to steam ferryboats, and from thence proceeds through a favorable and productive country to the valley of the Delaware River, near the northwest corner of the County of SulliFrom thence the route ascends along the Delaware to a point that affords the nearest and most favorable crossing to the valley of the Susquehanna, which it enters at or near the great bend of that river.

van.

"Pursuing a westerly and almost level course through the fertile valleys of the Susquehanna and Tioga rivers, the route crosses the head waters of the Genesee, having in its course intersected the terminations of the Ithaca and Owego Railroad and the Chenango and the Chemung canals in New York, the Great Susquehanna Canal in Pennsylvania, and several other points that afford important facilities for intercommunication.

From Genesee River our route enters the valley of the Alleghany and proceeds along that river, which affords a navigable communication with Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania canals, and the Ohio River. From Alleghany the route intersects the outlet of the Chautauqua Lake, on which communication may be had with Lake Erie, and proceeds to the headwaters of the French Creek to Pennsylvania, from which it again communicates with the Alleghany and the Pennsylvania canals on the one hand, and may be connected with the harbor of Erie on the other."

Thence the route was to proceed parallel to the lake line, through the States of Ohio and Indiana, to a point of junction with the Mississippi River, immediately above the Rock Island Rapids. In this pamphlet its author foresaw with prophetic accuracy the course of the railroads that would connect the infant states of Michigan, Indiana and Illinois with the Atlantic seaboard, and foretold that these railroads would advance with incredible rapidity the settlement of those vast and fertile regions and would divert their trade largely to the great Eastern metropolis. He showed his possession of accurate knowledge of the topography of the vast country lying between the Hudson and the Mississippi, and made an extraordinary forecasting of the rapid settlement of the Western states, the magic development of their agricultural and mineral wealth, and the rapid and constant growth of the city of New York. He set forth under nineteen distinct heads the great superiority of railroads to canals not then fully established, and he anticipated that after the construction of the great trunk railway connecting the Hudson and the Mississippi, many lateral railways and canals would be built which would combine in one vast network the whole great West with the Atlantic States. He said "this great plateau will indeed one day be intersected by thousands of

miles of railroad communications, and so rapid will be the increase of its population and resources, that many persons now living will probably see most or all of this accomplished." With this pamphlet the author published a map on which the proposed railroad appears with connections traced by his pencil to prominent points on Lakes Erie and Michigan now reached by the Erie Railroad.

This remarkable Redfield pamphlet found wide circulation, and in 1831, the principle of internal improvement by the Government finding favor with the existing national administration, Col. DeWitt Clinton, son of the great Clinton, and a member of the United States Army Engineer Corps, was detailed to make a reconnoissance of the country from the Hudson to the Mississippi, along the route of the proposed railroad. He carried the work to the Ohio portage waters, and made a report to the Government showing that the project was practicable so far as he had investigated, although the general features of that portion of the line within New York State were not as favorable as the friends of the undertaking had anticipated.

(The letter on page 6, in facsimile, from Clinton to Hon. Samuel Preston of Wayne County, Pa., a pioneer of the Delaware Valley, and one of the very earliest advocates of railroad construction in this country, is interesting in many ways as bearing on the subject of this proposed railroad.)

Thus, then, came the first suggestion of a railroad over that rugged route as the evolution of General Clinton's idea of a great national Appian Way. In the light of events then, this was a bold suggestion. When the Redfield pamphlet appeared there were but nine miles of railroad in the United States that could be classed as railroad in operation. That nine miles was a crude gravity road, or road of inclined planes, which had been running then something more than a year, connecting the Summit Hill coal mine with the Lehigh River at Mauch Chunk, Pa. True, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had been begun; the South Carolina Railroad was building, and several companies were under charter to build local railroads in New York State. But no mind had reached so far into the future of railroads as had that of Redfield, and he lived to see his daring

