familiar with their construction; they are simple, very strong, well
built, and permanent, being uniformly about one hundred feet long. Our
boat, which is of a superior class for freight boats, is about 80 feet
long by 20; the bow and stern are 4 feet lower than the middle section,
which is divided into three apartments--the two end ones for the
accommodation of passengers, the stern to eat in, and the bow to sleep
and sit in, each about 23 feet long, and sufficiently high for a
six-footer to stand erect with his hat on. The roof is in the form of
the back of a tortoise, and affords a handsome promenade, excepting when
the everlasting bridges and locks open their mouths for your head. The
centre apartment is appropriated to merchandize. The only difference
between this and a passage or packet boat, is, that their centre cabins
are also for the accommodation of passengers, and in some instances a
little more expensively finished, and travel at the rate of 4 miles an
hour, while we rarely exceed 3-1/4, they with three horses, and we with
only two. It is evident the freight boats very much injure the packets
by the cheapness with which they run, but as they go with freight, their
passage money is clear gain, and competition is the result. The packets
pay heavier tolls, and of course levy it on their cargo of live stock.
We really live _well_ in our little house, and have an obliging captain
and steward, with every convenience, but short necks, that we could ask
or desire.

It takes 5 hands to manage a boat of this size: they are the steward,
the helmsman, and two drivers, who relieve each other as occasion may
require: we have relays of horses every 20 miles, and thus we are
gliding to the West. At 12 A. M. we arrived at the little falls of the
Mohawk, distant 88 miles from our place of embarkation, and this being
the wildest place on the canal, I shall notice it particularly. The
river falls in less than half a mile 50 feet, by one continued rapid,
which is surrounded by five locks, one directly above the other. There
has evidently been a terrible effort with the little Mohawk, in days of
yore, to break through the crags of the mountain barrier, which it
evidently has done by the appearance of the rocks, which are worn away
in a variety of forms on all sides. There being about 20 boats waiting
to pass the locks, which would occupy some time, the captain very
politely offered to accompany me to the village situated on the