CANALS, 



11 



above Miller's river ; it terminates above the mouth 

 ofDeerfield river; lockage, 75 feet. -^-Bellows Falls 

 canal is a short artificial channel, higher up the Con- 

 necticut, in the state of Vermont, for the purpose oi 

 passing Bellows fells Blackstone canal (see that ar- 

 ticle tor a description of -this canal). A few miles 

 above Providence harbour, this canal meets the Black- 

 stone or Pawtucket river, and passes up along its 

 western bank a great part of its route, and is wholly 

 supplied by the waters of this river and its tributary 

 s treams and ponds, some of the latter being made use 

 of as extensive reservoirs, whereby, in the dry season, 

 all the water used by the canal, and so taken away 

 from the various manufacturing works established at 

 the different fells on the river, is replaced, and sup- 

 posed, indeed, to be more tlian compensated for. This 

 canal facilitates and greatly increases the trade from 

 the northern part of the state of Rhode Island, and 

 the interior central part of Massachusetts, to the mar- 

 ket of Providence, that of New York, and the ports 

 of the Middle and Southern States. 



New York Canals. The state of New York has an 

 extensive system of artificial inland navigation, con- 

 necting the navigation of Hudson river with that of 

 lake Champlain, lake Ontario, lake Erie, and Dela- 

 ware river. Champlain canal is 685 miles in length, 

 40 feet wide at the surface, 28 feet at the bottom, and 

 4 feet in depth. This, and the Erie, OsVego, and 

 Cayuga canals, were made by the state, at the public 

 expense, and remain under the administration of the 

 government, as public property. The Champlain 

 canal passes from Albany to Whitehall, on lake Cham- 

 plain, connecting Hudson river with that lake. This 

 canal commences at Whitehall, at the head of sloop 

 navigation on lakeChamplain, and, immediately rising 

 by Slocks, 26 feet, proceeds on a level 5- miles up the 

 valley of Wood creek, enters that stream, and follows 

 its channel for 3 miles, to a lock of 4 feet lift, which ex- 

 tends the navigation up the creek 3g miles farther, to 

 Fort Anne village, where, after rising by 3 locks 24 

 feet, it leaves the creek, and proceeds 12 miles or. a 

 summit level, through the towns of Fort Anne and 

 Kingsbury, to Fort Edward. Here it receives the wa- 

 ters of the Hudson, above the great dam in that river, 

 by a feeder of half a mile in length, and soon after de- 

 scends 30 feet by 3 locks into the Hudson, below the 

 dam. The great dam is 900 feet long, 27 feet high, 

 and throws back an ample supply of water for the 

 summit level. From Fort Edward the navigation is 

 continued, for the present, down the channel of the 

 Hudson, 8 miles, to the head of Fort Miller falls ; 

 around which it is carried by a canal on the east bank 

 of the river, half a mile long, and having 2 locks of 

 18 feet descent. From Fort Miller the river is made 

 navigable for near three miles farther, by a dam at the 

 head of the Saratoga fells, just above which the ca- 

 nal leaves the river on the western side, and pro- 

 ceeds on a level for 17 miles, through Saratoga and 

 Stillwater, Schuyter's flats, and over Fish creek, by 

 an aqueduct, to a point two miles below Stillwater 

 village. From this point to Waterford, where the 

 canal enters the Mohawk, and meets the Erie canal, 

 a distance of 9 miles, it descends 86 feet by 9 locks, 

 6 of which are in the towfa of Waterford. From Wa- 

 terford, the Hudson is now made navigable for sloops 

 to Troy, 85 miles below, by a dam across the river 

 at the latter place, 1100 feet in length, 9 feet high, 

 and having a sloop lock, at its eastern extremity, 114 

 feet long, 30 feet wide, 9 feet lift. The cost of this 

 lock and dam was 92,270 dollars. Erie canal, ex- 

 tending from Albany on the Hudson to Buffalo on 

 lake Erie, is 363 miles in length, 40 feet wide at the 

 surface of the water, 28 feet at the bottom, with a 

 depth of 4 feet of water. It has 2 summit levels 

 in this distance, and the whole lockage is 692 feet. 



It was completed in 1825. The locks are 83 

 in number, all of stone masonry, each 90 feet long 

 in the clear, and 15 feet wide. From Buffalo, 

 the canal proceeds 10 miles to Tonnewanta creek. 