My Much Msfected. Third

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your house. you promised to prane for me the leach of the summit of the state protoned for the Rail Road between your place and the dooque hauna Rew, and also the distance acropt bexture the two rivers. I hope that you will be able to fulfil your promises, andthat you will unctive me the measurements with" "Cop of time.

out

In late letter I am told that it is proponed to hois. a convention to promote the objects of the Road. I hope that Pennsylvania will cubest also ai this measure by winding delegates to it. By Pennsy Dandy Mama I alledit to the portion counters, and it would be better that our prinos in both states & hould initi than to adopt two separate conventions for that fussons

If a Convention should be held it would be wile to motmet te remben of Congress in both state, when

Constitulats are intuited, to export then she to
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special appropriation by compup to make. next spring. This in any

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at ought Mort respectfully, grass Sellite Clinton

FACSIMILE OF LETTER FROM COL. CLINTON TO HON. SAMUEL PRESTON. ORIGINAL LOANED BY MISS ANN PRESTON, MIDDLETOWN, N. Y.

WASHINGTON, December 3, 1831.

MY MUCH RESPECTED FRIEND: When I had the pleasure to meet you at your house, you promised to procure for me the level of the summit of the route proposed for the railroad between your place and the Susquehanna River, and also the distance across between the two rivers. [The Delaware and the Susquehanna.-Author.] I hope that you will be able to fulfill your promises, and that you will enclose me the measurements without loss of time.

In a late letter I am told that it is proposed to hold a convention to promote the objects of the road. I hope that Pennsylvania will enlist also in this measure by sending delegates to it. By Pennsylvania I allude to the northern counties, and it would be better that our friends in both States should unite than to adopt two separate conventions for that purpose.

If a convention should be held it would be well to instruct the members of Congress in both States and whose constituents are interested, to exert themselves to procure a special appropriation by Congress to make the surveys next spring. This, in any event, ought to be done. Most respectfully, yours, DEWITT CLINTON.

prophesies, if not all come true, yet the truth of them established and their quick fulfillment inevitable.

It is a curious fact that it was the South Carolina Railroad that hastened the beginning of the New York and Erie Railroad, and made it the second railroad in the world projected and designed for the use of locomotive power. This motive power on railroads had become a comparatively old and universal thing when the Erie was ready to place its first locomotive in service, but when the notice of application for a charter for the New York and Erie Railroad was published in 1831, there were only four locomotives in use in this country, and only one railroad then in operation had been built with the original intention of having locomotives as its motive

and it was attached to the first train-load of passengers ever drawn by a locomotive in this country, January 15, 1831. Among those present on the memorable occasion was Hon. Henry L. Pierson of Ramapo, N. Y. Mr. Pierson was on his wedding tour, and chanced to be in Charleston on the day the railroad was opened. He and his bride were passengers on the train-thus giving them the distinction, doubtless, of being the very first bridal couple to enjoy a railroad trip. Mr. Pierson shared with his brother-in-law, Eleazar Lord, the belief in the importance of some avenue of communication through the southern portion of New York. The success of the trial trip of the locomotive on the pioneer South Carolina Railroad satisfied him that a

FIRST PASSENGER TRAIN IN AMERICA TO BE DRAWN BY A LOCOMOTIVE IN ACTUAL SERVICE, SOUTH CAROLINA RAILROAD, JANUARY 15, 1831. (FROM AN OLD PRINT.)

power. This was the South Carolina Railroad, between Charleston on the coast and Hamburg on the western border of South Carolina. In December, 1830, the first six miles of that railroad were opened. The pioneer locomotive built for use upon it was designed by Horatio Allen, who became President of the New York and Erie Railroad Company some years later. It was built at the West Point Foundry, New York City, and was named "The Best Friend of Charleston." The engine was placed on the railroad in October, 1830. It was "set up" by Julius D. Petsch, a Charleston machinist, who had never seen a locomotive before. Nicholas Darrell, another Charleston machinist, became its engineer, thus being the first locomotive engineer in America in actual service. After several trial trips the locomotive was pronounced ready for regular operation,

similar road would be feasible between New York and Lake Erie. He returned home in 1831, enthusiastic over the subject, bringing the first news of the wonderful railroad opening at Charleston. His representations aroused Eleazar Lord to enthusiasm on the subject of a railroad from the Hudson to the Lakes, and he became an earnest advocate of such an undertaking.

