Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1856-05-27
IMPROVEMENT OF THE OHIO.

country IL III excess aud rom WHICH, 't,o IS
he supplied whsn tho Navigation 'aus' III '''i'0 "
drought. ,Lo oa.
The other is the plan Of LOCKS AND DAMS "u.
vocates Of which propose 10 CONSTRUCT aonu' " ,h
dams across the river, 10 increase lae ueP' "
water and to place two locks IN each dani' 10 o'e,
come the distractions created by the dams them
selves. e,..,,;rs a.,
the tributaries OF the river, and objected 10 te
siruc,ion Of these dams across tho chah"e' VI '"'
river, for the following reasons: ,,.,
|. After the dams shall have been consunc'el
across the Ohio will be found that they caIn" oe
made water tight. The dams WIZ leak ahI ieSJ h
vors on the Tributary streams will be needed III 'ie
summer season, to supply the pools themselves WIZ"
sufficient water to anat the boats.
This point is illustrated by the sackwSter na'i2"
lion on the SchuYkl River, where three resetfo.s
are now required and resorted to ANNUALLY 10 suply
WINTER TO compensate for the losses resulting rom 'ie
evaporation aud from the leakage and lockaSe at 'ne
dams. i'm.
f. is illustrated also by many other slack water I'M
Engagements. hui more particularly 10y that of the Mo-
noupahela River, where, during the greater part ~
IN. summer and fa. OF 1854, the water NOT ony
ceased tn run over the dams, but oy eV"pois'.ou
and leakage was almost literally dr!eo out VI 'ne
pe,ls. ,.,,..o ~.
sor,,ng TO ..mmeuse reservoirs, from when supply
can be- drayu, in seasons OF low water, into thrlr
pools, aud thus kesp them IN good uaViGaole conu''
! ton.
| They now have Il lock and dam Improvement, but
| find that they still need reserrGEs to supply thGt
Improvement with water, and make the Gems useful.
lusteai Of building dams to obstruct tie rE|lga,
tou of the ONO and locks to overcome the artincai
| obstructous occ8sioned by the DAMS and RESERVOIRS
10 the mountains from WHICH To supply the pools win
water prupoie TO form ,he reservoirs III the hrst
instance, and TO suppiy the RIVER lsei ron lne, at
once and dispense eniirs'y with the locks and dana
Ii w require much less w6ter TO supply the river IN
| its natural condition than will be needed to supply II
Ter its channel has been INSTRUCTED by saEy dams,
nd wider surface has been exposed TO me sun and
| MIR end the evaporation thereby Increased.
| H. LGcks aud dams will set limit to the amount
of freight which can be transported on the river
The plan which propose-hat Of supplying the river
with water in times OF drought Will leave It's capaci
~ for conveying freight fer I'll practical purposes,
absolutely unlimited.
| After these dams have been built, tic rrmber OF
boatc which may traverse the river Will no longer be
dst.rInrst by the quantities OF produce minerals. or
lumber thar tbs region, of which the Ohio the great
highway, is capable CT producing, or which Its mar
kets may demand, but t&ey will be limited to the
| number that may be passed through the locks.
The Inability of double locks ~ Psse the trade OF
the Oaio, is snly demonstrated by the AonosGphela
navigation where The coal-boats occasionally crowd
hy hundreds To the iGeks aud in the haste aud ankle
ty to get through block up tbs approaches against all
ascending crafts for severa! days ia succession.
There arc OILY five or sX STEAMBOATS, p;ytGg on the
Munongahsla aud requiring the use OF its locks olt
| the Improvement of the Uh2, to be tolerated, mua
he such may be relied On to aoo3iDnodate nor only
fhs aud prospective GoaI trace OK ,ne roHoH-
ra,cla but also the lumber trade OF the AIeghany,
;he iron aud miscellaneous trade Of Pittsburgh, sew
era hundred Ohio river steombnas, aud ne proper
trade of the Ohio river itself. This vast aggregate
could got be passed through double locks even IL
set of douG.e locks could alwaya BIZ kept in good
workiu. order ,
But We cannot hope 10 have two locks al each OF
the fifty dams-e1possd, Is they must be, to injury
from boats and from hoods-always IN order, unless
We provide at least three locks III each Gem
I(T Tho d.InyS n tho locks Will be gEEktNE tuAD
the running lime now required to make the trip and
consequently the time now required tor every Ordi-
Rary voyage will be mose than doubled by the dssen'
ton at the DAMS
| IL reservoirs are adopted, and wstr supplied by
them TO the channel when it is needed TIERS :he time
required to make tbs trip will be reduced.
