Much of the route of the canal lay through marshy ground, inundated in the spring and fall, rendering it difficult of access. Forty thousand dollars was expended the first year upon roads leading to the work. The country bordering upon its route was but scatteringly settled, affording neither provisions nor shelter for laborers. Supplies had to be gathered from abroad. The work preceded the local demands of the country, other than those conceived in the brilliant imaginations of "corner" or "water lot" speculators in Chicago. Labor and provisions were high. The former from $20 to $30 per month and board. Pork at Chicago was from $20 to $30 per barrel; flour $9 to $12; salt $12 to $15; oats and potatoes 75 cents per bushel; and other articles of consumption in ratio.

To give a further idea of the difficulty of this great work, we reproduce from an exhaustive legislative report, made by the Hon. Newton Cloud in 1837, the following. The canal is treated in three divisions: The first, comprising a high level from Chicago to where it runs out (Lockport) distance 28 miles. On this, from Chicago river to Point of Oaks, a cut of 18 feet was required, to allow the waters of Lake Michigan to flow through. Half of the excavation for the entire 28 miles consisted of stratified and solid rock. The whole of this summit division was described as a sunken plain, largely underlaid with rock, the waters of the Des Plaines, Portage Lake, and the Saganaskee swamp extending over it and forming at times a continuous lake; 15 or 16 feet of the canal cut, on this division, lay below the surface of the Des Plaines and contiguous to it; and as drainage was impracticable, the difficulties and expense to be encountered from this object alone baffled the power of calculation. Besides, as the line was many feet below the river and the surface of the lake, subterraneous veins or fountains of water might be expected. In the rock cutting, much would depend upon the compactness of the rock and its capacity to exclude the suberincumbent water from the prism of the canal. If fissures, peculiar to lime stone regions, should be met with the work would be exceedingly slow, enormously expensive at any time of the year, and impracticable during rainy seasons. An abstract of the engineers estimate put the total cost of this division at $5,897,701.13; but the legislative committee, by referring to contracts already let, (which they cite) found that solid rock excavation per cubic yard would cost $2.50, instead of $1.54; earth excavation 40 cents, instead of 33; contingencies and superintendance 15 per cent. instead of 3, &c., &c.; whence they deduced that the summit level would cost $10,192,461, a difference against the engineer's estimate exceeding $4,250,000. These obstacles led to the consideration of the high level or shallow cut plan, as run by engineer Bucklin, ten feet above Lake Michigan, using the Calumet or Des Plaines rivers for feeders. They estimated that upon this plan the summit division, including the necessary feeders, might be constructed for one-fourth the cost, or $2,500,000. The Calumet was preferred for a feeder, because of its connecting 80 miles of navigation with the canal from the then contemplated internal improvements of the State of Indiana in that region. The middle division of 37 miles was estimated at $1,510,957; and the western division at $1,272,055-total $5,283,012. They further reported that by connecting the canal with the river at lake

Juliet, 60 miles would be saved; that the river could be locked and dammed thence to Peru at a cost of $576,665, reducing the cost of the entire work to only $3,551,665-the improvements of the river giving to the State, besides, a hydraulic power capable of running 700 pair of mill stones, yielding an annual rental of $210,000. None of

these suggestions were adopted; though the State was, from financial embarrassments, afterwards forced into the adoption of the shallow cut plan.

By act of March 2d, 1837, supplemental to the law of Jan. 9, 1836, the canal commissioners were rendered independent of the governor. Besides an acting commissioner, one was to be president of the board and the other treasurer, the latter to give additional bond for the safe keeping and disbursement of the funds. In the absence of the acting commissioner, the others were to perform his duties. They were to, without delay, prosecute the canal to final completion upon the plan of 1836. A new survey and estimates, on the established route, were to be made under oath, with the view to ascertain if sufficient water could be obtained to feed the canal on the summit level. A route diverging from the main trunk was to be surveyed through the Aug-sagnash-ge-ke swamp and Grassy lake to intersect the Calumet river, estimates to be made, and the canal built whenever the State of Indiana should undertake a corresponding work connecting therewith. A navigable feeder, from the best practicable point on Fox river to Ottawa, was to be constructed, and at the latter place, basins or a lateral canal connecting with the Illinois river were also to be built. Sales of Chicago lots to the amount of $1,000,000 were ordered; the governor was to borrow $500,000 upon the credit of the State, to be expended on the canal in 1838; to promote competition between contractors, no bond should be required, but a certain percentage on estimates reserved until the final completion of their jobs. Notwithstanding congress had many years before given license to the State to take materials from the public lands for the construction of the canal, the legislature now authorized the circuit courts to appoint men to appraise all damages arising to settlers upon them from the construction of the canal. Many claims were presented and allowed, costing the State many thousands of dollars. But at this time the canal bad become connected with the great internal improvement system, and with the then inflated notions pervading the public mind nobody doubted either the credit or ability of the State to compass all these grand works, and such a power could not afford to be niggard to individuals with claims.

