our gray horses, which went along the tow-path beside the
canal. As the boat passed quietly along, people thronged the banks to do
honor to the occasion.

When the Seneca Chief reached New York City, Governor Clinton, standing on
deck, lifted a gilded keg filled with water from Lake Erie and poured it
into the harbor. As he did so, he prayed that "the God of the heaven and
the earth" would smile upon the work just completed and make it useful to
the human race. Thus was dedicated this great waterway, whose usefulness
has more than fulfilled the hope of its chief promoter.

[Illustration: Erie Canal on the Right and Aqueduct over the Mohawk River,
New York.]

Trade between the East and the West began to grow rapidly. Vast quantities
of manufactured goods were moved easily from the East to the West, and
supplies of food were shipped in the opposite direction. Prices began to
fall because the cost of carrying goods was so much less. It cost ten
dollars before the canal was dug to carry a barrel of flour from Buffalo
to Albany; now it costs thirty cents.

The region through which the canal ran was at that time mostly wilderness,
and for some years packets carrying passengers as well as freight were
drawn through the canal by horses travelling the tow-path along the bank.

When travelling was so easy and safe, the number of people moving westward
to this region grew larger rapidly. Land was in demand and became more
valuable. Farm products sold at higher prices. Villages sprang up,
factories were built, and the older towns grew rapidly in size. The great
cities of New York State--and this is especially true of New York
City--owe much of their growth to the Erie Canal.

THE RAILROAD

The steamboat, the national highways, and the canals were all great aids
to men in travel and in carrying goods. The next great improvement was the
use of steam-power to transport people and goods overland. It was brought
about by the railroad and the locomotive.

[Illustration: "Tom Thumb," Peter Cooper's Locomotive Working Model. First
Used Near Baltimore in 1830.]

In this country, the first laying of rails to make a level surface for
wheels to roll upon was at Quincy, Massachusetts. This railroad was three
miles long, extending from the quarry to the seacoast. The cars were drawn
by horses.

Our first passenger railroad was begun in 1828. It was called the
Baltimore and Ohio and was the beginning of the railroad as we know it
to