point on its route, after a long wait at
the depot OF a late train. concluded ne
would walk ahead and let the train over
take him. thinking il would stop Ike the
packet. but when the snorting old
thing came along II treated his shouts
and signs with much Indifference "Tse
never seed such a stinkin' old onaccem- /
modaCin' thing" he said
Now Trade in Richmond.
The farmer now spends his money in
Richmond instead OF in his nearby VII
lage. and sells his chickens and eggs in
Richmond The consequent lack Of trade
and money haunts the village store. II /
II were put 70 the vote along the route. !
there Is no estimating the majority which /
would restore the old canal in place Of |
the railroad.
On the opposite side Of the river from |
the canal the farmers We're served by /,
batteaux. This antedated the canal. and I
was kept ND even after the canal was I
finished The 5atteau was an institu- 1
ton as soon as Richmond developed into
a shipping port for the old country. The /
batteau IS made something on the order 4
Of the Venetian gondoia- It is a long.
sharp-ROse boat. having a long rudder. /
II was wide enough 10 hold a hogshead /
Of tobacco and give room enough for a
man to walk when he used a pole to pro
pei the boat up stream. There was no
work for him when going down four
mile current ike that OF James River. ex-
cept to steer the boat There are many
falls in James River over which the bat
leaux had TO pass, with more or less