Southern telegraph. (Rodney, Miss.) 1834-1838, 1838-07-04

but highly satisfactory. The oplni n
previously entertained, shat inside Of Ship
and Cat islands there was water and an,
chorage sor almost any ammn' Of shiplna,"
WAS inconlrovertibly establish, d; and 1t i
believed that taking into consider ton the
depth Of the channel. security Of anchoragc
and facIlities Of approach to the man land,
west OF Pensacola there is no point on The
southern coast or the United States possess
ed Of equal advantages.
Under the lee Of Ship island, vessel,
drawing 25 feet, or even more, may rid
10 safety and at Cat Leland there is sp &C
for 200 or 300 sail to moor in, from 3 To 4
fathpms water. Ineeed, between the islands
and man, over space of forty or fifty
miles in length, and nne to three in width,
the water is no less lhan eighteen feet deep
and peculiar and advantageous feature in
this part of the Gulf, is that the anchorage
is invariably cool; the bottom composed
OF clay, mud and sand: is so soft that an
anchor will imbed itself in few minutes
after being cast from the ship.
Al the debouche of all the rivers with
which am acquainted on the Cult, an inn
mense depOsite of sand and alluval soil
annually takes place: these deposites are
liable TO change their position with ever,
variation of the current, and so frequently
100 as To render the approach of vessels
both tedious and dangerous. From this
objection the harbours under con, liberation
are entirely free; and as there ire NJ streams
OF magnitude near them, il is reasona HE
To believe that the bars AMI middle grounds
will ever be exempted from he changes
that operate so much to he prejudice of tie
neighbnring ports
In regard Ia The selerton of a site for
The Town and termina ion uf The Rail Road.
greater variety Is presented The face of
he country b"rderIng on the coast is heau-
tiful, and hut little change IS observable in
It's outline; pure fresh water abuunds, and
a great number of eligible situations may
he selected. The advantages, however.
which each prominent point possesses, are
so nearly balanced, that it would he difficult
TO award to either IA preference, unless nt
the expense of the others, upon their own
merits alone; but when the Importance Of
terminating the Rail Road on the Gulf, at
the nearest point to Paulding, accessible to
shipping, is taken into Consideration, it i,
obvious Thai point some at or within eight
miles westof the mouth of the Blyou Grand
Sable, should be selected; the nearer this
point the better, because il is directly south
Of, and the nearest place to Padding on The
| Gulf.
The ordinary rise Of the tides in the
Gull is fon twenty-five to tweniv-Sx inches
varying with every ch n!e uf the wind
Which, conlpunI t. hlow hlrl from one
direction Tor a great length ~ time, proIu-
res results very dfferont IRON hose s
mentioned Al common lw wn'er, vessels
drawing fifteen feet, cnn approach vi Inn
three miles # the shore; from two miles
west of Deer island to Pass Chris,ianne)
those draw my eleven feet, within tw, miles;
and hose Of eight Of nine feet draft, within
three-fiths or hnIfa mile; and owing to The
soft and loose nature IF he bottom, they can
pass in with one foot less water than they
actually draw.
TIE accommodate The immense trade that
will flow to this harb,r, whenever the con-
temp! depot shall have been establish
cd, II viii be necessary either to transport
the freight to and from the anchorage in
lighters, Ga distance If seven or eight miles
or to erect whlres from The shore 10 VIII re
the depth Of water will permit ships 10 mo r
and lie IN safety, sly ;hree miles These
wharves wnIid Mt prove expensive of
construction. ~ suitable miierlaIS for their
composition can be obtained in great album
dance, for the mere labor of PR c lring hem,
in the immediate vicinity of The pl zee where
they would he requred,) and, being erected,
they would at all times afford amp pro-
lection 10 the smaller craft that navigate
the gulf and its inferior waters.
| II may he necessary TO protect the hlr-
nour with breakwat9rs. or other artificial
blrriers, agaIns the Influence of the south
ern and southeastern gales that some times
prevail on this coast; but, in this opinipn,
am not sustained by the pilots, whose long
residence there and extensive practical ex-
perience as masters and pilots, on these aud
the adj lcent waters, has made them ftnil-
lar with The dangers and advantages. inch
dent to every class If vessels, at almost
every point along the coast; they entertain
The opinion that such precanton is
wholly unnecessary; and, frum he best in
formation can mt this time obtain, his hir-
hour will aff1d better shelter aud anchor
age than did either hat of d iiin, plN-
mouth or the Delaware, previous Ia the
erection Of those siupenions works, WHICH
rch ari So much honor on lhe wf>dan thAt
designed and the ilberaiy this reared
them.
Upon reference To the chart, herewith
presented, The board will perceive thu Il
rh in oi islands, nrarIy parallels to the SHIRE,
extend almost the entire dIstince of the
coast, embraced in their resolution, these
islands are generally covered with pine and
live oak timber: in connection with HE
4 = 4 ~-,,sts atfachad a., than thav f,,rn,