I have a mule...

Yesterday one of our volunteers was kind enough to find this gem at a rummage sale and think of us. 

It is a copy of the original held at the Perinton Historical Society. We were thrilled to receive it an had it on the wall that day. It got me thinking about the role that mules and horses played on the Erie Canal. 

The path, that today is used by countless pedestrians and bikers and runs the length of the Erie Canal, is called the towpath and was used by mules pulling boats. Each boat would have stables on board and keep two sets of mules or horses. Each team would operate for 6 hours and then be traded with another team that would work 6 hours (6 hours on, 6 hours off). The mules were guided along the towpath by the hoggee, which is a Scottish name for a mule driver and was usually a young boy. 

Boats could only go as fast as the mules could pull them and on average it was about 2 miles per hour and they would travel about 15 miles per shift (hence the classic 'Low Bridge' song lyrics "15 miles on the Erie Canal")

Our new picture is of a mule being guided off the boat by its tale. The ramp is called a horse bridge and was used to load/unload animals from the boat.  His companion is already in the grass grazing. 

This is a boat in the same location on the return journey weighed down with goods and you can see how much easier it is for the mule to get back on board into the stables rather than down the steep ramp. 

Learn more about the role of mules here at Low Bridge Productions who did a short video about mules on the Erie Canal. 

Boats wouldn't have gotten very far on the Erie Canal without the help of mules and horses.