10 That Changed America

(gentle music) (upbeat music) How long you been out here on the Erie Canal? 15 years. 15 years? Isn't that part of a song? I've got an old mule and her name is Sal 15 years on the Erie Canal Today, Jerry is doing the job that for the first century of the canal's operation was done by mules. What was the job of a mule? Mule was the job pulling the boats or the barges. -

Narrator

How much weight could a mule pull on the Erie Canal? -

Jerry

Well a single mule could pull 30 tons of cargo. -

Interviewer

A single mule? -

Jerry

Single mule. -

Narrator

Mules were hardy animals. They worked in six hour shifts. -

Jerry

They pulled during that time at four miles an hour. Although she could pull a barge at 10 miles an hour she would wash out the banks if that happened so they imposed a four mile an hour speed limit. -

Narrator

And at the end of their six hour shift the mules needed a place to rest. The shipping lines built stables all along the Erie Canal. -

Jerry

And that's how upstate New York grew up. -

Narrator

They needed a stop every so Often. Yeah, for the water. For the water? Yeah, sure. -

Narrator

So each of these became a town then. -

Jerry

Yeah, first a grocery store and then an inn and pretty soon you had a little town grow up. Who was driving the mules? Oh, hoagies. H-O-G-G-E-E. -

Narrator

H-O-G-G? -

Jerry

E-E-S. Hoggees. -

Narrator

What's a hoggee? A hoggee, that's Scottish word for worker. -

Narrator

Okay. -

Jerry

Okay, and the hoggees were typically young people like 12, 13 year old boys, a lot of orphans. And they slept and ate with the mules. When the mule ended the shift so did the hoggee. -

Narrator

Between shifts, hoggess were charged with feeding and caring for their mules. But even the best hoggees couldn't protect their mules from all hazards. So a mule walking along the bank, right, would sometimes fall in? Happened sometimes but rarely. There were certain sections of the canal where it was so tight the toll path was up against the stone ledge where they could fall in. So they had a ramp that you could come back up and they were pretty good at it. Most of them did make it. Thank you very much. That was terrific. Thanks. (classical music)