Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1859-01-28

try coupled with your thorough knowledge of the particular
referred to (Which has been under your . charge
other than yourself furnish the information desired SO
truly and SO reliably Very respectfully,
WIN. A. WRIGHT.
RALEIGH, January %, 1869.
VIM. A. WRIGHT, ESQ.,, Wilmington
Dear SIR In answer to your letter of the 10th nst
you the following memoranda drawn up with much brev
ty as the subjects treated of would permit but making
nevertheless communication of such length as fear will
exhaust your patience in its perusal
Very respectfully
VIM H. MOREIL.
Memorandum In Relation to the Navigation Of Cape
Fear and Deep Rivers, January, 1859.
The capacity of the rivers navigation the water being
abundant controlled by the dimensions OF the locks and
the minimum depth of the connecting pools This minimum
depth is designed to be five feet and all the work recently
of water in parts of Cape Fear rver below the improved
navigation will not in seasons OF low water, permit the
passage of boats drawing than three feet for which
the minimum capacity of the improvement will be
considered with reference to boats of that draft
The locks vary in dimensions the smallest will pass boats
LOG feet by II ~ wide; the largest 12O by 70 IL With
three draft of water the small boats built for the coal
traffic. will carry hundred and twenty tons boats of the
same draft adapted to the enlarged locks, will carry
two hundred The working capacity Of the improved
about two million per Whenever all the locks
shall be constructed of the enlarged size, its capacity will
be about four million tons. This may be demonstrated by
figures but satisfactory establish its truth by
the results of experience the operations of improvements
constructed similar same lead
ing characteristics both Of construction and sources of sup
ply Such the improvements of the Schuylkl and the
Leh each of which has been in successful operation for
than quarter of century. The official returns of
the Schuy navigation for eleven months OF the past year
that is from January L. to November 3d. 1855 shows
TONNAGE in coal alone amounting to million two hun
dred and xtythree thousand TONS The quantity brought
down in December of the preceding, was fy-fve
thousand tons like quantity for that month"; the past year
will give total for the year of million three hundred
and eighteen thousand tons of coal transported in dec
ton.
The official report of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Co.
states the total tonnage of that Improvement for the year
1856 million four hundred and thousand
TONS aordng profit of six hundred and twentysix thous
and dollars The shipments of coal million two
hundred thousand of lumber fifty millions feet, and
of iron and iron ores eighty thousand TONS These items
those that will constitute the bulk of the tonnage the
Cape Fear and Deep yer improvement, addition to
which agricultural products to much greater extent than
the Lehgh will have to be transported, and what the
ated products. The region to be supplied with return
freight also much more extensive and the reciprocal
a DE M S g
the navigation of the Lehgh in 1885, opened the 18th OF
April and closed the 29th of Nov and interrupted
months navigation within the year, which about The
erage shown by the reports of the Company for other
years. notwithstanding which the capacity of that work is
officially stated be millions annually. Now, the
navigation of Cape Fear and Deep Rivers will rarely be in
terupted except by high water and the detention from that
will average thirty days in the year, which
gives period of fifty cent longer than that of the Lee
high 1t therefore, evident that the annual working
pacy of the former Improvement would be equal to that OF
the latter, its daily working capacity one-thrd less
But SO far from TINS beng the case the average 1oad ana
equal that the Lehgh much of its navigation is
adapted to boats carrying only sixty tons.
The question of capacity further Illustrated by reference
report of the Canal Board of the State of New
York. from which the following extract is made:
The locks, "a in ALL with Col feet lift eighteen feet
by hundred and ten. They will admit the passage of
vessels carrying two hundred and twenty hundred and
forty Three hundred vessels daily hundred and
fifty each way may easily pass the locks during the
of navigation, which affords at least two hundred days in
the year from obstruction At this rate which is rather
below than above the TRUTH millions of tons of descend
ing cargoes pass in the year..
With load averaging hundred tons, like amount OF
lockages the Cape Fear and Deep River improvements
would give descending tonnage daily of fifteen thousand
tons and with navigation lasting for days. aggre
gate for the year of four million five hundred thousand
TONS
The question of capacity being established that of supply
remains be considered. 1t is we'll known that coal
ron where these minerals abound together with the pro-
ducts of the forest constitute the main source of
public works. that the article of coal alone furnishes
amount greater than the aggregate of al other products
The coal statistics OF strkngy illustrate this
fact and also establish the nearly equally important
the increased production and consumption of this min
era keeps with the increased facilities for its ranspo
taton The certainty and uniformity of this increase,
the rapidty of its progress shown in the development
the anthracite trade The quantity of this mineral forwarded
to market in 1922 900 tons in 1889 it 100000
tons in 1S49 3217 900 TONS and in 1856 it
900 TONS The facility with which the production may be
increased in any year shown by the aggregate results
years 1851 and 81 in the former of which, the quantity
of anthracite transported to market 900 on
in the latter 4,329,G00.
The Cape Fear and Deep River improvement
of most valuable known deposits of bumnous COAL and
running the oucrop of the veins for nearly thirty miles
it presents facilities for the mining and shipping of coal fol
all that distance The mining capabilities of the region
therefore, equal to demand that may be made upon it
should that reach the full capacity of the navigation
But in addition to this mineral 1ich and valuable
distributed along the banks of the upper Cane Fea
and the Deep River for distance exceeding half TIT
length of the improved navigation and such the vaua
BILE characteristics of some of these Ores that believed
they will be exported in large Quantities to the Northe
Atlantic cities to be converted into steel and the hghe
grades of manufactured IRON Ores of copper ben
mined and shipped to considerable extent and new AM
N
tonnage being developed the commercial value
tanning to species of soap stone, deposited in arg
quantities the head of the navigation and which
being manufactured and city of New York
extent of several thousand barrels annually These minerals
together with the products of the forest and of the soil
constitute the descending trade and they will make
gate which will reach in few years of successful nav
CATION not less than million of tons nd together with tn
return freight will yield to the Navga ton Company
nual net income apprOXimang to half million of dollars.
The coal measures have been tested and found by
Gus excavations and for mining have been mad
at several points, and in instance scale of sucen
to produce 100 900 tons annually But les
expensive modes of working be adopted all along the
CROP and very large amount of coal thus be obane
for immediate transportation Beds of iron favor
ably situated that the be delivered into boats at
cost fifty cents per ton and shipments made of the
any extent that the demand shall justify which, from tn
peculiar characteristics of the ore, the propretors
will be very great Other qualities of less avoraby sit
uated for transportation of different grades of excellence
but all of great value among which is the celebrated bac
band will be converted into pigs at their respective loo ali
ties for which purpose furnaces already being erected
and either in this FORM in that of manufactured iron
transported to market Shipments of the products of til
forest and of the soil will also be large and all these added
that in all probability will not be less than $50 900
in the first year of continuous navigation the
which may be safely placed at 100000.
In reaching the Coalelds the Navigation Company hav
constructed II dams and 20 lift locks The DAMS with
exception in good order and with ordinary care wi
indefinite period time The exceptions is the da1
nofx hash