132 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters . 
With the knowledge of the success attained by the completion of 
the Erie Canal in 1825 came an agitation for the construction of 
canals in several parts of the country, especially in those states 
which touch the Great Lakes. The introduction and improvement 
of the steamboats was a further incentive to waterway improvement 
as many of the streams used by the pioneer were too shallow or re¬ 
quired portages, both disadvantages in their use for profitable 
steamboating. Such a highway was the Fox-Wisconsin. In 1829, 
just four years after the completion of the Erie canal, an agitation 
was begun for the improvement of the Fox-Wisconsin highway in 
order that steamboats might be used. 4 This agitation came not 
only from the merchants and the usual boomers of real estate in 
the small towns along the way, from the farmers and boatmen, but 
also from representatives in Congress who took an active part in 
bringing the proposed improvement to the attention of the govern¬ 
ment and the public. Great was the optimism in regard to the ad¬ 
vantages to be gained by those along the highway and to the whole 
northwest. Cities situated along this water course were sure to in¬ 
crease rapidly in size and become the most important in the state. 
Along this valley would move the pioneers to the region farther 
west. In their wake would follow supplies and implements, and in 
return would go the furs, the lead of southwestern Wisconsin, and 
the products of the constantly increasing number of farms. 
Since the Fox-Wisconsin route had been the one most travelled 
between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River in the early ex¬ 
plorations, in the fur trade, and subsequent communication, it was 
but natural to believe that it would be the one most easily converted 
into a waterway for boats of deeper draught and heavier cargo. 
There was a great difference of opinion as to the navigability of 
this waterway, depending probably on the season of the year in 
which the several trips were made and consequent differences in 
volume of water. All accounts agree in a general way as regards 
the conditions on the Fox River, and when later surveys were made 
the engineers agreed as to the manner of improvement and quite 
closely as to the estimated cost. The Wisconsin, on the other hand, 
had so many changes in volume, channels, and general behavior 
that even able surveyors and engineers arrived at different con¬ 
clusions. Marquette says in his journal that “It is very broad, 
with a sandy bottom, forming many shallows, which render navi- 
Whitbeck, p. 29. 