Up to January 1, 1839, the gross expenditures on the canal, derived from the various sources of loans, lot and land, amounted to $1,400,000. All of it, but about 23 miles between Dresden and Marseilles, was contracted, and the jobs let were roughly estimated at $7,500,000. The legislature, still infatuated with the huge State internal improvement system, at the session of 1838-9, encouraged the canal by directing the fund commissioners to loan to its fund $300,000, and authorizing the governor to make a further loan for it by the sale of $4,000,000 of State bonds. This was the canal loan, to negotiate which, Gov. Carlin, unwilling to put it into the hands of the fund commissioners, employed Messrs. Young and Reynolds, who made a very bungling job of it, entail

g upon the State a loss of several hundred thousand dollars, by eir various transactions with Dunlap, of Philadelphia, Delafield, I New York, and Wright & Co., of London. The latter, for a illion dollars, except the advance of £30,000, proved almost a tal failure; Delafield became unable to pay his installments, and was unwilling to surrender the bonds; and that of Dunlap was aid in such dribs of depreciated currency as to be of little avail n carrying forward the work.

In the meantime it became apparent that no more loans could be effected for the State without heavy sacrifice; the great system of internal improvements showed symptoms of a speedy collapse, and in February, 1840, the legislature put a period to its wild and reckless career. The work upon the canal was not interrupted by legislative action; provision was made to meet the liabilities or the State to contractors by issuing to them checks for the amounts found due on estimates, to bear interest at the rate of 6 per cent. The contractors had taken their jobs during the flush times (for Illinois) of 1836-7, when prices ruled much higher than in 1840. They could afford to lose 25 per cent. on them and still do well; and as the State hesitated to sell her bonds much below par, they engaged to receive them on their estimates at par. $1,000,000 were in that manner paid to them. Gen. Thornton, canal commissioner, was deputed to go to London with the bonds, where he effected a sale of $1,000,000 at 85 cents on the dollar, the contractors suffering the discount-being ten per cent. better than his instructions. By this expedient life was kept in the canal, though work on every other internal improvement had long since been abandoned. With the completion of their jobs some of the contractors proposed to receive, in like manner, the residue of their estimates, and $197,000 more was paid to them, when, with the final breaking of the State bank in February, 1842, an extraor dinary depreciation of Illinois stocks in market took place, which put a period to this character of payments. After that no further payment was made to contractors for over two years, when the canal passed into the hands of the foreign bondholders, though work was not wholly intermitted upon many of the jobs during this time. The new board of canal commissioners, elected by the legislature at the session of 1841, were: Isaac N. Morris, president; Jacob Fry, acting commissioner, and Newton Cloud, treas

urer.

After July, 1841, no further efforts were made to pay interest on the public debt. The financial embarrassments of the State became alarming. To add to the distress of the people, the State banks, early in 1842, broke down completely. The governor, anditor, and treasurer issued their circular, stating that the notes of these institutions would not be received in payment of taxesnothing but gold and silver. The treasury was empty. There prevailed a dearth in trade and business amounting to stagnation; values declined; many despaired of the State's ability to ever pay off its enormous debt, exceeding $14,000,000, and equal to a present debt of at least $150,000,000, counting the lessened value of money and increased population, resources and capacity of the State. The people were unwilling to submit to higher taxation. Repudiation was openly agitated by not a few at home and abroad, and the fair name of Illinois became freely associated with dishonor.

In this crisis, besides the compromise legislation with the banks, i the canal afforded the only practicable avenue out of the difficulty; its completion, it was thought, would give a new and pow erful impulse to every department of business and industry throughout the State; and the advantages and facilities to be afforded by it would cause tides of emigrants and floods of wealth to pour into the State. The want of money and anxiety to have any sort of canal, now caused an advocacy of the high level or shallow cut, which could be completed at half the cost of the deep cut. The idea was to induce the holders of canal bonds to advance the money for its completion, upon a pledge of the canal, its lands and revenues in the nature of a first mortgage, and thus infuse life into a work now dormant, which would quicken everything else. Justin Butterfield, of Chicago, first suggested this idea; Michael Ryan, a canal engineer and State senator, in the summer of 1842, met Messrs. Bronson, Leavitt and other large canal bondholders in New York, and devised a plan for raising $1,600,000 to finish the canal on the shallow cut; and Gov. Ford recommended it in his first message,

