Erie canal mule drivers

Below are two illustrations of the different sizes of canal boats used on the Erie Canal at different times, as well as proposals for possible future use. and the "Hoggee" or driver would sleep with them. The normal shift was six hours on duty, six hours off. Lowering a mule into the bow of a canal boat in Left: Changing mule.  · Either way—driving mules or riding on top of a barge—would have been way better than doing the digging. Appreciating the backbreaking project that was started in and completed in by the State of New York. Fun fact: 80% of the population of the state of New York lives within 25 miles of the Erie Canal.  · Why did they use mules on the Erie Canal? Many of these boats were pulled by horses. They traveled about 80 miles in 24 hours. LINE BOATS hauled freight and usually traveled about 2 miles per hour.

Right: "Erie Canal boats" [evolution of the sizes of boats used on the canal, ] Most working canal boats on the "Clinton's Ditch" and Enlarged Erie canals included crew quarters, a kitchen, a hold for the goods being shipped, and a stable for the horses or mules. The norm was two teams of horses or mules, one of which would be housed in the bow of the boat, and the "Hoggee" or driver would sleep with them. Why did they use mules on the Erie Canal? Many of these boats were pulled by horses. They traveled about 80 miles in 24 hours. LINE BOATS hauled freight and usually traveled about 2 miles per hour. Mohawk, Ilion, Frankfort. Three nearly interchangeable towns along the Erie Canal. Mule drivers walking along the towpath could hardly tell where one ended and the next began. The rising and falling of the boats in the locks, mules kicking up dust on the towpath, loading and unloading of cargo – all ebbed and flowed as regular as clockwork, providing entertainment as well as danger for children drawn to watch.

The Miami and Erie Canal was a mile ( km) canal that ran from Cincinnati to Toledo, Ohio, creating a water route between the Ohio River and Lake Erie. Services for Richard G. Garrity, the last of the Erie Canal mule drivers in Western New York and one of the last in the entire state, will be conducted at. 26 de out. de Mules walking along a towpath pulled barges, while a system of 83 locks lifted boats nearly feet, to Lake Erie's higher elevation. A success.