Before the appearance of steam engines for towing ships, humans or horse-drawn wagons were used. Downstream, ships traveled using the power of the water flow, aided by oars and sails. However, upstream or with heavier cargo, sails provided little assistance; instead, hired laborers powered by human strength or carters using horse-drawn wagons were used for this purpose. The workforce for towing boats was mostly recruited from among convicts. Towing a boat was extremely difficult and exhausting work, and few managed to survive their sentence.
The horse-drawn towing of boats worked by attaching a rope, called a "horse rope," typically between one hundred to one hundred fifty meters long, with knots tied every seven feet. Short ropes called "Pazer" were tied to these knots on the left and right, ending with a peg onto which a "vagir" (towing yoke) was hooked, to which a pair of horses ("paroša") were harnessed. The closest to the boat were three horses harnessed one after another, followed by pairs of horses further back, depending on the size of the boat or amount of cargo. The first horse, or "front-runner," worked alone. A boatman followed the horses, smoothing the way and freeing the horse team from obstacles. In accidents, the last horses and their nearby "paroša" were most often harmed. In emergencies, the rope was cut quickly to save the other horses.
For horse-drawn wagons as well as human towing, paths were cleared along the riverbanks, typically ten spans wide beside the Tisza. These paths were used by others as well, not just for towing boats, though driving livestock on them was prohibited.
Boat towing required specialized skills, overseen by experienced boatmen. In Novi Bečej in 1789, there were 38 boatmen, and in Veliki Bečkerek (Zrenjanin) there were 18.
One particular difficulty for river traffic along the Tisza in Banat were numerous gorges, chasms, and often forests and watermills. The gorges and chasms were located along the paths used for towing boats. For example, during one such towing incident in the territory of present-day Novi Kneževac, nine horses perished. Watermills and ropes tied to the shore, especially in parts of the rivers where boats passed, posed significant challenges for boatmen.
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