5b 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 1, 



are 75 and 35sq. ft., with another of but 18ft. and one batten. In 

 cruising or in heavy weather racing the 35ft. sail is stepped forward 

 and the 18ft. sail aft. giving: a very safe and snug rig. Tnis season the 

 Lassie will carry a mainsail of 60ft.. with a mizzeu of 25, a total of 85ft. 

 for the regular races, reefing to 60ft. and 15ft., or 75ft. iu the A. C. A. 

 limited race. The large rig will be retained for special races in very 

 light weather. Iu actual use, with a strain on tne sheets, the sails 

 will sag aft and the boom and peak will really be much lower in sail- 

 ing t han t hey appear in the drawing, but this allowance is necessary in 

 all rigs with long, light spars and no stays or shrouds 



THE A C. A. TROPHY. — Editor Forest and Streum.- -I beg to 

 acknowledge thxough Dr. Parmele, of Hartford, the following sub- 

 scriptions of one dollar each to the A C. A. cup. Rev. Francis 

 Goodwin (790;. E. G. Quiggle <S27), C. E. Forrest i79i). Col. Jacob L. 

 Green .791), L. Q . Jones i3s7j, J. Hart Fenn (H. C. C). W. B. David- 

 son (5s5). Also through Mr. Johnson. Brooklyn C. C. $3. Previously 

 acknowledged, $99: total to date, §109.— Wm. Whitlock. 



CANVAS CANOES.— Boston, Jan. 30. — Editor Fore.it and Stream: 

 I see among your Answers to Correspondents one to J. H. Stagg, to 

 the effect that no regular builders of canoes make canvas canoes. I 

 would state that Messrs. Thos. Kane & Co., of Chicago, make canvas 

 ■caaoes ranging in price from $24 to $12.— J. W. Cortwright, Jr. 



RUSHTON'S CATALOGUE.— We have received the new catalogue 

 just issued by Mr. J. H. Rusnton, of Canton, New York, the largest 

 and ui'->st complete list of boats and canoes yet published. We shall 

 notice it at greater length as soon as space offers, as it is well deserv- 

 ing of the aitention of all canoeists. 



MONA.— Mr. B. W, Richards has his new canoe Mona well along. 

 Saure, of Brockville, is building her. She will be 15ft. HJ^in.xSOin., 

 on the same lines as Mr. Stephens's Hermit, but lengthened 1ft. Both 

 boards will be of brass. 



ANOTHER CRUISER.— Mr. Rushton has sent us the lines of a new 

 cruiser, a sneakbox. built up higher and with a stem like a canoe. He 

 is no v experimenting with this model to get a better cruiser than the 

 sneak box 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



June 

 June 

 June 

 June 

 July 

 July 

 Julv 

 July 

 July 

 July 

 July 

 July 

 July 

 July 

 Julv 

 July 

 Aug. 

 Aug. 

 Aug. 

 Aug. 

 Aug. 

 Aug. 



Aug. 



Sept. 

 Sept. 

 Sept. 

 Sept. 

 Sept. 

 Sept. 



FIXTURES. 



17— Dorchester Y. C. Nahaut, Open. 

 19— Hull Y. O, Pennant race. 



23— Boston Y. C. 

 26-Corinthian Y. C. Race. 



3- TIuU Y. C. Race. 



4 -Boston Y. O, Regatta. 

 10— Hull Y. C, Novelty Race. 



10— Corinthian Y. C. Race. 



13— Beverley Y. C, Marblehead, First Championship. 



17— Hull Y. C, Champion Race. 



21— Hull Y, C , Ladies' Dav. 



22- Boston Y. C. 



21 -Dorchester Y. C. 



24— Corinthian Y. C, Ladies' Race. 



31— Beverley Y. C. Swampscott, Second Championship. 

 31— Hull Y.C., Cruise 

 7— Corinthian Y. O, Open Regatta. 



14— Hull Y. C. Open Regatta. 



14— Beverley Y. C . Nahant, Third Championship. 

 21— Beverley Y. C, Marblehead. Open Matches. 



25— Hull Y. C, Ladies' Race. 

 28— Corinihian Y. C. Race. 

 28— Hull Y. C. , Champion Race. 



2— Boston Y. C. 



4— Dorchester Y. C, Fall Race. 



