Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1823-01-30

4
maintaining upernumerately hors
throughout the year, ior the purpose
carrying produce 10 mai ket. IL add
tlonai proof were required. a sirong,
cannot be aaduced. taan this very Ga
! cumstaace Of tie immense Superiority I
navigation over land carriage. II nav
CATION eGcumbered with 50 many risqa.
and uncertainties, and Unavoidable ex
pcnses is still preferred by all who RAJ
avail themselves oft, 10 the usual Ian,
carriage, assisted by improved roads {,
all the sea ports. and If this, The wots
and dearest Of all Kinds Of navigation
does Jet give an increased value TO the
lands contiguous to ii over those whose
sole reliance is on the turnpike
What may we not reasonably calculate
will be the sill further increased value
OF the lands afforded by a safe and con-
staGt still water navigation
SLUiCE NAVIGATION.
As what has been called Sluice Nayi.
cation, has been the kind adopted by
the Potomac company, and the one on
Which SO large "a part Of their funds has
been expended it may be necessary to
give an explanation drawn from actual
observation Of what has been done and
tried for '0any years, OF this kind Of
work on the Potomac
The sluices on this river are of three
kinds: the first which are chiefly found
IN the upper part OF the river. are chan
ne!s formed by lew walls. The second arc
channels formed by excayating the rocky
bottom Of the rivers. The third kind
which are yet used, and have been of
service to the navigation in high water
are channels opened near the banks. of
the RIVER, around the rapids snd small
tails III the current, as at Harpers' Fer.
ry, Paiae's Falls, &c. to avoid the
great force OF The torrent in mid stream,
IN such situations and with the view of
giving the boatmen land path on the
bank. on which by a rope they may drag
the Goat up the stream, when the ,io-
lence OF the current is too great to be
o'erc"ne by setting poles. These chan
nelo though used, are ofvery imperfect
and temporary construction, the bottoms
OF no enc OF them being graduated
They are certainly too imperfect to be
called canals, although such is their
common rppellation. The two first of
these kind Of sluices are formed on err
roneous principles and have failed to
render any service 10 the navigation Of
the rivers. The errors in the first re-
curing detail will be presently ex.
planned. The errors in the second kind,
Or IN excavating channels in the bottom
OF the stream. consist in attempting on
a lons line ola stream, inclining all the
way in its whole length, to regulate the
depth by partial cutting or depending
the bottom. Unless you bring water to
level the whole length of the line of its
stream, any partial cutting or deepening
in spots along the line, SO inclined, on
" serves to transpose a shallow little
further up the line, or make hollow ba-
sons of TO service. And in river
where the chief failure in its navigation
arises from the too long aud too frc-
qaent deficiency of depth Of water ne.
cessary for boating. owing TO the great
inclination of the plane OF its
stream and to its consequent ra
pid discharge of water, if YOU smooth
the plane by removing all distractions,
the rapidity will Of course be increased,
and the souner viii the deficiency in the
depth be felt. The low dam or wal.ing
plan of Improvement through the oppo.
site in It's effect to the one described and
not SO radically erroneous ON general
principles, is no less so in its application
to such river as Potomac. 10 make
this manifest some detail OF the oircum-
stances in which they are used and plac-
cd is necessary. The ruins Of this kind
OF work are TO be seen some distance "a
boye Cumberland, not however reach
ing to Savage river, aud extend al great
ca or less intervals to where the general
depth Of water is considerably increas
ell, becoming more and more rare, as
the water is more abundant. They con
stinlow dams running across lrt IN shore
to shore, elevated about l8 inches CT
two feet from the bottom and made oi
rounded stone picked up out Of the bed
of the river of the size that uian car
conveniently handle the greater part not
larger than mans head, and raised on
broad basis of from ten to twenty feet
10 width. This transverse low wall OF
dam isusually connected with two walls
abaut the same height, bat built on mar
rover basis of from six TO eisht fee
placed parallel TO each other, and I.
the shores, at the distance of 90 feet from
each other, through which passage, b,
gap in the Transverse dam, it is in
tended to force the current of the river
= Al To leenen lie .ater hr col e cling /