In accordance with the above plan, the act of February 21, 1843, was passed authorizing the governor to negotiate a loan of $1,600, 000, solely on the credit and pledge of the canal property, its revenues and tolls for a term of 6 years at 6 per cent. interest. payable out of the first moneys realized. The holders of the canal bonds and other evidences of canal indebtedness, were first entitled to subscribe the loan. A board of 3 trustees was established, 1 to be appointed by the governor and 2 by the subscribers of the loan-one vote for every $1,000 of stock. The former were to apportion their duties among themselves. The canal property was to be conveyed by the governor in trust, and to be managed by the trustees much in the manner of former proceedings. They might adopt such alterations of the original plan as they deemed advisable, without materially changing the location, having due regard to economy, permanancy of the work and an adequate supply of water. It was to be completed in a good, substantial, workmanlike manner, ready for use, if practicable, in two and a half years time. On payment of all debts the canal was to revert to the State. In the interest of economy, by another act, the number of canal officers were greatly reduced.

And now, when there appeared every favorable prospect for the speedy completion of the canal, it became involved in the meshes of national politics. Col. Charles Oakley and senator Michael Ryan were by the governor appointed agents to negotiate the new loan of $1,600,000. The treasury was empty; to give them an outfit $3,000 of the school fund was borrowed, which became the subject of attack upon Gov. Ford by Mr. Trumbull, the lately removed secretary of State. The agents proceeded to New York; but with a view to the making of political capital, letter writers at home and partisan editors abroad attacked the canal policy of the State, in the hope that a measure so fraught with good should not redound to the credit of the dominant party. The action of the legislature was misrepresented, the party in power charged with disregarding the interests of the people, and the State creditors advised that if they advanced further funds, the succeeding legis

Ford's History.

ure would break faith with them and repeal their franchise. at these publications produced the opposite effect intended. The ancial agents, with truth on their side, employed the public ess in a series of articles in reply. The real condition of the ate, the legislation adopted to reduce its debts, and its future. ospects, were candidly and ably brought before the public, and e result was that the State stocks advanced in a week from 14 20 cents on the dollar, and in a short time doubled on that. rough the aid of David Leavitt, president of the American xchange Bank of New York, which owned $250,000 canal bonds, e American creditors were called together, who resolved to abscribe their ratio of the new loan.

They

Thus assured, Messrs. Oakley and Ryan hastened to Europe with letters of these proceedings to Baring Brothers, of London, Hope & Co., of Amsterdam, and to Magniac, Jardine & Co., all wealthy bankers and creditors of the State. But these houses lisappointed the ardent hopes of the State agents. They demanded something more substantial than newspaper articles, which had raised the spirits of the New York bond-holders. wanted accurate data of the sufficiency of the canal property as security for both the present loan, and ultimately the payment of the entire canal debt, some $5,000,000 more; and further, some legislative effort at taxation and submission of the people thereto, in payment of interest on the public debt. It was finally arranged that Abbott Lawrence, Thomas W. Ward, and William Sturgis, of Boston, should designate two competent men to examine the canal and its property, estimate the value thereof, ascer tain the total debt and report the whole; that $400,000 should be subscribed in America toward prosecuting the work; and that the governor recommend taxation in his next message to the legislature; whereupon the agents returned home in November, 1843. Ex-Gov. John Davis, of Mass., and W. H. Swift, a reputable engineer and a captain in the U. S. army, were selected by the Boston committee to examine the canal, its property and debts. This excited the political jealousy of the eastern press to a renewed interference with the domestic affairs of Illinois.

Gov. Davis' name was at the time mentioned in connection with the vice-presidency on the whig ticket in 1844. The Globe newspaper at Washington, the great organ of the democracy, boldly charged that Gov. Davis had been selected for this work with the view to influence the people of Illinois toward the support of the whig ticket, and in favor of the policy of the general government assuming the State debts. Senator Ryan came again to the rescue and published a merited and vigorous reply, in which Gov. Davis, the foreign bond-holders, and the people of Illinois, were ably defended, and the editor of the Globe deservedly rebuked for his impertinence.

The careful examination of the canal and elaborate report of Messrs. Davis and Swift, confirmed substantially the representations of Messrs. Ryan and Oakley, and they recommended the loan as a safe investment. Gov. Ford promised to recommend to the legislature increased taxation toward paying interest on the public debt. Thus armed, the sanguine financial agents again repaired to Europe, only to meet again with failure. The subscription of $400,000 was wanting. The foreign bond holders refused