246 
lock-tender to show any extra interest in this matter. 
Our party of nine, with the dainty little craft, traversed 
one of the most difficult and most alluring of the fascinating 
canals of the mountainous regions of Pennsylvania, with- 
out a mark on its painted walls. In ascending the Lehigh 
mountains, it was necessary for a distance of only a few 
miles to climb up the mountain sides through most amaz- 
ing feats of engineering. In one instance there was a sheer 
“water jump”’ of twenty-four feet, and only those who have 
passed through the experience of making this rise in a tiny 
houseboat, can conceive of the real delights of a canal vaca- 
tion therein. When we entered the peaceful looking lock 
at its lowest level, there seemd to be little cause for appre- 
hension, even when the lower gates were securely closed 
and we found ourselves locked in a ‘‘well’’ twenty-four feet 
deep, with rough wooden walls on every side, and only the 
blue sky in view above. But when the water began surging 
in from the upper gate, to lift us gradually to the higher 
level, we found that there was actual cause for alarm; not 
only for the welfare of the freshly-painted walls of the 
dainty watercraft, but for the safety of its inmates. The 
surge and tumble and swell on the incoming waters would 
scarcely be felt by the great cumbersome canal boats resting 
solidly upon the rising flood, but with the light houseboat 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
July, 1911 
We found one of the greatest delights of the canal trip 
in visiting points of interest and historic landmarks near 
the waterway. We tied the houseboat to a convenient tree 
near the canal and the horse within reach of convenient 
pasture, and the entire party then explored the surround- 
ing country-side or climbed some fascinating mountain 
path for the view, or the traditions of its neighborhood. 
We also found that one of the most interesting features of 
social intercourse, in passing through the numerous locks 
in the canals that climb the mountains to the upper coal 
regions, consists in ‘‘visiting’’ at the homes of the lock- 
keepers. Those of you who have enjoyed a single vaca- 
tion in canal houseboating, and have followed the usual 
custom of passing directly out upon the upper or the lower 
level—as the case may be—with only a nod or a word of 
greeting to the lonely lock-keeper and his wife, must try 
our plan on the next trip and pause for a little personal call 
at the lock house and garden. ‘They are frequently lonely 
people at the majority of these locks, situated at long 
distances apart, along the more level stretches. They see 
only the usual canal boatmen and the mule drivers on the 
tow path, and the sight of a gala houseboat, with a jolly 
party of vacationists is delightful in itself, and doubly so 
when the party will stop to “visit.” 
Anchored at a canal town for supplies 
sitting well up on the water, there was tossing and swaying 
and plunging that threatened to beat the boat from side 
to side against the walls of the deep lock. 
With each member of the party stationed at the various 
windows of the houseboat with a stout pole, and the two 
most daring members watching from the roof to view the 
dangers from every side, and to give directions, it was 
possible to pole the frail craft into the center of the lock 
throughout the filling of the well; and we sailed out on the 
open waters at the summit of the lock with the view of the 
magnificent mountain scenery that opened before our fas- 
cinated gaze, well repaying all the anxieties of our memor- 
able climb. 
While this particular lock of twenty-four feet is an ex- 
ception in climbing the Lehigh mountains (the climbs being 
shorter and more frequent in going farther up the moun- 
tains by canal), houseboats have during recent years passed 
through still deeper locks in the canals of upper New York 
state, and yet there has never been the slighest cause for 
alarm when the party in charge has been expert in poling; 
for the only danger lies in the dashing of the lighter craft 
against the sides of the locks with the rapid inrush of waters 
that would not affect the canal boats for which the locks 
were constructed. 
The scenic attractions in the hill country 
By the way, an interesting item for your notebooks will 
be the reminder that the best of home-made bread, cakes 
and pies, may frequently be obtained from the good house- 
wife of the lock-house, at no greater cost than the baker’s 
supply at the nearby village. And even the rough-and- 
ready appetites of the ever-hungry houseboaters can detect 
the difference in deliciousness. Besides the replenishing of 
food supplies, the wealth of legendary lore, and traditions of 
the mountain fastnesses and all the country-side surround- 
ing the canal, may be secured at first hand from the lock- 
keepers, who have spent the greater portion of their lives 
at the locks. 
With bathing suits and canoes included among the indis- 
pensables in houseboat paraphernalia, an early morning swim 
or vigorous paddling up the stream gave us ravenous ap- 
petites for the camp-fire breakfast each morning; for we 
invariably prepared the hearty breakfasts over a big blaz- 
ing camp-fire on shore, instead of within the limited quarters 
of the houseboat kitchen. Then, after the generous morning 
feast, the horse was brought from a nearby stable, rented 
from a farmer for the night; and with the slight rental, 
apples and sweet corn and quantities of milk were fre- 
quently “thrown in’ by generous farmers, who were de- 
lighted with the advent of a houseboat. 
