278 



There it was sandy, and the track would never become deep, 

 whilst the wheels would have a firm, unyielding track. It 

 was not uncommon to see wagons stall on account of the 

 deep sand through which they had to run. 



No depth of drainage would make the track dry in many 

 parts of the north, as for instance along the Michigan road, 

 and the Governor's plan would therefore not do. In coming 

 to this city he had passed over that part of the Michigan 

 road that was planked, and although the ditches on each side 

 were three feet deep, yet there was so much water on the 

 track beneath the planks, that the horses, in treading on 

 them, would throw the water several feet up. 



Mr. Nelson remarked that we all felt interested in this 

 question. In his county, (Allen,) their most serviceable roads 

 were plank roads. They had more of them in that county 

 than elsewhere in the State, and they still continue to make 

 others. (Here Mr. Nelson enumerated them, all centering 

 at Fort Wayne.) They could not yet determine their ulti- 

 mate profitableness as stock, but of their great utility there 

 could be no question. The county of Allen paid heavy road 

 taxes, and much labor was bestowed on their common roads. 

 In making the track, the whole of it was ploughed up, the 

 first furrow being run in the center of the road, and back 

 furrows thrown upon it. The middle of the road was made 

 high. 



Governor Wright said that the Ellsworth plan of making 

 a plank road would do in a sandy soil. We have in Indiana 

 near 700 miles of plank road, but he thought they would not 

 be profitable. For general advantage we must rely upon the 

 common road, with ditches about eighteen feet apart, and 

 where they cross streams of water, stone ought to be placed 

 in the bottom, in preference to small bridges. As now con- 

 stituted, these bridges produce mud holes on each side, and 

 are not permanent. But when once well paved with stone, 

 they last always, and are much more easily crossed. Roads 

 of this kind could be made for five hundred dollars, or seven 



