Box 1, Folder 5: Diaries 1827-1828

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the business which was formerly to be done by him & myself (as leveling stakes &c.), and he himself do the extra work. Darius is the person fixed upon by Mr. Henry as this engineer - But the Directors are unwilling to pay the price wages of an engineer but will hire a rodman or a penman to Do the extra business, In this case Mr. Henry is to make me use the Level and the person who is employed, to act as Rodman under me. If this be the case I am certainly entitled to the salary of an engineer, and (with my present wages: $12 per month) I will object to this arrangement. As the Directors are unwilling to hire an engineer "Darius" will probably return to the [Welland?] Canal in upper Canada, about the first of May next

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Sunday March 9. A great number of pigeons was seen flying about to day in different Directions. Darius & myself was engaged in preparing a letter for Mr. Barret containing a description of the [tow?] [pressure?] Steam Engine

The Blackbird ( ) first came under my observation to Day as I was walking in the field

March 10. A Rainy Day although I done some work on the Canal

March 11. This after noon our water puppy * was found dead in the bottom of the vessel in which he had lived ever since the 4th of Feb. last. For a few days past he became more noisy than common which I supposed to be on account of the increased warmth of the

*Triton lateralis. Say.

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weather. It was not certainly owing to any pain agony or misery: for we got two others of his species to day which make full as much noise We also got two small specimens of soft shelled tortoises (Testudo ferox)

There was nothing to do on the canal to day and I stayed in my Room

Yesterday in examining some Coal from the Pittsburgh mines I found some Iron pyrites and some specimens of the coal possessed iridescent colors of which Specimen No 6 is one

The tortoises mentioned above are spotted on the back; spots larger on the middle and gradually diminish in size and increase in number until they approach the margin

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Wed. March 12. I stayed in my Room all day this day having nothing to do on the canal and as it rained in the A.M. I did not go to school

It appears that the Triton lateralis lives principally on angle worms ( ); a great number of which were found this morning in hte tub in which they were kept, which had ben voided by them during the night

March 13 I worked on the Canal all the fore noon. In the afternoon I worked part of the time at Writing for Mr. Henry, and the rest I spent in my room reading

Darius was engaged at drawing perspective. One of the tortoises died to day. One of them was about 3 and the other about 2 in. in Diameter

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Shippingsport 1828

Friday March 14. 1828 - Before dinner I was in Mr. Henry's room copying the reports and contractors bills into his Books - In the after noon there was nothing for me to do on the canal & I commenced reading Basal Halls Voiges which I borrowed from Mr. Victor Audubon

March 15 - I stayed in my Room all day reading the above Books - [March 5 We saw the Mistletoe (Viscum verticellotum) on the Elm (Ulmus ) in the low wet grounds or swamps or ponds as they are called. I had not suspected that the Mistletoe grew any where except near the river before today - this should come under March 5]

March 16 I stayed at home with the exception of an hour or so

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in the afternoon when I took a walk with "Darius" into the woods south of this place but found nothing to interest the Botanist - The Ornithologist would have been in some degree interested; but very little

Monday March 14. St. Patrick’s Day!! Irishmen all drink before night!! An effigy appeared on a poll this morning with a string of potatoes about his neck; but he soon dis= appeared. I worked a little on the canal both before & after dinner

NB. Should any person, except perhaps the author himself, be reading this Journal, he is, when he comes to this place requested, and so I do hereby order him not to read the rest part of the notes for this day. Should this be violated, offender is to be compelled to

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drag a canal Boat from Lake Erie to Hudson River; and above all he will be under the sworn penalty of not being allowed to read any more in the Journal at all. The Auther

Tuesd. March 18. I went to school where I have not been since the last Day of last month.

Wednesday 19. I went to School - The buds of the Cotton tree (Populus angu= lata) containing the Masoaline flowers beginning to open

Thursday 20 March Mr. D.S. Butes principal Engineer arrived today very in well

I was kept tramping about on the canal nearly all day. The peach trees are in full bloom

March 21. - I worked in Mr. Henry's room all the fore noon -

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In the after noon I was on the canal. The earth which is excavated is of two kinds first a bluish clay with fine sand & gravel; and 2d yellowish clay with fine sand * The blue is the inferior strata laying immediately upon the rock. It is of different thickness: but extending the whole length of the canal - The yellow contains minute [sinnuing?] particles (of Quartz?) lays immediately upon the blue variety and is thicker extending to the surface of the ground and indeed it is almost the only kind excavated at present. It never contains the remains of old trees which are found so plentiful in the blue variety

Had all the earth been deposited here by the river as has been sup

*see end of Book

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posed: why are not these logs found in the yellow variety as well as the blue? since it must have been deposited also by the river and since the blue was Deposited - Bones of Deer have & Indian implements have been found in the blue but not in the yellow variety

Sat. March 22 I employed most of my time to day in making two plans of the Bridge over the Canal - The meteorological Tables for Jan & Feb appeared in The "Louisville public advertiser" this week

Sunday March 23 Judge Bates kept me nearly all the time Draying plans of the Bridge in the following manner He would suggest an improvement;

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The next thing is that I must draw a plan exhibiting that improvement. Thus I have already drawn three different plans and only in one instance has he made more than one improvement to a plan !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I have even now no hope of being one half Done -

Martins ( ) appeared and began their serial avocations a few days ago.

Monday March 24. I was engaged nearly all this day assisting Mr. Bates & Henry examining some patterns for the Ring Stone of the arch Bridge over the Canal

Mr. Audubon says that he hopes the meteorological table for this month will look more fair than the proceeding months [Fair Days]