Editing Erie Canal (section)

===Freight boats===

Canal boats up to {{convert|3.5|ft|m}} in draft were pulled by horses and mules walking on the towpath. The canal had one towpath, generally on the north side. When [[barge|canal boats]] met, the boat with the right of way<!--How was this determined? A: good q. One would guess it was the boat traveling west as right dominates on all navigations, but one could also have afforded the bigger vessel priority, a citation is needed.--> remained on the towpath side of the canal. The other boat steered toward the berm (or heelpath) side of the canal. The driver (or "hoggee", pronounced HO-gee) of the privileged boat kept his towpath team by the canalside edge of the towpath, while the hoggee of the other boat moved to the outside of the towpath and stopped his team. His towline would be unhitched from the horses, go slack, fall into the water and sink to the bottom, while his boat coasted with its remaining momentum. The privileged boat's team would step over the other boat's towline, with its horses pulling the boat over the sunken towline without stopping. Once clear, the other boat's team would continue on its way.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

Pulled by teams of horses, canal boats moved slowly, but methodically, shrinking time and distance. Efficiently, the smooth, nonstop method of transportation cut the travel time between Albany and Buffalo nearly in half, moving by day and by night. Migrants took passage on freight boats, camping on deck or on top of crates.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sheriff|first=Carol|title=The artificial river: the Erie Canal and the paradox of progress, 1817-1862|date=1997|publisher=Hill and Wang|isbn=0-8090-1605-2|location=New York|pages=54|oclc=37690680}}</ref>