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hat coal could be obtained more cheaply from Mauch Chunk than from the mines along the Schuylkill； White； Hauto； and Hazard formed a company； entered into negotiation with the owners of the Lehigh mines； and obtained the lease of their properties for a period of twenty years at an annual rental of one ear of corn。 The company agreed； moreover； to ship every year at least forty thousand bushels of coal to Philadelphia for its own consumption； to prove the value of the property。
White and his partners immediately applied to the Legislature for permission to improve the navigation of the Lehigh； stating the purpose of the improvement and citing the fact that their efforts would tend to serve as a model for the improvement of other Pennsylvania streams。 The desired opportunity 〃to ruin themselves；〃 as one member of the Legislature put it； was granted by an act passed March 20； 1818。 The various powers applied for； and granted； embraced the whole range of tried and untried methods for securing 〃a navigation downward once in three days for boats loaded with one hundred barrels； or ten tons。〃 The State kept its weather eye open in this matter； however； for a small minority felt that these men would not ruin themselves。 Accordingly； the act of grant reserved to the commonwealth the right to compel the adoption of a complete system of slack…water navigation from Easton to Stoddartsville if the service given by the company did not meet 〃the wants of the country。〃
Capital was subscribed by a patriotic public on condition that a committee of stockholders should go over the ground and pass judgment on the probable success of the effort。 The report was favorable； so far as the improvement of the river was concerned； but the nine…mile road to the mines was unanimously voted impracticable。 〃To give you an idea of the country over which the road is to pass；〃 wrote one of the commissioners； 〃I need only tell you that I considered it quite an easement when the wheel of my carriage struck a stump instead of a stone。〃 The public mind was divided。 Some held that the attempt to operate the coal mine was farcical； but that the improvement of the Lehigh River was an undertaking of great value and of probable profit to investors。 Others were just as positive that the river improvement would follow the fate of so many similar enterprises but that a fortune was in store for those who invested in the Lehigh mines。
The direct result of the examiners' report and of the public debate it provoked was the organization of the first interlocking companies in the commercial history of America。 The Lehigh Navigation Company was formed with a capital stock of 150；000 and the Lehigh Coal Company with a capital stock of 55；000。 This incident forms one of the most striking illustrations in American history of the dependence of a commercial venture upon methods of inland transportation。 The Lehigh Navigation Company proceeded to build its dams and walls while the Lehigh Coal Company constructed the first roadway in America built on the principle later adopted by the railwayof dividing the total distance by the total descent in order to determine the grade。 Not to be outdone in point of ingenuity； the Lehigh Navigation Company； then suffering from an unprecedented dearth of water； adopted White's invention of sluice gates connecting with pools which could be filled with reserve water to be drawn upon as navigation required。 By 1819 the necessary depth of water between Mauch Chunk and Easton was obtained。 The two companies were immediately amalgamated under the title of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company and by 1823 had sent over two thousand tons of coal to market。
As most of the efforts to improve the rivers； however； met with indifferent success and many failures were recorded； the pendulum of public confidence in this aid to inland commerce swung away； and highway improvement by means of stone roads and toll road companies came into favor in the interval between the nation's two eras of river improvement and canal building。
CHAPTER IV。 A Nation On Wheels
In early days the Indian had not only followed the watercourses in his canoe but had made his way on foot over trails through the woods and over the mountains。 In colonial days； Englishman and Frenchman followed the footsteps of the Indian； and as settlement increased and trade developed； the forest path widened into the highway for wheeled vehicles。 Massachusetts began the work of road making in 1639 by passing an act which decreed that 〃the ways〃 should be six to ten rods wide 〃in common grounds；〃 thus allowing sufficient room for more than one track。 Similar broad 〃ways〃 were authorized in New York and Pennsylvania in 1664； stumps and shrubs were to be cut close to the ground； and 〃sufficient bridges〃 were to be built over streams and marshy places。 Virginia passed legislation for highways at an early date； but it was not until 1669 that strict laws were enacted with a view to keeping the roads in a permanently good condition。 Under these laws surveyors were appointed to establish in each county roads forty feet wide to the church and to the courthouse。 In 1700； Pennsylvania turned her local roads over to the county justices； put the King's highway and the main public roads under the care of the governor and his council； and ordered each county to erect bridges over its streams。
The word 〃roadmaking〃 was capable of several interpretations。 In general； it meant outlining the course for the new thoroughfare； clearing away fallen timber； blazing or notching the trees so that the traveler might not miss the track； and building bridges or laying logs 〃over all the marshy； swampy； and difficult dirty places。〃
The streams proved serious obstacles to early traffic。 It has been shown already that the earliest routes of animal or man sought the watersheds； the trails therefore usually encountered one stream near its junction with another。 At first； of course； fording was the common method of crossing water； and the most advantageous fording places were generally found near the mouths of tributary streams； where bars and islands are frequently formed and where the water is consequently shallow。 When ferries began to be used； they were usually situated just above or below the fords； but when the bridge succeeded the ferry； the primitive bridge builder went back to the old fording place in order to take advantage of the shallower water； bars； and islands。 With the advent of improved engineering； the character of river banks and currents was more frequently taken into consideration in choosing a site for a bridge than was the case in the olden times； but despite this fact the bridges of today； generally speaking； span the rivers where the deer or the buffalo splashed his way across centuries ago。
On the broader streams； where fording was impossible and traffic was perforce carried by ferry； the canoe and the keel boat of the earliest days gave way in time to the ordinary 〃flat〃 or barge。 At first the obligation of the ferryman to the public； though recognized by English law； was ignored in America by legislators and monopolists alike。 Men obtained the land on both sides of the rivers at the cr