4— Corinthian Y. C, Champion Race. 



11- Hull Y. ('.. Champion Sail-off. 



11— Corinthian Y. C, Sweepstakes Regatta. 



18— Beverley Y. C, Nahant, Fall Matches. 



THE CRUISE OF THE PI LGRI M.-VII . 



BY DR. W. H. WINSLOW. 



THE month of September had been flue for sailing, and I had made 

 the most of ir. The boys had gone home to school. It was time 

 for me to think of my business and waat I was to do with the yacht. I 

 thought of hauling her up in Belfast near Dyer's railway where the 

 shore afforded a snug berth. I did notdo it. If I had, she would have 

 been washed from her cradle and probably been very much damaged 

 by a severe southeast gaie and unusually high tide and sea, in 

 November, or. escaping this, have been burned with the wharf and 

 warehouse just alongside, in December. 



1 decided tc t ake her back to South Boston , the home of yachts, where 

 the builders know how to haul them out and take care of them. 

 Captain McDonald was intending to visit Boston and sai I he would 

 gladly go along with me, and Williams wrote that he would come 

 down and help me to take the yacht back, to have a rest and an op- 

 portunity for observation of the sailing qualities of his latest cutter. 

 All the neccessary arrangements were made, farewells were said to 

 friends and relations, the anchor was lifted, and we started upon our 

 return voyage, at 10 A M , Sept, 30, before a light northwest wind. 



A good deal of time was spent in refittiog the gafftopsail and 

 getting its gear to run freely; we half drifted half sailed all day 

 upon the placid bay and put in to Camden at dark, but were obliged 

 to low with the tender in order to get up to an anchorage to tne left 

 of the steamboat wharf at the mouth of a creek and inside Negro 

 Island. 



The town is situated at the foot of the 'mountains, which run par- 

 allel to the coast, and these cut off westerly winds so that one loses 

 the wind soon after getting inside the lighthouse. Negro Island 

 forms a breakwater seaward, but the swell rolls in behind and 

 beyond it. and the anchorage is seldom quiet, though perfectly safe. 

 These drawbacks should not prevent yachtsmen visiting the harbor, 

 because the little bay. the proximity of the mountains and the pretty 

 villas along shore, make it a really charming place. Gilkey's Habor 

 i« just across the bay and may be easily reached, when one wishes 

 perf eet rest. 



We were awav the next morning at 7.30, before a fine northwest 

 breeze, ate breakfast at Owl's Bay. and, with spinnaker out, went 

 bowling through Mussle Ridge Channel and out to sea. It was nip 

 and tuck for a long time between a three-masted schooner and our 

 craft, which should go out first, but by letting out more sheet so 

 that the mainsail bellied upon both sides of the backstay (which I 

 did not like), we finally offered her a tow and went gaily by. much 

 to the disgust of the grim-visaged skipper, who smoked and fumed 

 to no purpose. We kept the same waters as upon our outward 

 passage, past Mosquito Head, on through Davis' Straight, round 

 Pcmaquid Point, leaving the Hypocrites grinning in their surf off 

 Fisherman's Island to port and, by a little towing, reached a berth 

 before Townsend, snug in Booth Bay. having made the longest and 

 fiijpst run of the cruise, 48 miles. It was 9 P. M. and quite dark when 

 we anchored, and it was difficult to see the vessels on the shore, but 

 I thought we had anchored in the same place as before. Supper was 

 cleared and we were talking an J smoking when I was startled to see 

 that, the stern was raising and the bow sinking. We were on deck in 

 a moment and found we were aground upon a boulder under the 

 noekrjt and bearing on the iron keel, and afloat forward, and we 

 could not start her. There she remained, rolling very easily and 

 deeply upon her pivot, and sinking down forward till the bowsprit 

 was near the water. Of course we could not sleep, and we whiled 

 awav the hours spinning yarns, noticing that the yacht was easy and 

 did not crack, snap, creak or strain any, until the tide rose at 1 A. M., 

 and we towed her off and anchored her in deeper water. Tnen we 

 slept the sleep of the just. 



There was a drizzling rain next morning and we played pool, took 

 a stroll over the village, canvassed a proposition to go to Bath by the 

 inside passage, and had dinner at the hotel. The bay was full of 

 fishermen, more were arriving every hour, and none were going out. 

