George Washington saw its military value. In 1776, when he was in Boston, planning to send troops to New York, Washington observed that this “interior barrier should be cut in order to give greater security to navigation, and against the enemy.” BUILT TO PREVENT SHIPWRECKS Often the military angle is mentioned in the long and hectic history of planning the project, but primarily the Canal was visioned to safeguard shipping in an era when shoals and fogs off this coast took a great toll of vessels and lives. Also, by speeding up traffic, the Canal was intended to help in the development of New England commerce. Prophetic words were uttered by Belmont’s survey engineer while the construction was under way. These are found in some interesting material passed on to me by Bill McLaughlin of the Hotel Onset. “The Canal as planned,” said Engineer Parsons, “is quite sufficiently deep to take all the smaller vessels of the Navy, even to cruisers.... There might, however, arise a contingency when the Canal would be of the greatest value to the country in time of war.” On the shipwreck problem hereabouts in that day, Parsons noted: “Of all the wrecks occurring on the whole Atlantic coast from Eastport, Maine, to Key West, Florida, one-quarter take place in the short stretches between Chatham and Provincetown.” Numerous costly attempts were made to put through the waterway, and failed, before Belmont entered the scene. As the story goes, the financier was moved largely by sentiment, for when he functioned with a silver spade at the ceremonious opening of operations it was on land that once belonged to his ancestors. Prospects looked bright for another promoting group just before the Civil War. It appeared the Government would provide a large portion of the necessary funds. But negotiations halted when the war started. At a later stage some 500 Italian laborers were imported to Sandwich from New York and they began work scooping out the ditch, using shovels and wheelbarrows. This lasted only a few weeks. Another means employed was a dredge with a chain of buckets, 39 in all, operated by two steam engines. Lack of capital halted this venture; the dredge was burned and sunk in the Canal at the spot where operations had started. FAITH TRIUMPHED IN CRISIS August Belmont’s engineer found quicksand in the borings when he began his survey. He was about to write a report to his boss and recommend that he save his money. But another engineer whose heart was in the Canal dream argued warmly that the quicksand was confined to the center and not over the entire bed of the proposed canal. A glacier had ploughed its way into the waters of Cape Cod Bay, cutting a furrow through the valley between Sandwich and Buzzards Bay. The quicksand came of this glacier, declared this authority, and he added it was not general enough to be a serious detriment. His advice was taken, he was proved correct, and Belmont’s engineer submitted a report that was favorable.