Project Gutenberg's History of Steam on the Erie Canal, by Anonymous

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Title: History of Steam on the Erie Canal

Author: Anonymous

Release Date: December 28, 2006 [EBook #20209]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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HISTORY OF STEAM
ON THE
ERIE CANAL.

Appeal for the Extension of the Act
of April, 1871, "to Foster and
Develop the Inland Commerce
of the State,"

FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CANALS
AND THE
COMMERCIAL COMMUNITY.

_NEW YORK, JANUARY, 1873._

NEW YORK:
EVENING POST STEAM PRESSES, 41 NASSAU STREET, COR. LIBERTY.
1873.

With Respects of the Author,

155 Broadway, N. Y.

HISTORY OF STEAM
ON THE
ERIE CANAL.

SCREW PROPELLERS FROM 1858 TO 1862.

During the maple sugar season of the spring of 1858, a well-to-do farmer,
of western New York, whittled out a spiral or augur-like screw-propeller,
in miniature, which he thought admirably adapted to the canal. He soon
after went to Buffalo, and contracted for a boat to be built, with two of
his Archimedean screws for propulsion by steam.

Although advised by his builders to substitute the common four-bladed
propellers, he adhered to his original design, and with one propeller at
either side of the rudder--called "twin-propellers"--she was soon ready for
duty. She is the vessel known to history as the _Charles Wack_.

She carried three-fourths cargo and towed another boat with full cargo, and
made the trip from Buffalo to West Troy in seven days, total time,
averaging two miles per hour. But she returned from Troy to Buffalo, with
half freight, in four days and sixteen hours, net time; averaging three and
one-twelfth miles per hour, without tow.

This initiated the series of steamers from 1858 to 1862, and, with others
that soon followed, created a general enthusiasm in behalf of steam
transportation, which led to a trip through the canal that fall, on a
chartered steam-tu