The Hudson, from the Wilderness to the Sea

Commissioners reported in favour of its use, though far away; and in May, 1837, the construction of an aqueduct from a point six miles from its mouth to the metropolis was begun. At the head of the aqueduct a dam was constructed, for the purpose of forming a fountain reservoir ^^ At the beginning of 1841 a flood, produced by a protracted rain-storm and melting snows, swept away the dam, and carried with it, riverward, a quantity of earth and gravel, sufficient to half fill the beautiful Croton Bay. The dam was immediately rebuilt, at greater altitude, and a lake was produced, almost

THE HUDSON.

six miles in length, containing about 500,000,000 gallons. It is 166 feet above mean tide-water at New York, and pours into the aqueduct from 40,000,000 to 50,000,000 gallons every twenty-four hours. Not having time to visit the fountain reservoir, I have availed myself of the pencil services of a friend, in giving a sketch of the dam from a point just below it.

The Croton aqueduct runs parallel with the Iludson, at the mean distance of half a mile from it throughout its entire length. Its course is

CROrON DAM.

marked by culverts and arches of solid masonry, and its line may be observed at a distance by white stone towers, about fifteen feet in height, placed at intervals of a mile. These are ventilators of the aqueduct ; some of them are quite ornamental, as in the case of the one at Sing Sing, others are simple round towers, and every third one has a square base, with a door by which a person may enter the aqueduct. At the top of each is an iron screen, to prevent substances from being cast into the