 It was evident a storm was brewing, though our barometer stood at 

 ■'very dry" all the time, which my excursion friends had referred to 

 during the summer as an excuse for taking a drink often. (It had 

 been set for Pittsburgh, and should have been corrected for sea level 

 at Boston): but it was wet, and a southeaster was evidently at hand. 

 Yet we thought we might venture as far as the Kennebec, as it had 

 lightened up a little and the wind was fair. So we made sail and put 

 to sea, to the surprise of the sailors around us, and were soon tumb- 

 ling upon the tremendous rollers of the Cuckolds. They dashed 

 wiih terrific power against the. high walls of rock along shore, broke 

 upon the reefs in-iide of Seguin in long, curling, tumbling furrows of 

 «hltiin? foarn. and lifted and lowered oui lirtie craft so mightily that 

 1 telt how helpless we should be if the wind failed or we should get 

 caught upon a lee shore. The mouth of the river was before us, but 

 tbe appearance of the shore, surf and sky was very threatening, »nd 

 ] felt we had done wrong in venturing out, when larger craft were 

 wiring safe harbors. However, there was nothing to do but to keep 

 on and hold our faith iu the yacht and in ourselves. 



-This is a dangerous place in a gale, " said McDonald, "Do you see 



those breakers off Whale Back? They have picked up many a good 

 ship. Once a vessel had passed Seguin bound in, and the captain, 

 who lived up in that house on the bank of the river, went below to 

 dress up and go ashore to his family, when the fog fell, the gale in- 

 creased, and before morning the ship was wrecked and all hands 

 were lost. Pretty hard, after a long voyage, to be drowned right in 

 sight of his wife and home. The tide and current of tne river about 

 here set all rules at naught, and when the fog shuts in and the wind 

 fails, look out for breakers. I have been iu here often, but I don't 

 like it. It is a treacherous place, and we must be very careful we 

 don't get caught in the current and swept asho e on the Sugar Loaves 

 or Hunniwell's Beach." 



We partly pitched partly sailed past Pond Island Lighthouse, the 

 Sugar Loaves, Fort Popham, Cox's and Baker's heads, till we got 

 among a fleet of loaded schooners at anchor near Parker's Flats. 

 The tide was already strong flood; it was getting dark and thick, and 

 we did not like to stop in so swift a current. We therefore ran across 

 the stern of a schooner and asked a man upon the quarter deck 

 where, would be a safe place to anchor a small craft drawing five 

 feet. He answered, "Run across and anchor near that fish weir. 

 You will be out of the channel and have good holding ground." 



We did as directed and had everything snue. when the fog shut 

 down, the rain began to fall and the wind increased to a gale from 

 the southeast We heard the dismal foghorns all night and all day 

 long, and knew there was trouble outside. Didn't it blow, and didn't 

 we out and sheer and flop about in the current? But we were safe 

 and we congratulated each other frequently that we had got insi-Ie 

 before dark, because there we lay. unable to see a hundred yards 

 away, from Friday night till Sunday eve, when it cleared a little 

 and "we up anchor and ran under the jib before the gale toPhipsburg. 

 upon the right bank of the river, where, in spite of the chart, we 

 found good" anchorage, an.1 shelter and many sympathizing people. 

 The wind hauled around west-nor'west during the night, and Monday 

 it was coming off shore in heavy puffs that made our halliards 

 whistle and the cables tauten from both anchors in the mud. But 

 they held well till 8 A. M.. when we reefed the mainsail, took in the 

 anchors, and started for Bath on the slack of the flood tide. The 

 Coast Pilot says, "The river is dangerous and stranger ; should not 

 venture to go up without a pilot." but we found no difficulty or 

 especial danger in the way, though we got some heavy Fqualls in 

 Fiddler's Reach, and arrived at anchor off the city about 11 o'clock. 



Bath is built upon the hills of the right bankand has beautiful views 

 up an/1 down the river. Tnere were half a dozen vessels upon the 

 stocks, one magnificent ship of 2,400 tons, with skysail yards, was 

 just ready to launch, and another of 2,000 tons lay at" a wharf getting 

 ready for sea. I was pleased to find that shipbuilding in my native 

 State was not quite dead. 



We got under way after dinner, ran rapidly down the river, and 

 took up our old anchorage at Phipsburg Center, where we inspected 

 the numerous ice houses which make the village. 



