Life on the Towpath: A C&O Canal Journey
NARRATOR: It is the year 1875 along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Maryland. Flat-bottomed wooden boats carry heavy loads of coal, grain, and sandstone down the waterway toward Washington, D.C. The boats do not have engines. Instead, they are pulled by hard-working mules walking along a narrow dirt trail called a towpath.
CAPTAIN SILAS: (checking his pocket watch) Keep those mules moving, Toby! We need to reach Lock 20 before the sun drops behind the river cliffs.
TOBY: (holding the leather reins, calling out) Gee up, Barnaby! Walk briskly, Clover! Don't worry, Captain Silas. The mules are steady today. They have been pulling since five o'clock this morning.
NARRATOR: Toby is twelve years old. As a mule driver, or "mule skinner," his job is to walk alongside the team for fifteen miles a day. He makes sure the rope connecting the mules to the heavy canal boat stays clear of bushes and rocks.
TOBY: (wiping his forehead) It is hard work walking all day, but I love watching the Potomac River flow right next to us. Look at that Great Blue Heron landing on the water!
- towpath:
- A narrow dirt trail alongside a canal used by animals pulling boats.
- canal:
- A human-made waterway constructed to allow the passage of boats.
- lock:
- A chamber in a canal used to raise or lower boats between different water levels.
- elevation:
- The height of land above sea level or a surrounding point.
- harness:
- A set of straps fitted on an animal so it can pull a heavy load.
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- 1What is the setting of the play in terms of time and location?
- 2What three heavy items are transported on the flat-bottomed wooden boats toward Washington, D.C.?
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About this reader's theater passage for Upper Elementary
“Life on the Towpath: A C&O Canal Journey” is a reader's theater reading passage about C&O Canal History, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 4 minutes to read (529 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.