Lighter, about:

I've Traveled all around this world
And Tonawanda, too,

There are many similar fragments that appear in Lomax, American Ballads and Folk Songs - there's a whole Erie Canal chapter 20, beginning on page 453. But I didn't find any Erie Canal stuff in Warner, either.
And right now, I can't find the "Britches" book. It's around here somewhere, though....