I have been up many rivers, including the Hudson, the Clyde and 

 the Rhine, and I think none can compare in natural beauty with the 

 noble Kennebec. Its bold, rocky headlands and receding hills, cov- 

 ered with herbage and shrubs of green, yellow, orange, red and scar- 

 let colors; the moss-covered, gnarled and storm-beaten evergreen 

 trees upon the slopes and inaccessible crags, with their olive green 

 masses lighted up by the flaming yellow and scarlet leaves of the 

 ashes and maples; the secluded coves and little patches of green grass 

 in the valleys; the pretty villas upon hieh hills or peeping out of hid- 

 ing places between the bluffs; the broad reaches of the silvery river 

 almost like a chain of lakes; the wild, rough islands and savage rocks 

 and reefs in the lower course, form a panorama of delightful views 

 unsurpassed anywhere in unity, variety and beauty. 



Tuesday began with a light northwest wind: we weighed the anchor 

 after breakfast, but could not stem the flood tide and had to drop it 

 again. 



We started again about 11 o'clock and worked our way down to 

 Fort Popham and were about to anchor for lack of wind, when it 

 suddenly came out from the southeast. The tide was now slack, and 

 making long and short legs, we finally weathered Pond Island and 

 kept off before the wind for Fuller's rock. The sea was very heavy; 

 we rolled a great deal, and to add to our discomfort the sky became 

 cloudy and sullen and a cold drizzling rain began to fall. We drew 

 slowly by therocky dangerous shore and spent the whole afternoon 

 running at one to two knots an hour toward Mark Island monument, 

 which was along time ahead of us. It was nearly 6 o'clock and getting 

 dark when we arrived there and the sea and tide nearly set us upon 

 the point, which makes off shallow and rocky toward RaskePs Island 

 and is not so shown upon the chart. Williams thought we had better 

 put to sea, get hold of Half Way Rock light and make our way int J 

 Portland by the main channel, but I vetoed that. It seemed to me 

 rash to stay outside in such threatening weather, cold, wet and sup- 

 perless as we were, even if we could do no better than run at hazard 

 up Harpswell or Broad sounds. I kept on past Haskell's, holding the 

 tiller in one hand, the chart in the other with the rain pattering upon 

 it, soon recognized Eagle Island, then Upper Flag Island, and began 

 to breathe freer, for beyond it we could see the clustered lights of a 

 settlement. It was getting dark and thick this time, but we were just 

 able to get hold of Little Birch and Horse Inlands and to shape, out 

 course to clear Thrumh Cap on the right, and guided by the village 

 lights and the anchor lights of a scow, we Anally dropped anchor at 

 7:30 just off the steamboat wharf of Potts Harbor , 



It was a narrow escape from misery and perhaps shipwreck, and, 

 if we had been fifteen minutes later w*e would have had to have gone 

 it blind. 1 would advise amateur sailors not to take the risk of running 

 a course in strange waters without a large margin of time. Let us 

 see what followed. We celebrated our good luck by a hot full meal, 

 listened to the patter of the rain above our heads while comfortably 

 smoking, and contrasted our comfort for Williams's benefit with that 

 we should have had if we had followed his advice. He acknowledged 

 his error, and McDonald said, when he went to sea in a small craft he 

 wanted to get inside every night. He also remarked jokingly, that it 

 was necessary to have a safe aboard if one wished to keep his 

 tobacco. The anchor light was looked after, and with a look out of 

 the windows to see by the scow's light and the lights on ghore that 

 we were not drifting, we finally went to sleep. I awoke in about an 

 hour, sat up and listened. There was music in the air. It was high 

 z-z-z z in many notes of the gamut. The wind was playing melan- 

 choly time upon the strings aloft, the riding rope was sawing across 

 the bobstay and the yacht was trailing toward the rocks around 

 Thrumb Cap. I looked at the sleepers. Williams was snoring com- 

 fortably. McDonald was sitting bolt upright and looking at me. 

 Without saying a word he reached for his boots and pulled them on. 



"What is the matter with you, Mack? What are you going to do?" 

 I asked. ... 



"Do? I am going to let go the heavy anchor. I don t feel comfor- 

 table wi h only one hook in the mud and it blowing great guns like 

 this from the north." 



