Washington telegraph., 1856-12-03
The Red River Raft Improvement.

the report which Col Fuller suDmitteo ID
January of last year. to the Superintendent .
of Western River Improvements The
report presents the plan corporations which |
Col. Fuller, who is well known as gen
tleman of scientific attainments in his |
profession, proposed to carry out in effect |
ing the important work which the Govern
ment entrusted to his care.
We happen to know something of the
result of his labors thus far, and although
it is not as satisfactory as Col. F. himself
expected, or as those interested might
desire, we feel satisfied that the failure to
accomplish all that was promised, is not
attributable to him or to the plan adopted,
the feasibility of which, we see no cause
to doubt. Before referring to what has
already been accomplished, and to what
may yet be accomplished, as well as the
m ans necessary to effect that accomplish
ment, We must, In justice to the parties
concerned, speak of the difficulties which
have beset Col Fuller, in the prosecutions
of his designs.
The chief of these difficulties has been
the want Of working men. There is an
unwillingness On the part of unacclimated
white men, to run the risk of the diseases,
some of them real, many of them altogeth-
er Imaginary, with which they manage to
infect their thoughts of a summer, spent
in camp-life ON our southern rivers, and
Col. Fuller being aware of this, early in
June last, advertised for thirty negro hands,
to aid him in carrying on last summers op-
erations- The full compliment of work
ing hands were promised to Col f., by
planters, those who are most deeply inter
ested in the completion of this improve
ment and opening up Of navigation in Red
river; but what was the resUlt2 With
every e1ertion that could be made, he was
only bic to obtain a working force of a
bout ten hands from June until the mid
die Of October OF the 80 or 10 hands pro-
missed him, we are credibly informed that
he secured but six, showing clearly that
to the little interest manifested by the
planting community, is attributable the
delay in the opening of the route until
next fall, if not longer, while we have no
assurance that SO many favorable circum-
stances of low water, fine weather, and
healthy seasons, will again render the work
SO entirely practicable, as it would have
proved during the past summer Even
with two thirds of the force promised Col
Fuller, we are s:tisfed that he could have
removed all distractions on his proposed
route, and boats would have now been run
ming regularly to Coshatta Bluffs, if not as
far up as Fulton, with no more water than
We have at present; or even with the small
force employed, if the low water had con-
tinued four weeks longer, he would have
been enabled to clear 4 good channel
through the Bayou and Cheiters Lake to
Stumpy Bayou, where the new route joins
the old route, via Red bayou. The heavy
rise in September, however, stopped all
low water operations, and carried down
more than mile of new raft, which is
now lodged in the vicinity of Elmer's bay
ou- Thus very great additional amount
of labor has been rendered necessary which
would have been avoided if the promised
force had been sent at the proper time, for
TO. only could all the work above spoken
of, been done, but a receptacle could have
been prepared for the recent accumulation
Of raft, and it would ROW have been safely
slowed away in its allotted place.
The condition of the Improvement now
is briefly this:
All the old together with the ac-
cumulation OF last year, say $50 yards, ma
king in all from two and a half to three
miles between the head of Dooley's bayou
and Elmer's has been sawed, cut, hauled
out and carried down Dooley's bayou; a
portion of it stored in the chutes of the
bayou, some in the first small lake, and a
small portion is now at the outlet of the
bayou into the lake and ready for storing.
All the points in the bayou have been cut
off, impending trees felled, Islands dug
down, and during the summer two hun
dred and thirty-eight stumps have been
hauled out by machinery, and nine hun
dred and ffty-onc cut down to level with
the bottom, besides many other stumps
and roots grubbed up or dug out
/. The force now employed, numbers about
twenty hands, part of whom are slowing
raft In the first small lake, and the remain
der preparing Dutch Johns lake, for e.
ceptaele of further accumulation of drift.
With this small number of hands Col. Full
Ter labors under great disadvantage.
In conclusion, we may safely remark,
that altL Lough, the full amount of the first