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Mules were used on the Erie Canal primarily for their strength and endurance, making them ideal for towing canal boats along the waterway. They could pull larger loads over long distances, which was essential for transporting goods efficiently. Additionally, mules were well-suited to the canal’s environment and could navigate the towpaths alongside the water, providing a reliable means of propulsion for the canal boats. Their use contributed significantly to the canal's overall operational success.
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Who were the hoggees?
Hoggees were men, women and children who used horses and mules to pull boats along the Erie Canal.
What did the Erie canal use to build the canal?
To build the Erie Canal, they used mules, horses and thousands of Irishmen with shovels and wheelbarrows. Benjamin Wright was the chief engineer. Wright and his men invented the stump puller and adapted a plow to cut brush.
What power propelled the Erie Canal boats?
It depended on the type of boat, but mules or horses usualy.
What did they use to build the Erie Canal?
To build the Erie Canal, they used mules, horses and thousands of Irishmen with shovels and wheelbarrows. Benjamin Wright was the chief engineer. Wright and his men invented the stump puller and adapted a plow to cut brush.
How did boats travel through the Erie Canal?
Water is a cheaper means of travel than overland. Mules would pull the barges against the current.
What is a hoggee?
Hoggee rode mules or horses who pulled packets (canal boats) on the Erie canal. Also they tended and cared for the animals pulling the boat.
How did people travel on the Erie Canal?
The first Erie Canal was 4′ deep and 40′ wide with small barges. The barges were pulled by mules so it was smelly.
Who used the Erie Canal?
The Erie Canal was used by many thousands of people in New York and immigrants that went on to settle in the Midwest.
Is the Erie Canal still around?
The Erie Canal is still used mostly for recreation and fishing. But there are some barges of corn and wheat for ethanol production using the Erie Canal.
How did the canal reduce the cost of shipping goods?
It took a long time for goods to go across the Appalachian Mountains by man on horseback. It was much faster to go by barge pulled by mules on the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal paid for itself in two years and reduced the price of shipping by 90%.
What were the immediate effect of the Erie Canal?
Many people from Europe used the Erie Canal to get to Wisconsin and Illinois to farm.
What canal is between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario?
The Welland Canal.
