THE horse's rescue. 243 



I shall get killed or drowned before I get to the end of this route. 

 On the sea of life we must all sail ; 

 t is no kind of use to bawl, weep, or wail. 



I am going to try the tow-path awhile and see how that will go ; 

 It is hard to pay my fare on this craft and go afoot, 1 know. 

 It's not much fun to sit on tha<; boat and watch bridges ahead, 

 And run the risk of having your brains knocked out of your head. 

 The poorest investment in my life that I ever made 

 It was when my fare on this old craft I paid, 

 tt was on a pleasure trip when I set sail that T "was bound; 

 Dead in this old stinking ditch I did not want to be found. 

 I have shipped aboard, I won't back out, 

 I am going to see this craft through to the end of the route. 

 It woii't do for me to get very far ahead: 

 I may lose track — their horses, too, are liable to drop dead. 

 Horses on the canal never' get tired on their legs. 

 They are in such a hurry they must eat, while they work, out of 



bags. 

 When it came night, in this craft to sleep I would go ; 

 And that could not be done, the musketoes speared me se. 

 The bullfrogs would all begin their bugles to blow ; 

 It seemed to me they all tried each other to outdo, 

 All seemed to be blowing their biggest blast, 

 And all trying each other to outlast. 

 This bugling was kept up during the nights; 

 To make matters worse, -on the Low-path there would be fights. 

 This craft they tried night and day to run. 

 And tiiat was out of the question, impossible to be done. 

 Every few days this old ditch out this slime would spew, 

 Tnen all would be wrecked — boat, passengers, horses, and crew. 

 This was so this v/holo route, along the whole line 

 There was a racket about something nearly all of the time. 

 At that time when all was in repair and new 

 There was a large amount of produce crowded through. 

 In the summer to this old ditch it would center ; 

 Not a pound could they carry through the cold long winter. 

 In the summer manv times they would wait and tarry, 

 All for the want of more freight to carry. 

 In long summer days could be seen idle crew 

 In the fall they would all have more than they could do. 



