and lumber by oxen;
and "luggage boats" were required to make two and a half miles an hour,
while "passage boats" attained a speed of four miles. Boats of the same
class, and going the same way, were not allowed to pass each other, thus
making "racing" impossible on the staid waters of the old canal.
Whenever a boat approached a lock, the conductor sounded his horn to
secure the prompt attention of the lock-tender; but due regard was paid
to the religious sentiment of New England. Travelling in the canal being
permitted on Sundays, "in consideration of the distance from home at
which those persons using it generally are, it may be reasonably
expected that they should not disturb those places of public worship
near which they pass, nor occasion any noise to interrupt the
tranquillity of the day. Therefore, it is established that no
_Signal-Horn_ shall be used or blown on Sundays."

The tariff varied greatly from year to year. In 1827 the rate from
Lowell to Boston was $2.00 the gross ton; but many articles were carried
on much lower terms.

On account of liability of damage to the banks of the canal, all
navigation ceased at dark; hence, at every lock, or series of locks, a
tavern was established. These were all owned by the corporation, and
were often let to the lock-tender, who eked out his income by the
accommodation of boatmen and horses. The Bunker Hill Tavern, in
Charlestown, situated so as to accommodate both county and canal travel,
was leased, in 1830, for $350; in 1838, it let for $500. The Horn Pond
House, at Woburn, in 1838, was leased for $700. In 1825, a two-story
dwelling-house, 36 X 18, built at a cost of $1,400, for the
accommodation of boatmen and raftsmen, at Charlestown, rented, with
stable attached, for $140. In all these cases, the real estate was
supposed to pay ten per cent.

Some of these canal-taverns established a wide reputation for good
cheer, and boatmen contrived to be overtaken by night in their
vicinity. Sometimes fifteen or twenty boats would be detained at one of
these favorite resorts, and a jolly crowd fraternized in the primitive
bar-room. The temperance sentiment had not yet taken a firm hold in New
England. "Flip" was the high-toned beverage of those days; but
"black-strap," a compound of rum and molasses, sold at three cents a
glass, was the particular "vanity" of the boatmen. In the smaller
taverns, a barrel of old Medford, surmounted by a pitcher of molasses,
scorning the fl