sed a shout and pursued him with sticks and stones.
He escaped with difficulty across the river, thus getting out of
the way. I heard of the trouble, but went up to the canal and made
my usual measurements. Not a word was said to me and no unkindness
shown. I understood afterwards that this was caused by a warning
given them by the contractor, who, hearing of the assault upon the
schoolmaster, told them that I was a part of the government and it
would not do to attack me; that to disturb me would have a very
bad effect upon them all. So, I was forgiven, and, indeed, I never
had any controversy during my time there with anyone connected with
the work, from John McCune, the contractor, to the humblest water
carrier about the works.

Early in the winter of 1838, I think in November, I had made up my
mind to go to Cincinnati on the usual leave after the close of
the works. As an excuse, and to procure means of paying for the
trip, I purchased, partly on credit, a barge and loaded it with
barreled salt, apples and other commodities, intending before the
freeze-up to avail myself of the usual rise in the river to float
to the Ohio and thence to Cincinnati. All went smoothly, the boat
was loaded and floated as far as Luke Shute, when the river was
found to be too low to proceed. Consequently the boat was tied up
and placed under the care of a man who slept aboard. We waited
for the river to rise, but it did not come. Both the Muskingum
and Ohio Rivers were very low that season and finally froze up
before the freshet came. This closing of navigation created a
great demand for salt in Cincinnati, as that article could not be
obtained from the up-river country, and it advanced to a price that
would have yielded me a little fortune had my boat not been among
those thus detained. I undertook to carry some of the salt by
flatboats, but they were frozen up. The packing season in Cincinnati
was going forward and salt bore a high price, but I knew it would
fall the moment the river opened. It was apparent that I would
lose on the salt, but I still clung to my purpose to go down the
river. Finally the freshet came, some time in January, I think,
and then, with three men on the barge, I floated down the river,
tying up at nights for safety, and stopping occasionally to sell
apples to the Kentucky farmers, I arrived at last in Cincinnati
and soon found that salt had greatly fallen in value, so I sold
the salt, boat and car