﻿722 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  country, 
  that 
  which, 
  after 
  independence, 
  most 
  concerned 
  the 
  pros- 
  

   perity 
  and 
  happiness 
  of 
  the 
  people. 
  Undoubtedly 
  the 
  subject 
  had 
  

   occupied 
  his 
  mind 
  before 
  the 
  Revolution, 
  although 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  

   record 
  by 
  which 
  any 
  date 
  can 
  be 
  fixed, 
  but 
  he 
  was 
  without 
  doubt 
  

   among 
  those 
  who 
  first 
  thought 
  of 
  the 
  advantages 
  and 
  practica- 
  

   bility 
  of 
  a 
  navigation 
  between 
  the 
  lakes 
  and 
  the 
  Atlantic. 
  Imme- 
  

   diately 
  after 
  the 
  war 
  ended 
  he 
  devoted 
  himself 
  to 
  this 
  subject, 
  

   and 
  in 
  1784 
  personally 
  explored 
  not 
  only 
  what 
  is 
  now 
  the 
  route 
  

   of 
  the 
  Champlain 
  canal, 
  but 
  the 
  route 
  which 
  later 
  on 
  the 
  Western 
  

   Inland 
  Lock 
  Navigation 
  Company 
  adopted 
  for 
  their 
  improvement. 
  

   . 
  The 
  following 
  extract 
  from 
  a 
  letter 
  to 
  the 
  Marquis 
  of 
  Ohas- 
  

   tellux, 
  in 
  which 
  Washington 
  refers 
  to 
  these 
  travels, 
  is 
  taken 
  from 
  

   Marshall's 
  Life 
  of 
  Washington 
  : 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  lately 
  made 
  a 
  tour 
  through 
  the 
  Lakes 
  George 
  and 
  Cham- 
  

   plain, 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  Crown 
  Point; 
  then 
  returning 
  to 
  Schenectady, 
  I 
  

   proceeded 
  up 
  the 
  Mohawk 
  river 
  to 
  Fort 
  Stanwix, 
  and 
  crossed 
  

   over 
  to 
  Wood 
  creek, 
  which 
  empties 
  into 
  Oneida 
  lake 
  and 
  affords 
  

   the 
  water 
  communication 
  with 
  Ontario; 
  I 
  then 
  traversed 
  the 
  

   country 
  to 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  the 
  eastern 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  Susquehanna, 
  and 
  

   viewed 
  the 
  Lake 
  Otsego, 
  and 
  the 
  portage 
  between 
  that 
  lake 
  and 
  

   the 
  Mohawk 
  river 
  at 
  Canajoharie. 
  Prompted 
  by 
  these 
  actual 
  ob- 
  

   servations, 
  I 
  could 
  not 
  help 
  taking 
  a 
  more 
  contemplative 
  and 
  

   extensive 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  vast 
  inland 
  navigation 
  of 
  these 
  United 
  

   States, 
  and 
  could 
  not 
  but 
  be 
  struck 
  with 
  the 
  immense 
  importance 
  

   of 
  it. 
  ... 
  I 
  shall 
  not 
  rest 
  content 
  until 
  I 
  have 
  explored 
  the 
  

   western 
  country 
  and 
  traversed 
  those 
  lines 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  which 
  have 
  

   given 
  bounds 
  to 
  a 
  new 
  empire. 
  

  

  In 
  1772 
  Christopher 
  Colles 
  lectured 
  in 
  Philadelphia 
  om 
  the 
  

   subject 
  of 
  lock 
  navigation, 
  and 
  in 
  1784 
  proposed 
  to 
  the 
  New 
  

   York 
  Legislature 
  to 
  improve 
  the 
  navigation 
  of 
  the 
  Mohawk 
  river. 
  

   In 
  1785, 
  on 
  the 
  reiterated 
  application 
  of 
  Mr 
  Colles, 
  the 
  Legisla- 
  

   ture 
  granted 
  him 
  $125 
  to 
  enable 
  him 
  to 
  make 
  an 
  attempt 
  towards 
  

   the 
  execution 
  of 
  his 
  plan. 
  In 
  the 
  same 
  year 
  he 
  published 
  pro- 
  

   posals 
  to 
  establish 
  a 
  company 
  to 
  improve 
  the 
  inland 
  navigation 
  

   at 
  Oswego 
  and 
  Albany. 
  In 
  this 
  publication 
  he 
  anticipated 
  the 
  

   advantages 
  which 
  a 
  water 
  communication 
  with 
  the 
  lakes 
  would 
  

   afford. 
  He 
  states: 
  

  

  The 
  Allegheny 
  mountains 
  seem 
  to 
  die 
  away 
  as 
  they 
  approach 
  the 
  

   Mohawk 
  river. 
  The 
  ground 
  between 
  the 
  upper 
  part 
  of 
  this 
  river 
  

   and 
  Wood 
  creek 
  is 
  perfectly 
  level. 
  

  

  