"That's what is the matter with me, but we have not drifted any 

 yet. 1 can see the scow's light and some lights ashore. The wind 

 has hauled, but it is still raining." 



We put on heavy coats and rain hats and went on deck. Phew! 

 how it blew and how cold it was. The heavy anchor and riding rope 

 wereunlashed and cleared, the yacht was hauled up to the other 

 anchor, then the large one was cast broad off the bow, and about 

 twenty fathoms of cable were paid out on each. The craft went 

 astern and brought up head to the wind at the apex of a triangle of 

 which the ropes formed the sides, and rode easily the remainder of 

 the night. 



THE NEW ATLANTIC. 



THE committee of the Atlantic Y. C. to whom the building of the 

 uew sloop is entrusted, Messrs. Fish, Lawton and Maxwell, have 

 sent out specifications to the various builders, and after receiving 

 their estimates have awarded the contract to John Mumm, of Bay 

 Riige. Work is 10 be commenced at once, and the yacht is to be in 

 commission by Decoration Day. The yacht will be built of wood, in 

 the strongest possible m inner. The specifications call for a keel or 

 white oak,24x24in. taperiug to 9x9in. at ends; a stem sided Sin. and 

 moulded I4in; and a sterupost sided Sin. and moulded 10in., both of 

 white oak. The frames will be of oak and hackmatack, the latter 

 above the walerline, being sided 5in., moulded lOin. at heels and 5m. 

 at heads and spaced 26iu. centers. At the ends the siding will be 

 4Uin. The knighcheads will be of locust, sided Sin, Iron floor straps 

 4xlMin. will be used, those abreast the trunk running up the side 

 of the latter at each frame. The planking will be of pine or cedar 

 2Uin. thick with wales ot Sin. oak, tapering to lj^io. at bow and stern. 

 The fastening will be of copper and locust treeuatls. Inside will be 

 four bilge streaks of «x3iu. yellow pine on each side, with ceiling of 

 thesame2in. thick. The shelf, 12x4in.. the clamps 12x3in.. and the 

 deck beams will be of yellow pine. The latter will vary from o to 

 12in siding and 5 to Bin. moulding. The centerboard trunk will be 

 of oak and yellow pine. 4 and 3iu. thick, and will run up to the deck 

 beams, which will be bolted to it. Abreast of it will be iron tie rods 

 with turnbuckles, running from the keel to the deck The deck plank 

 will be of clear white pine 2^xaJ^in., with oak rail 6x3in. The fasten- 

 ings for the lead keel will be 2in. Muntz metal bolts. All inside 

 ballast will be of lead cast to tic close down . The interior finish will 

 be plain and neat. The spars will be of Oregon pine, but a proposal 

 has been male to furnish a hollow boom and bowsprit built of plate 

 iron. Sawyer & Son will make the sails of specially woven canvas, 

 and Mr. Phillip Low will furnish the rigging. The yacht will steer 

 with a Perley wheel- Mr. Ellsworth favors a lofty and narrow rig 

 rather than low and broad, but the sail plan Is not fully decided on 

 yet. The yacht will have a single jib over 50ft. on the foot, but- a 

 smaller jib and staysail will also be fitted. Mr. Mumm's contract is 

 to be completed by April 30. 



CRUISE OF THE COOT. 



XII. 



