Speeding along, we came abreast of _Dunkirk_, a lake-port town in
Chautauqua County, N.Y., situated on a small bay in Lake Erie, forty miles
southwest of Buffalo. The town, which has a population of over 5,000,
occupies an elevated and favorable position on the lake. Its industries
comprise oil refineries, and the manufacture of flour and iron-work.
After proceeding on our voyage for some hours, we viewed--located in a
natural bay--the harbor of _Erie_, the capital of Erie County, Penn. The
port is protected by a breakwater three and one-half miles long.
The principal shipments that leave this harbor, are coal, iron, and
petroleum; an important trade being carried on with the Canadian
lake-ports.
The streets of the city are spacious and laid out with great regularity.
To its prominent buildings belong the postoffice, the opera house, the
city hospital, the court house, and the orphan asylum. Erie contains
nearly 20,000 inhabitants, many of whom are engaged in iron manufacture.
The large supply of water required for the factories is obtained from the
lake by powerful engines, which force it to a tower 200 feet high, whence
it is distributed through the mains. The chief industries developed here,
are petroleum refineries and leather factories.
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