“Yes, sir! Five million dollars! That's what this canal will cost!”

Five million dollars was a lot of money in the early 1800’s. But the upstate New Yorkers wanted the canal—it would help them. On the other hand, they didn't want the canal—it would cost money, a lot of money.

Most likely the Erie Canal would never have been built but for the strong-minded De Witt Clinton. He saw the wisdom of it, and nothing could weaken his determination. So on the Fourth of July, 1817, digging for the canal finally started at Rome, New York.

How it was carried through to success is told in this exciting book by Samuel Hopkins Adam, author of The Pony Express (the No. 1 best-seller in the Landmark series) and The Santa Fe Trail.

An authority on the Erie Canal, about which he has written many stories, Mr. Adams is a descendant of people who lived along the “Erie water.” As a boy, he often heard his grandfather tell about his journeys on the canal, and about the men who built it.

Mr. Adams brings to life a group of interesting, colorful York-staters: Captain Osgoodby, skipper of the canal boat Starry flag, and a fighting man to boot; the canny farmers who lived on the canal-side and were always ready to sue the authorities; the rowdy packet boat “runners” who gave Schenectady its nickname, “The Battleground,” and the canal diggers who let neither malaria-ridden swamp nor solid rock stand in their way.

From the dust jacket

About the Author and Illustrator:

Samuel Hopkins Adams lives on his quarter-mile of lakeside, "Wide Waters," near Auburn, New York, not far from the Erie Canal, where one village still bears the Adams name in honor of his great-grandfather's contribution to the digging of the Big Ditch.

Leonard Vosburgh was born in Yonkers, New York, and his early life was spent mostly in travel. When his family finally settled down, he started spending his summers on a farm at Palatine Bridge, New York, which is located in the beautiful Mohawk Valley. His father was born and raised in Canajoharie, and during his boyhood the Erie Canal ran through that town. Many times the elder Mr. Vosburgh has told his son of hitching rides on the canal boats in the warm weather and skating on the Erie Canal in the winter.

From the dust jacket