The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1912-04-26

loss OF an ARK was Il not UNUSUAL &C
currence, and improvements in the
passage, at some of the dangerous
places, were made by the companies
interested. At some points on the
Delaware, also, considerable expendi-
lures were made, by the corporations
and the neighboring States
To facilitate the passage of the diff
ficult places on the Lehigh, as well as
to supply a sufficient flow, at times
of low water, resort was had to what
has been termed Artificial Freshets."
A rough dam was constructed with
an opening having a gate of peculiar
character, which, when closed, caused
the water to accumulate. At the
proper moment the gate was removed
and the arks and other craft in wait
ing were carried through by the rush
ing water to the level below.
This plan proved very effective for
a limited business, but was eventually
superseded by the better methods re-
CURED for the rapidly increasing
traffic.
In an extended notice, in Henry s
work, of Josiah White, one of the
pioneers and engineers of the early
coal operations. the following APP
pears
'Messrs. Hazard and White were
their own engineers. They waded In
the stream; they sounded the chan
nels; they took the levels of the
rapids; they directed the blasting of
the rocks; the building of the wing
dams, and the removal of the bars.
But something more was needed to
make good descending navigation,
and this was effected by system of
flushing called Artificial Freshets."
These artificial freshets were pro-
duced at stated intervals, and gener-
ally during the season of navigation,
by storing water in the pools of dams
built across the river, of log crib work
filled with stone Wide sluices for
passing RATS and coal arks were
made in these dams, and they were
readily opened and shut by one man,
by means of hydrostatic pressure
acting on a contriyance of Josiah
White, known by the name of the
Bear Trap Lock" The arrangement
was very simple and ingenious and
fully answered the purpose.
BY means OF this descending navi-
cation, the Lehigh trade was started
in 1920, two years in advance of that
on the SchuyllSill Navigation, and the
coal continued to be carried in arks
until after. the Lehigh canal was con-
structed and ready for use"
The use Of artificial freshets on the
Lehigh is understood to have been the
only application of this method, of
anything like a permanent character.
In this country. somewhat similar
plan has been used on many rivers for
the Notation of lumber from shoal up
per waters and Henry mentions a
single instance of its employment, by
Gen. James Clinton, in moving his
forces from Otscgo lake into the Sus-
quehanna, on his way to join Gen.
Sullivan, in his operations. in 1873,
against the Indians who had been con
cerned In the Wyoming massacre.
Here an easily removed dam was
placed at the outlet of the lake and
taken away when the water had risen
sufficiently, allowing the waiting
boats to float down with the released
waters.
Gen. Clinton's operation is fully
described in the Introduction to an
early edition of Cooper's Pioneers.
as well rs the appendix to his Deer
slayer" of the same edition. In the
latter work the name ark Is applied
to the floating habitation of one of
the characters of the tale. and, in the
appendix, is given some account of
the craft SO designated. as used on the
Susquehanna for carrying wheat and
other products.
The ark was also used on the Ohio
and the Mississippi, and doubtless on
Ath ,f,r Ind
found of it's use on the Delaware eX-
cept in the coal traffic from the Le-
high. The demand on the latter river
for improved methods and the conse-
auent Inauguration of canal naviga-
ton, brought about radical changes,
and the crude and clumsy vessel, hav-
ing, like its great prototype, fulfilled
its mission, vanished from the scene.
AS before stated, a short time be-
fore the canal along the Delaware
came into use, efforts were made to
provide boats which might descend
and return by the river. In "HaZ-
ards Register" mention Is made under
date Of Nov It'll. 1929, of an iron boat
built by the Lehigh Coal a Navi-
cation Company, which is said to have
made her first voyage from Mauch
Chunk to Trenton and back to Eas-
ton, up the channel of the Delaware
to complete satisfaction Experiment
was also made with n boat built OF
wood. which Hazard also mentions,
but he adds, The experiment made
with the iron boat, however, is de-
cisive as to the value of the channel
and there need be no suffering the
coming winter, along the Delaware,
for want of coal, as the Durham boats
can, by having constant business,
carry down coal to good advantage
and the larger boats, such as tried by
the Company, to still greater advan-
tage"
No record has been found of the
further use of this style of boat for
ascending the Delaware. That large
boats could be successfully taken
down the river is shown by the fact
that, at a later period, this was done
at times with the Red Line" boats
which ran on the Pennsylvania canal.
but these could not be returned by
the river
Several attempts have been made
to provide means for navigating the
Delaware by other means than simple
tlotation and manual power, Davis
speaks of an invention having this
object in view. which was tried in
1924, which he describes as follows
Ii was intended for tow boat and
was propelled by the action of the
water on number of buckets at
tached TO a wheel on each side of the
barge, 1t drew a Durham boat and
n large ark containing sixteen per-
sons up through the rapids at Tren-
ton, at the rate of one and one-third
miles at hour, and it was supposed 1t
could make three miles an hour, with
the machinery properly adjusted"
Nothing further appears to have been
heard of the invention.
A paper read by Rev. ID. X. Turner,
before the Historical Society of Bucks
County. Pa, describes the early ex-
periments, in that county, by John
Fitch, in connection with his efforts
to perfect navigation by steam power.
The paper states that Lewis Rue and
John Shafier gave a certificate that
they set out from Philadelphia, June
9Th, 1890, at four o'clock in the morn