MOHAWK - Discovering the Valley of the Crystals Copyright 2002
Chapter 13 - Wonders oof Nature
Lock18 Island 6
Discovery: Cover-up On Mystery Island
April 2, 2002, 50 degrees, Partly Sunny
I didn't want to go alone. Ron was with me when we discovered the "lopsided
bridge" abutments and Dale was with me when he discovered the old
Erie Canal locks. So, I was glad they were both with me when I made one
more try at locating the guard lock that was at the upper end of the 1798
German Flatts Canal. In addition to the maps we had used before, this time
we had read Phil Lord's description of the canal and locks on his recently
posted webpages at: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/plantationisland/
Under Phil's direction, one wall of the guard lock was excavated and then filled in to preserve the site for future study. Phil's description of the location of the guard lock coincided with our interpretation of the map of the German Flatts Canal and the topo map of the area, so we didn't understand why we couldn't find the upper end of the canal where the guard lock was located.
It
was 9 a.m. when we crossed Lock 18 and followed the now familiar trails
on the north side of the Island. Recent rains and melting snow had raised
the water level in marshes and streams, so we had to spend more time than
usual looking for crossings. Dale and I walked the shoreline trail so we
could see geese and ducks, but Ron followed the well-packed deer trails
looking for shed antlers. We saw plenty of waterfowl. Ron didn't find any
antlers. We also stopped at the "notch" to see if we could determine the
location of the lift lock and the lower end of the 1798 canal. Dale thought
we had been looking in the wrong place, but we couldn't prove it one way
or the other.
Despite all of the above, and stopping
frequently to take photographs, we were walking on the towpath of the Old
Erie Canal at 11o'clock. While Ron continued his search for sheds and Dale
took another look at the Erie Canal locks, I walked up to the old river
channel.
As
I had on our second discovery trip, I followed it south looking for the
cut in the old riverbank. When I couldn't locate it, I walked back to the
Erie Canal locks and looked for the depression that Phil Lord had described
(and illustrated) on his webpage. When I found it, I walked west towards
the river channel and found a huge moss-covered tree lying in the cut where
the canal had once entered the river. Nature's cover-up.
A close examination of the cut revealed the corner of the guard lock. (Funny, I was practically standing on it on January 21, when Dale yelled, "I found the lock! Over here!" Of course, that was the Old Erie Canal lock.) I called to Ron and Dale. After looking over my discovery and offering congratulations, we started back. A hundred yards down the trail, I decided to go back to take some photographs. I promised not to get lost this time and left my daypack as collateral.
As I walked along the narrow canal to the lock, I wondered how difficult it was to pole or haul bateaux up this canal so many years ago. What were the men like who traveled the Mohawk River transporting wheat, flour, pease (peas), rum, whiskey, nails, furs, hides, shot, canon balls and gunpowder? What did they eat? What did they talk about? Did they hunt or fish along the way? Were there as many deer and waterfowl as there are today?
With photos captured, we headed east. After a "forced march" we were back at Lock 18 at 1 o'clock, tired but comfortable in the knowledge that despite nature's cover-up, we had uncovered one more secret on Mystery Island.
The Rest of the story Lock18Island.html
Follow the path of this discovery trip by clicking on Mohawk
Valley Maps: by Maptech.
Type Herkimer select New York, press GO!
Note: This
is a 1942 topographic map so it doesn't include some roads and bridges.
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