the natural water request from the hudson was overland from albany to schenectady bypassing the balls on the mohawk river at cohost. ended a backbreaking labor 120 miles of the east were flowing river in small boats pulled over rapids, small falls meandering shallows to the headwaters of the mohawk river at rome. been a portage of a mile or more depended on the season to the westward flowing and aptly named wood creek, filled with trees, and doubt a series of flood and drought afflicted waterways to eastern lake ontario. from there a trip by larger boat west on the lake on lake ontario, along portage around niagara falls and finally into lake erie and the other great lakes. it was a long circuitous, arduous voyage not easily or often taken. the erie canal did a direct connection between albany and new york city by the navigable outs in. and began struggling frontier settlement of buffalo on lake erie. bacchanal, three under 63 miles, most of it across unbroken wilderness, 83 loss to deal with 700 feet of elevation change, and just 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep. it was the first bond of

between schenectady and albany, the mohawk makes a very big north were dark. that in the most eastern section of the mohawk river. with the falls finally spilling the mohawk into the hudson. now randle involved himself in the process. he had been invited day she had been asked to become an engineer on the erie canal. he had said no probably because he was still continuing his work in manhattan and yet other projects he was doing but in any case at a certain point he inserts himself in this issue as the eastern end of the canal. and he thinks, and he publicizes his thoughts that the canal path to leave the mohawk valley at schenectady and take a much shorter and cheaper and direct route to albany along a route that he had mapped 15 years earlier. so randle starts making some noise about. he publishes some anonymous newspaper articles and anonymous pamphlet, and chief engineer wright decides just before the section of the canal is to be dealt, wright decide to go in the opposite direction. that is, not take randle to direct route or even continue along the south

that is, not take randel direct route from schenectady to albany or even continue along the southern side of the mohawk as it arcs north and eventually down toward albany. . . >> the waste that we see in public works projects today has a long legacy. became bitter enemies. a couple of years later they wind up together on that chesapeake and delaware canal. a very short, but very important canal connecting chesapeake bay and delaware bay. the chief engineer. the chief contractor. and after a few months he gets rendell fired from the canal. the case eventually goes to the u.s. supreme court. he wins a quarter of a million dollars which is an extraordinary amount of money. the tenth of the value. it builds a mansion overlooking the canal which is eventually built exactly on the line that he had suggested and that right time was wrong. because down every morning to collect tolls, which is how he collected his quarter million dollars. the canal company was not -- did not willingly pay off his judgment. in any case there are other aspects of the book that i think our new material, which i