of  the  movements  of  Pennsylvania,  both  as
a  colony  and  a  State,  toward  the  establish-
ment and  improvement  of  channels  of  in-
tercommunication. It  now  becomes  neces-
sary to  dwell  more  particularly  upon  these
efforts,  and  to  point  out,  step  by  step,  the
progress  made  from  the  incipiency  of  her
canals  and  railroads  to  the  present  time,
when  she  has  achieved  a  prominence  in  these
respects  equal  to  any  other  State  in  the
Union.  Her  geographical  position  ren-
dered it  indispensable  that  the  natural
barriers  within  her  borders  should  be  over-
come, so  that  the  important  sea-ports  north
of  the  Chesapeake  bay  could  be  made  ac-
cessible to  the  vast  and  growing  West;  and,
at  an  expenditure  of  labor,  skill,  and  capital
almost  incalculable,  these  barriers  were  ulti-
mately conquered.  The  tedious  journey  be-
tween Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg— a  journey
which,  a  third  of  a  century  ago,  occupied
an  entire  week  in  its  performance — has  been
reduced  to  a  pleasant  excursion  of  a  few
hours,  and  the  lumbering  mail-coach  super-
seded by  improvements  which  enable  the
present  generation  to  travel  with  the  speed
of  the  wind  and  communicate  with  the
velocity  of  the  lightnings.
