Water for washing was usually drawn from the canal or river, but the more intelligent families scoured their drinking water from city hydrants at the terminals. All who traveled over the Champlain route, however, said that the lake water was very clear and suitable for drinking purposes. The best cabins had stationary basins sup plied with water from a tank on the deck above. Others had a barrel of water on the deck or in the cabin, from which the water was dipped with pails.
Three families had cabins fitted with electric lights. These were families which lived on "steamers" and could utilize power generated by the engine. All others used oil lamps, which were more or less ornamental according to the taste and income of the family.
Sleeping accommodations wore in many cases inadequate. Among the 68 families whoso sleeping arrangements were reported 35 had sleeping places for every member of the household, while 33 had fewer places than there were persons to be accommodated. The worst condition found in respect to sleeping space was the case of a family consisting of father, mother, and four children living on a boat having sleeping space for only two persons. During extreme hot weather, when some could lie out on the upper deck under an awning the lack of bunks was not much of a problem, but for families that remained on the boats throughout the winter, as 35 of the 68 reporting did, the crowded conditions were serious.
Space on the upper deck was frequently utilized by mothers who did their washing there and hung the clothes on lines stretched the full length or part length of the boat. Some boats were provided during the winter with storm or winter cabins, rough caps or cupolas of boards covered with tarred paper. These served to keep the inside cabins warmer and provided a storage space for such articles as wash tubs and pails. On the whole, although some cabins were attractive and comfortable, others were greatly congested, dirty, and without adequate ceiling or furniture.
The boats of recently formed companies are built along modern and sanitary lines, but inasmuch as companies operating these boats do not permit employees to take their families with them, the cabin improvements in the newest barges do not benefit the children living on the canals.
Food supplies could be secured at the various stopping places along the routes, though many families who could afford it made a practice of stocking up at the terminals. A few boatmen reported that the company supplied ice. Fresh milk was one of the most difficult articles to secure and only 13 families reported that they had been able to have it every day. Five families made no attempt to have fresh milk; others purchased it when they could and supplemented the supply with canned milk. Considering the fact that in the small group studied there were 76 children 6 years of age and under, the lack of fresh milk constituted a serious disadvantage of canal-boat life.
Forty-two families had winter quarters on shore. Small settlements of boatmen's families are located at Whitehall and at Champlain in northern New York, another cluster near Buffalo, and another in the central part of the State to the west of Syracuse. Many families who have made boating their principal occupation live at Champlain and Whitehall, and the homes of retired boatmen are among the finest in these communities. In the group studied, most of the families having homes on shore had the advantage of city conveniences, were located within one mile of schools, and on the whole represented a higher economic level than the boat families found on other canals.