". II dams are placed across the channel OF me
Oh:a all the trade of the river for not less than htty
wesEs in every year will be forced through the
locks. u,;
ing for tweves years IN snccesnou. snow tbat tne
water would not be high enough for buhts 10 safety
psss over the dams, average, fourteen DAYS III
the year. ,,;u, NM
| interes, can possibly C injured thereby. Ii the
channel is obs,ruc,ed by da!t' the rating ouShes'
will De completely destroyed.
VI Daua on the Ohio, however ekEkCly they
may be planned by the engineer, and however iHih
fully built by the contractors, VIII sometimes prove
to be imperfect. Resting often on trescherous run
| some will be undermined by eooda This has oeen
the experience wherever numerous dRr'3 'aVe oce"
built Oh the same stream. Such nsortuhes NAYS o.
Cured ON the LeEis on the Scuylkill. Oh Tue ro'o
| mac, ON James River and ON the AoionBaheia'-
| They may occur also on the OhiD ,
| When one OF the well-built dane on the Mononga
bela gave way in 1872, the bottom OF :te river was
washed out to depth OF ~ ieet. one yei wAs tos' III
| in the second year after the breach was formed, the
| water fell so that the work OF PREPARATION couio oe
| commenced, it required four months tor the most
-kliul and energetic men to close the gap ana fecure
| the dam. 49, 49,. -
| What, ask would be the condition Of thngs if
one of the fifty dana which is so lightly proposed to
| construc, on the Ohio. should be washed away or
undermined, and the navigation there suspended Tor
four mouths .
II we rssort to reservoirs for The Improvement OF
the navigation, damage can result to tEe trade OF
the Ohio from arrangement or breaon ot any par'
Of tho works.
| VII. Dams will obstruct the navigation, and cause
the boats to crowd aud jam agalHst tho entrance OF
the locks. These boats will sometimes te sunk-as
has happened ON The Monongahea Improvement, ana
indeed on everv canal in The couniry-and stop t!s
navigation until they can be removed pair OIL coal
boats will contain Thousand tGns. or more; aud Inc
removal OF 80 great nass from under wafer, VIII Ut
| a slow and tedious job.
Ii tho river is ted from reservoir the channel vii
be kept always clear and there can consequently bt
no tanning Of boats II boat sinks, there will be
roou in the chHune for other uoats to pass by It,
| VIII, Ii locks Eic CAMS are adopted, steanOOatt
will sometimes he drRuS csreessy against the works
md staye in the gates. TG3 occurs frequently oi
rnneIs and has occurred on tie MOrougahea, though
hut few steamboats, there In THE oGe instance
| now pair Of gates happened 10 oe reHdy. ana INK
nayphtiou gas restored by the greut skill aud energy
| of the President of the Company, in four days.
If the navigation Of the Ohio should be stopped fo
only four days, some sefsDty or eighty steanooat
would collect above and below the locks and az som
seasons of the year. in that space Of Re from 'oo It
1000 coaboats, hatboais and RATS IL adaion 10 III
steamers, would be arrested there
The collection, In the space OF only lew DAYS
, would sometimes be Rn great on that river lhat u
whole channel would be Sled entirely across, from
ba to bank, to the distaca OF two or three, ana
times even 10 the distance OF Eve miles from ID
locks. On the canals Of this country. we have otte
witnessed such sights, on a smaller scale. in one in
stance, SEVEN hILks OF CANAL BOATS bio2ked VI
the eutire breadth ofthe Erie Canal before the breac
which stopped their progress could be repaired. Bu
the boats and locks If a rsnal of manageable d
aen+ions, and nearly three hundred boats ca
I've le, through 8 well appointed, lock in day. 4 pm
- III coal boats, raft, would occupy the huge lock
II which will be required 10 pass the Oho river steam
boats more than hour II il indeed Very d"ubtfN
IN whether raft VIII oh would Til of thess locks,
h cover therefore more than halt ali of surfac,
could he let through md got out of the way i'll les
III than THREE HOURS But, assuming tina; the arerag
time for II pair of coal boats raft, would be q
hour to pass $40 ofthem through single lock, work
ING dsy and night, would consume at least TEN DAY
in and during that ten days, al certain of h
=. wear, IS many more would approach and struggle
e get through the way might be cleared for them.
Small, eopsara.iyey. as is the present trade of th
Mouonyahea, and rS2idiy HI the smaller locks theI
il; REQUIRED can be worked the descending coal fats FRI
Or ouenty shut OF the navi9e:cn for ascending steamer
oil on thai river for three four days in succession
We, IL. The cost OF the Fifty dams and one hundre
r. locks which it is proposed to build ON the Ohio,
of daced from the ascerlained OF the Mopoug&he
improvement,-with proper allowance for the il
creased length Of tie dams, the Increased lengt
id width and besth of the cks end tie Increased yalu
of labor and materials since that WORK was copeee