AT daybreak the yacht was hailed, After despatching a hasty 

 breakfast my newly found friend and his frisky mules got under- 

 way at a slight trot, the driver being quite an improvement upon the 

 first and inclined to converse as far as the distance would permit. The 

 weather had cleared, broad red bands above the land denoting the 

 advent of the sun in a bright crisp atmosphere with the smell of 

 winter. The landscape was dreary enough. Bare, gaunt trees, deso- 

 late looking fields and dry hrooks with forbidding dwellings rearing 

 their gray shingle roofs against the sky on the hilltops around. The 

 ground was undulating, and but for the season would have been 

 picturesque with the light of fields of golden corn and the shades of 

 forests interspersed. Some ot the farms were on a large scale and 

 betokened wealth, many fineherds of cattle and sheep dotting the low- 

 lands near the river whose bends the canal was following 



Kingston, a tidy small country town is situated half way between 

 New Brunswick and Bordentown. Here the coupon on the receipt was 

 delivered to a representative of the towing company. Twenty-two 

 miles still remained to be made. The longest level is one of fourteen 

 miJes. which leads into the city of Trenton. A fresh team, spurred 

 into occasional trots by a surly driver, took the Coot over this monot- 

 onous haul, a large portion of the level being a cut with the banks so 

 high that only occasional glimpses of the surrounding country could 

 be had. The afternoon wore on with clouds rising, till they obscured 

 the rays of the sun, bringing with them a chill northerly wind of 

 great strength. At times the Coot would be sailing before this wind 

 faster than the mules were traveling The reaches, in the canal were 

 very long and straight, sometimes as far as the eye could reach. For 

 some time a propeller had been coming up in our wake. She gained 

 very slowly. The driver sought to keep ahead by throwing stones at 

 the team, but to no purpose. Supposing he knew bis own business 

 best, I let him have his way, but not without misgivings. The pro- 

 peller finally overhauled us and sheered to one side to pass. This the 

 stupid driver would not allow. He whipped the animals and we kept 

 aloneside. Through a bridge we both squeezed with scarce an inch to 

 spare. 



This sort of thing was not to my liking. The driver never looked 

 astern to see what he was doing, For ten minutes we kept on. Then, 

 as the mules slowed up, the steamer sought to pass. Ar. that mo- 

 ment we had reached a bend in the canal, and to my horror three 

 great, lumbering boats were seen coming head on full tilt. They were 

 loaded with iron pipe and of course would bold their way, as it was 

 impossible to check them. I yelled to the driver to slack up and let 

 go, so the Coot could drop astern of the steamer, and not bring us 

 all abreast with almost certainty that the yacht be crushed to atoms 

 between her weighty fellow travelers. But the fellow paid no atten- 

 tion until a volley of objurgations had been hurled at his head. Then 

 it was too late The canal boats drove in between the steamer and 

 the Coot, the latter being compelled to sheer in to the bank so close 

 that she scraped hard, cutting deep gashes into her plank, the stone 

 facing having razor-like edges. It was nip and tuck, and I certainly 

 was badly frightened while the crisis lasted. Not more than three 

 inches to spare between my boat and the canallers. while they in turn 

 brushed along the sleamer's wales. As the last canal boat squeezed 

 through, the man at her clumsy helm raised his cap with the words, 

 "Cap, I did the best I could for you." And so he and the rest cer- 

 tainly had. But for their cool heads and accurate judgment the 

 Coot would have been crushed like an egg-shell. Canal boats are 

 very difficult to control. They scarcely move straight ahead, but 

 always have a broad sheer on them, crossing more or less from side 

 to side of the canal. To force them one wav or the other requires 

 considerable notice and great skill in "meeting" with the helm, as 

 the latter must be put hard over and then steadied long before the 

 effect has been imparted to the boat. Nothing but extraordinary 

 skill of the skippers on the canallers saved the Coot. 



The worst, however, was yet to come. No sooner had we got 

 through this dilemma than trouble set in from the suction of the 

 propeller. The mules having at last been halted by the obstinate 

 driver, the yacht fell astern abreast of the steamer's quarter. Here 

 the suction was something tremendous. All control by the helm was 

 lost and the Coot was dragged along in the race, sheering with such 

 violence first toward the steamer, then toward the shore, that the 

 helm could not check her. but only aggravated the evil, for there was 

 not time enough to "meet" the succeeding surges. With a crash the 

 Coot brought up against the propeller's quarter and then she flew off 

 toward the stones on the bank, which ground the plank into splinters 

 along the line of contact. Several times over the same exasperating 

 antics were gone through, one crash, more serious than the rest, 

 threatening to stave in the sides. Gradually the yacht dropped out of 

 the tormenting suction and was left to herself to count the dead and 

 wounded. Though not vitally hurt, she was frighftilly cut in places 

 and roughed up all round. The driver got his dose of My mind, but 

 took it all with stolid indifference and never replied. The team was 

 poked up and late in the af ternoou we pulled into Trenton. Here the 

 canal was almost blocked with boats, propellers, arks, and those 

 schooners of ioug, box-like hulls, familiar to New Yorkers. Huge 

 potteries and grimy railroad yards «ent dust and din far and near 

 Men were yelling, whistles screeching, trains backing iu and out; 

 crowds jostled over the bridges, horse cars groaned under their 

 human freight, bells were tolling, and thi air became rank and thick 

 with the smells and smokes of a great city. From the dull, dreamy 

 canal into the center of an active, restless hive of industry was a 

 sudden transition which made it appear as though I had been out of 

 the world for several days past and was now re'urning to its rough 

 reality. A street of water leading through the heart of the city, such 

 was the canal, for it squeezed through the back yards and by the front 

 stoops and along house walls, around corners, through manufactur- 

 ing establishments, past gas works, churches, schools and institutions 

 of all kinds, until at last it managed to straighten out its many kiuks 

 into long reaches, once more calmly flowing through peaceful mead- 

 ows belows. 



