﻿HYDROLOGY 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  

  

  721 
  

  

  Moreover, 
  the 
  supposed 
  near 
  approach 
  of 
  the 
  western 
  waters 
  

   of 
  New 
  York 
  and 
  of 
  Lake 
  Erie 
  is 
  also 
  referred 
  to 
  in 
  this 
  report 
  

   of 
  1724, 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  

  

  Besides 
  the 
  passage 
  by 
  the 
  lakes, 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  river 
  which 
  comes 
  

   from 
  the 
  country 
  of 
  the 
  Senecas 
  and 
  falls 
  into 
  the 
  Oswego 
  river, 
  

   by 
  which 
  Ave 
  have 
  an 
  easy 
  carriage 
  into 
  the 
  country 
  without 
  going 
  

   near 
  Lake 
  Ontario. 
  The 
  head 
  of 
  this 
  river 
  goes 
  near 
  Lake 
  Erie 
  

   and 
  probably 
  may 
  give 
  a 
  very 
  near 
  passage 
  into 
  that 
  lake 
  and 
  

   much 
  more 
  advantageous 
  than 
  the 
  way 
  the 
  French 
  are 
  obliged 
  to 
  

   take 
  by 
  the 
  great 
  falls 
  of 
  Niagara. 
  

  

  In 
  1768 
  Sir 
  Henry 
  Moore, 
  the 
  Colonial 
  Governor, 
  in 
  a 
  message 
  

   to 
  the 
  Assembly, 
  stated 
  that 
  : 
  

  

  The 
  obstruction 
  of 
  navigation 
  in 
  the 
  Mohawk 
  river, 
  between 
  

   Schenectady 
  and 
  Fort 
  'Stanwix, 
  occasioned 
  by 
  the 
  falls 
  of 
  Cana- 
  

   joharie, 
  had 
  been 
  constantly 
  complained 
  of, 
  and 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  obvi- 
  

   ous 
  to 
  all 
  who 
  were 
  conversant 
  in 
  matters 
  of 
  this 
  kind 
  that 
  the 
  

   difficulty 
  could 
  be 
  easily 
  remedied 
  by 
  sluices, 
  by 
  the 
  plan 
  of 
  those 
  

   in 
  the 
  great 
  canal 
  of 
  Languedoc 
  in 
  France, 
  which 
  was 
  made 
  to 
  

   open 
  a 
  communication 
  between 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  ocean 
  and 
  the 
  

   Mediterranean. 
  

  

  In 
  1788 
  Elkanah 
  Watson 
  proposed 
  to 
  establish 
  a 
  water 
  com- 
  

   munication 
  from 
  the 
  Hudson 
  river 
  and 
  Lake 
  Ontario 
  by 
  way 
  of 
  

   Oneida 
  lake, 
  Oneida 
  river, 
  and 
  Oswego 
  river, 
  his 
  plan 
  being 
  to 
  

   connect 
  Wood 
  creek 
  with 
  the 
  Mohawk 
  river 
  by 
  a 
  canal 
  and 
  to 
  

   improve 
  the 
  Mohawk 
  with 
  locks. 
  

  

  The 
  foregoing 
  quotations 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  possibilities 
  of 
  water 
  

   transportation 
  had 
  received 
  attention 
  at 
  a 
  very 
  early 
  day. 
  Colden 
  

   states 
  that 
  Governor 
  Burnet 
  erected 
  a 
  fort 
  and 
  trading 
  houses 
  

   at 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  Oswego 
  river 
  about 
  1726 
  " 
  because 
  of 
  its 
  water 
  

   communication 
  with 
  the 
  country 
  of 
  the 
  Iroquois 
  and 
  for 
  facility 
  

   of 
  transportation 
  between 
  the 
  lakes 
  and 
  Schenectady, 
  there 
  being 
  

   but 
  three 
  portages 
  in 
  the 
  whole 
  route 
  and 
  two 
  of 
  them 
  very 
  short." 
  

   These, 
  no 
  doubt, 
  were 
  the 
  carriages 
  at 
  Little 
  Falls, 
  Wood 
  creek 
  

   and 
  at 
  Oswego 
  rapids. 
  

  

  A 
  Swedish 
  traveler 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  in 
  the 
  year 
  1748 
  speaks 
  of 
  

   the 
  near 
  approach 
  of 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  Hudson 
  and 
  the 
  St 
  Law- 
  

   rence. 
  Apparently 
  he 
  supposed 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  perfect 
  communica- 
  

   tion 
  from 
  the 
  former 
  to 
  the 
  latter. 
  

  

  As 
  soon 
  as 
  the 
  Revolutionary 
  war 
  was 
  concluded, 
  Washington 
  

   saw, 
  in 
  the 
  improvement 
  of 
  the 
  internal 
  communications 
  of 
  this 
  

  

  