Search for anything by Pearl Nye, a man who worked on the canal that connected the Ohio River with the Great Lakes at Cleveland (the canal ran through Roscoe Village & Coshocton, Ohio). Mr. Nye was a great singer, songwriter, and song collector, and some of his material deals with canal life. Admittedly, his canal served as a tributary of the Ohio River itself, but his profession was spot on to what you're searching for.--Charlie Baum