European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 11, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                New View from the Saint Martin canal Page 14 the stars and stripes two boats have Jutt enough room to pan on i Story and photos by Linda White travel editor a most every visitor to Paris take boat ride on the Seine but Lew know the City s other More pea Elul water three canals How through the City attracting fishermen and strollers to to Poplar lined Banks. Little Green Bridges Arch ova water. People stand to watch and wave As narrow Stair step their Way through the locks. The canal de i Bourcq. The canal Saint Martin the canal Saint Denis were built to connect Parl the Bourcq River and to bring drinking water to to City. Work was done in a desultory fashion Asee 1528. But Napoleon i got things rolling at the in the 18th Century by putting austrian prisoners to work. The canal Saint Martin was finished in and the canal Saint Denis was opened to traffic 1821. In High season a couple of tour boats tag aft barges Lor slow trips along the canals. The 9 306 departure guarantees a Calm ride. The boat Start the Seine and slips past the larger Bateaux Mouco still docked and sleeping off the night before. A parisians lie in swimsuits on the embankment Rei the morning papers. The canal fishermen Are out the palache autobus leaves its Dock near the d Austerlitz and sails past the lie de la its and n Dame Cathedral before making a left turn into Tow lock to climb into the Saint Martin canal. This is the first of nine locks along the 4fe-Kllon canal a the others Are double locks. In tha court the canal the water level changes 26 meters f the height of a 10-Story building. The canal runs underground at the Bastille the glimpse of the july column before the boat slides the arched Tunnel. Lit Only by magical tra Ceries of coming through the circular mesh covered Skyum most of the Tunnel and the Road above were Bult stones from the Bastille though the last zoo Meti Concrete added in 1907-1909. The aide of the Tunnel like most of the lock wet Green with Moss and Skinny stalactites d Lbw from the ceiling. Immediately after the Tunnel come the Temple each pair of locks bears a name the Reco Tetsu named for the former franciscan Convent of the rec liets the locks of the dead where a Meroll cemetery was unearthed during construction tin Jaures locks for he nearby Avenue. Later there comes an Aqueduct built 1880-18 Gypsum ground so soft that it had to be supports 600 Stone pillars some driven As deep As 30 ni6t near the Seine and in the Tunnel the water to flotsam but it becomes cleaner the farther tha i travels. The scene has been described As reiw1 wedge Sitf