﻿598 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  of 
  not 
  depending 
  upon 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  intersecting 
  streams 
  

   in 
  the 
  western 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  State, 
  but 
  on 
  the 
  contrary 
  considered 
  

   (and 
  the 
  judgment 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  day 
  justifies 
  them 
  in 
  their 
  

   conclusions) 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  far 
  safer 
  to 
  depend 
  upon 
  the 
  unfailing 
  

   supply 
  which 
  could 
  be 
  derived 
  from 
  Lake 
  Erie 
  without, 
  as 
  stated 
  

   in 
  their 
  reports, 
  " 
  any 
  injury 
  to 
  anybody." 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  clear, 
  that 
  the 
  Genesee 
  river 
  was 
  an 
  important 
  tem- 
  

   porary 
  source 
  of 
  supply 
  during 
  the 
  period 
  from 
  1822 
  to 
  1825, 
  

   before 
  Lake 
  Erie 
  was 
  reached. 
  Although 
  it 
  is 
  evident, 
  when 
  

   one 
  examines 
  the 
  documentary 
  evidence 
  in 
  detail, 
  that 
  even 
  

   during 
  those 
  years 
  the 
  canal 
  could 
  have 
  been 
  fully 
  supplied 
  with- 
  

   out 
  resort 
  to 
  the 
  Genesee 
  river. 
  The 
  question 
  arises 
  then, 
  why, 
  

   if 
  the 
  Canal 
  Commissioners 
  considered 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  as 
  a 
  

   feeder 
  at 
  an 
  end 
  in 
  1825, 
  they 
  did 
  not 
  close 
  the 
  channel 
  which 
  

   had 
  been 
  constructed 
  from 
  the 
  canal 
  to 
  the 
  Genesee 
  river 
  in 
  

   order 
  to 
  take 
  its 
  waters. 
  A 
  decided 
  answer 
  to 
  this 
  question 
  is 
  

   found 
  in 
  the 
  documents 
  already 
  cited, 
  from 
  which 
  it 
  appears 
  

   that 
  the 
  one 
  main 
  object 
  of 
  constructing 
  a 
  canal 
  feeder 
  at 
  

   Rochester 
  was 
  to 
  open 
  up 
  a 
  communication 
  between 
  the 
  river 
  

   and 
  the 
  canal, 
  thereby 
  extending, 
  as 
  we 
  have 
  seen 
  the 
  benefits 
  

   of 
  the 
  State's 
  system 
  of 
  internal 
  navigation 
  to 
  a 
  large 
  and 
  

   fertile 
  region. 
  The 
  reasons, 
  therefore, 
  why 
  the 
  Genesee 
  feeder 
  

   was 
  originally 
  constructed 
  were 
  

  

  1) 
  In 
  order 
  to 
  furnish 
  a 
  temporary 
  supply 
  to 
  the 
  canal 
  during 
  

   the 
  years 
  1823-24 
  and 
  1825, 
  while 
  the 
  canal 
  was 
  being 
  con- 
  

   structed 
  from 
  Rochester 
  west 
  to 
  Lake 
  Erie; 
  and 
  

  

  2) 
  In 
  order 
  to 
  connect 
  the 
  canal 
  system 
  with 
  navigation 
  on 
  

   the 
  upper 
  Genesee 
  river. 
  

  

  On 
  an 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  legislative 
  journals 
  for 
  the 
  years 
  

   1823 
  to 
  1828 
  we 
  find 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  petitions 
  from 
  citizens 
  of 
  the 
  

   Genesee 
  valley 
  praying 
  the 
  legislature 
  to 
  improve 
  the 
  naviga- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  Genesee 
  river 
  to 
  the 
  south 
  of 
  Rochester. 
  

  

  It 
  has 
  been 
  generally 
  assumed 
  that 
  the 
  Genesee 
  river 
  was 
  

   declared 
  a 
  public 
  highway 
  in 
  order 
  that 
  the 
  State 
  might 
  more 
  

   thoroughly 
  control 
  its 
  waters 
  for 
  canal 
  purposes. 
  The 
  real 
  

   object 
  was 
  merely 
  to 
  make 
  the 
  Genesee 
  river 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  in- 
  

   ternal 
  navigation 
  system 
  of 
  the 
  State. 
  Such 
  declaration 
  did 
  not 
  

   in 
  any 
  degree 
  give 
  to 
  the 
  State 
  the 
  right 
  to 
  divert 
  the 
  water 
  of 
  

   the 
  stream 
  into 
  an 
  independent 
  channel 
  like 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal. 
  

  

  