 The Tonnewanta is then used for 12 miles ; thence 

 by a deep cut 7 miles to Lockport, where it de- 

 scends 60 feet by 5 locks ; thence on a uniform le- 

 vel 63 miles to Rochester, where it crosses the 

 Gennesee, by an aqueduct of 9 arches, each 50 feet 

 span. Here it is supplied by a navigable feeder, 

 2 miles long, connecting it with the Gennesee ; thence 

 easterly to Montezuma, 67^ miles, in which distance 

 it descends 126 feet, and crosses Mud creek twice by 

 aqueducts. At Montezuma, the level of the canal 

 ascends, and, in a distance of 27 miles, to Salina, 

 rises 67 feet. In Salina commences the ' long level/ 

 a distance of 69 miles, to Frankfort. From Frank- 

 fort, the canal descends, in 12 miles, 49 feet, to the 

 head of Little Falls, where are 5 locks, and an aque- 

 duct over the Mohawk, of 3 arches. From the foot 

 of Little Falls, the canal continues for 70 miles down 

 the valley of the Mohawk, on the south side of the 

 river, to Niskayuna, 4 miles below Schenectady, 

 where it crosses the Mohawk by an aqueduct 748 

 feet long. The descent from the foot of Little Falls 

 to Niskayuna is 86 feet. After crossing the Mohawk, 

 the canal proceeds along the north bank thereof for 

 12 miles, and then re-crosses by an aqueduct 1188 

 feet long, and passes by the Cohoes falls, where, in 

 the space of 2 miles, it descends 132 feet, by 16 locks. 

 A little below the Cohoes falls, a feeder enters from 

 the Mohawk, and connects the Erie with the Champ- 

 lain canal ; and the united work then proceeds to 

 Albany, 85 miles, in which distance it descends 44 

 feet, and terminates in the tide waters of the Hudson. 

 Cost, 7,602,000 dollars. Oswego canal is a branch 

 of the Erie. This navigation passes from Oswego 

 to Syracuse, connecting lake Ontario with the Erie 

 canal. It has 123 feet of lockage, all descending 

 towards lake Ontario. One half of the distance, is a 

 canal connected with Oswego river by locks and 

 dams ; the other half is a slack-water navigation on 

 the river. Its structures consist of 22 bridges, 1 

 aqueduct, 7 culverts, 2 waste weirs, 8 dams across 

 the river, 13 locks of stone, and 1 of stone and timber. 

 Cost, 525,115 dollars. It has been made since the 

 Erie canal. Cayuga and Seneca canal, another branch 

 of the Erie, made in 1828, extends from Geneva to 

 Montezuma, connecting Seneca and Cayuga lakes 

 with the Erie canal. The work consists of 10 miles 

 of independent canal, and 10 miles 24 chains of slack- 

 water navigation. There are 7 locks, embracing 

 73 feet or lockage, 19 bridges, 5 safety-gates, 5 

 dams, and 6 culverts. Cost, 211,000 dollars. Dela- 

 ware and Hudson canal is not, like the preceding, a 

 work of the state, having been made by a private 

 company. It is 64 miles in length, 32 feet wide at 

 the water's surface, 20 feet at the bottom, 4 feet in 

 depth, and has 615 feet of lockage. It commences 

 on the western side of the river Delaware, at Car- 

 penter's point, and passes across to the Hudson, which 

 it enters 4 miles below Kingston, and thus connects 

 those two rivers. It also unites, in Pennsylvania, 

 with the Lackawaxen canal. These canals, when 

 united, extend 117 miles. Length from the tide 

 water of the Rondout, to the summit level between 

 the Hudson and Delaware, 38 miles, with a rise of 

 535 feet. From the summit level to the Delaware, is 

 26 miles, and a descent of 80 feet. Up the Delaware 

 to the mouth of the Lackawaxen, is 17 miles, and a 

 rise of 148 feet. Up the Lackawaxen to head water, 

 at Kean's pond, is 36 miles, and a rise of 668 feet. 

 Total lockage, 1431 feet. Cost, 16,000 dollars per 

 mile. The Delaware and Hudson canal company 

 were incorporated in 1823. Tolls not to exceed 8 



