According to the lesson how did the settlers in the west send their produce back to the east before the canals were?

Before the canals were built, settlers in the West primarily transported their produce back to the East using wagons and horse-drawn vehicles along rugged trails and dirt roads. They often relied on rivers for transportation, using flatboats and rafts to float goods downstream. Additionally, the development of stagecoach lines facilitated the movement of smaller quantities of produce and goods. This method was slower and more labor-intensive compared to the later canal systems.