As the locomotive "The Best Friend of Charleston" was thus instrumental in spurring men to action in the matter of a railroad between the Hudson River and Lake Erie, the history of its career and fate may properly have a place in this chronicle. That history was thus tersely related in the Charleston Courier of June 18, 1831:

New York Railroad Fever of 1831-32-First Public Meeting advocating a Railroad from the Hudson River to the Southern Tier held at Monticello, Sullivan County, N. Y.-The Railroad Meetings at Jamestown and Angelica - The Marvin Notice of Application for a Charter for a Company to Build a Railroad between the Hudson and Lake Erie-The Church Notice of Application - The General Convention at Owego to Discuss the Railroad Project - Differences of Opinion about the Propriety of One or of Two Corporations The Sentiment of the Convention Favorable to Two Corporations - Defection of Philip Church - A Letter from New York that Resulted in the Final Agreement on a Single Charter - Birth of the New York and Erie Railroad.

AT the beginning of 1832 there were forty-four miles of railroad in operation in New York Statethe Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, 15 miles long, between Albany and Schenectady, and the Ithaca and Owego Railroad, 29 miles long, between the two places named. The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad Company was chartered April 17, 1826, and was the first railroad in the United States designed for passenger traffic. When the railroad was finished in August, 1831, locomotives had come into use, and one, the DeWitt Clinton, was tried successfully, and the experimental train was run from Albany on the 9th of the month. This was the first passenger train and locomotive ever run in the State of New York. As an interesting relic of those infant days of railroading a facsimile reproduction is here made of a sketch of that pioneer excursion. train and locomotive. This picture was cut by a silhouette artist, J. H. Brown, as the train stood in the Albany yard, just before it started. David Matthew was the engineer, John T. Clark was the conductor. The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad is now a part of the New York Central Railroad system.

The Ithaca and Owego Railroad Company was chartered January 28, 1828. Its railroad was constructed by aid of the State, and on the inclined plane system, and was run by stationary engines at planes, and by horse power on the levels. It is now a portion of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad system.

The construction of these railroads brought to

New York State the first serious visitation of railroad fever in this country. There had been thirteen railroad companies chartered in the State since 1826, but, with the exception of the New York and Harlem, the Saratoga and Schenectady, the Rochester Railroad and Canal, and the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad, nothing had been done on them beyond obtaining the charters. But a sudden craze for railroads came in the summer of 1831, and the Legislature of 1832 found no less than twelve applications for charters for railroads before it. A local newspaper of that day thus jocosely pictured the situa

tion:

It is almost impossible to open a paper without finding an account of some railroad meeting. An epidemic on this subject seems nearly as prevalent throughout the country as the influenza. From Albany to Buffalo the inhabitants, not satisfied with the canal, are holding meetings to further the project of a railway between those places, and our friends on the east side of the river, angry that the Hudson should suffer itself to be frozen up, have resolved to withdraw their patronage from it and forthwith construct something that shall answer for cold weather as well as warm. Instead of the good oldfashioned way of going twenty miles to market one day and back the next, we may expect shortly to be whisked along at the infernal rate of thirty miles an hour.-Independent Republican, Goshen, N. Y., Dec. 26, 1831.

It seems more than strange that this newspaper went to distant portions of the State to find examples of the rage for railroads, and had nothing to say about one that was then being just as eagerly discussed along its own prospective line, and on which the very town where the paper was published was to be a prominent station. For months the subject