OCR Text |
Show 209 water ; in other words , ( tliat that ) it is neither used , , nor ( susceptible stwceptible ) of being used , in its natural and ordinary condition as a highway for commerce . Its ( character character- character ) istics are such that its use for transportation has been and must be exceptional , and confined to the irregular and short ( periods peiiods ) ( af of ) ( temporary tentporary ) high water . A greater capacity for practical and beneficial use in commerce is essential to establish navigability . . " In The Daniel Ball , 10 Wall . 557 , no contention was made that the river there involved , to wit , Grand River , was not navigable in fact . ( The Th- Th ) * steamboat Daniel Ball had a draft of two feet and it was stipulated between the parties that it was actually employed in navigating Grand River ( be- be ) tween Grand Rapids and Grand Haven , Michigan . The boat had not been inspected or licensed , and the United States filed a libel to recover the penalty fixed in the federal statute . The owners of the boat urged in defense that Grand River was not navigable water of the United States , that the boat was not engaged in trade or commerce between two or more states and hence was not subject to the federal navigation laws . Because Grand River was susceptible of being ( navi- navi ) gated in interstate commerce , the decree of the lower Court imposing the penalty demanded for ( non-compliance noncompliance ) with the federal Act was affirmed . In The ( MonteUo Alontello ) , 20 Wall . 430 , the government libeled the Montello for ( non-compliance noncompliance ) with certain provisions of the federal statute . In that case it ( was Nvas ) contended by ( de- de ) fendants that Fox River was not a navigable stream , and also that it was not navigable in interstate commerce . As appears from the report of this case , the Wisconsin River flowed through Portage City at a point something less than two miles from Fox River . Merchandise coming from the headwaters of the Mississippi would be ( portaged -portaged portaged ) over this ( two-mile twomile ) stretch from the Wisconsin to the Fox River and thence to Lake Michigan . In its natural state there , were falls and rapids at various points in the Fox River ; below certain rapids known as the De Pere , the navigation was especially difficult . There were many other similar though less difficult places . Notwithstanding these ( diffi- diffi ) culties , the stream had from early times been used as a ( chan- chan ) nel of commerce . In the early days long , narrow boats had been used , drawing two to two and ( one-half onehalf ) feet of water , |