A rambling white barn with palings surrounding a court consti- 

 tuted the headquarters of the towing company, the last station on 

 the line of the canal. Without warning the driver slipped my line 

 and left me to drift I knew not whither nor what for. Some men 

 ashore who took in the situation at a glance told m- to pass through 

 the railroad draw which happened to be open, as I would be better 

 off below than above. With the sweep tho Coot was sculled through 

 and tied up to the cribbing around the turn. It was a bad place, but nu 

 basin being visible the boat was made fast, much to the delighr of a 

 squad of street Arabs and the locomotive crews in the railroad yard. 

 The cabin was locked up and a trip up the street undertaken to for- 

 age for fresh meat. While stowing away supper a respectable old 

 man asked me to come on board. He was the tender of a bridge 

 about 200 yards further down. He had seen me tie up in the a wk- 



ard place aud realizing the danger, had come to poiut out a more 



lower you down the steep grade in the six miles from Trenton to 

 Bordentown. nor did I care to be let loose Into the Delaware river 

 at midnight to hunt an anchorage in such inclement weather. A 

 second night in the canal was inevitable. So accepting the old man's 

 counsel the Coot was sculled below his swing bridge, which he kept 

 open for me in spite of the cars and crowds of city people accumu- 

 lated in a mass on their way home from the day's toil. Just below 

 the bridge in an angle formed by the wall of his house, I found a 

 little bit of water into which the Coot was gently propelled and then 

 tied up, one line to the fence post of the considerate old man's yard, 

 the other to a sleeper of a railroad track on the bank. Here we were 

 safe from all passing traffic and unobserved by the crowds in the 

 street, being hidden from them by the house. 



One gentleman, however, ferreted me out and entered into agree- 

 able conversation, He had been an active yachtsman in his day and 

 was familiar with New York waters. His experiences in the canal 

 were even worse than ray own. for he relatert a passage, during 

 which he had the bowsprit of his yacht rammed into splinters against 

 a lock gate, his boom snapped in the slings, his yaw! boat crushed, 

 and inany minor mishaps which cost htm much money and bad 

 temper. 



In the morning the old man again appeared, and with many well 

 wishes ca«t off my lines, remarking, that if he were still young he 

 would follow mv example. From New Bnmswink to Trenton, a dis- 

 tance of 35 mile's, the canal is on a gradual ascent until the "divide" 

 is reached at Trenton. On the Delaware side of the ndae, the slope 

 is so abrupt that the descent is made in six miles through the means 

 of six deep locks, three of which are, I believe, within the city limits. 

 Having through the rude lessons of the previous day divined the 

 soothing influence of fifty cents upon the average barbarian on the 

 towpath, that sum was forthcoming this day at the outset, and so the 

 locks were taken one after the other without serious difficulty. The 

 driver would catch the stern line and snub the boat upon entering, 

 and would tow her out clear by hand. Upon meeting with rafts com- 

 ing up he poked the mules into a quick trotso that the tightened tow 

 line passed clear over them, the Coot taking the middle of the canal, 

 the rafts huggiug the bank. A series of long bends are followed by 

 a straight reach from which are caught the first glimpses of the Dela- 

 ware's limpid waters as the river comes leaping down over its rocky 

 bottom Only a narrow channel is navigable up to Trenton, w hich is 

 the head of navigation. Below the city the banks become lo w and in 

 some places marshy, while the bottom' changes from rock to mud and 

 saod, which is its prevailing character at Bordentown. The last lock 

 was reached as the sun broke forth bright and warm, and nature as. 

 sumed a cheery garb all round. Passing up the remnant of the offi- 

 cial receipt to the colleotor's office, the gate swung open, and at last 



