The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1871-01-28
The Eutrv.

decrvng the advantages of the natural harbor formed
by the St. Louis river the head of Lake Superior
Minnesota bases its claim ask the general govern
ment for appropriation to aid in the construction
of breakwaer at Duluth outside of Minnesota Point
upon the misrepresentation made in regard to the
action of the of that river the point where
it enters the open of the lake. and it may
be amiss therefore this time briefly refute the
statements put in circulation by the Western Land
Association and other spectators in Duluth corner
lots for the purpose of inducing Congress devote
large portion of the money of the nation to the inter
of the bankers brokers and capitalists who have
invested in that village and seek to build it up, in
defiance of the advantages nature has accorded
side.
In speaking of that subject are borne out in our
statements by the report of the proper officers of the
United States, made to Congress, and based upon
careful surveys and thorough examination of the
entire ground. Such survey and report was made
with the express purpose of devisng the most feasible
of constructing harbor for Duluth ITSELF and
by men totally unbiased in the matter. They argue
that the cheapest if the only feasible manner of
providing DULUTH with proper harbor, is the contin-
OF the improvements IL progress at the
mouth of the st. Louis, between Minnesota and Wis
consin Points, and tie dredging out of Superior Bay
where Duluth touches it. As such an improvement of
the natural advantages of the location would glar
ngly show the superior advantages of our town in
comparison with that place, of course Duluth declines
accepting government aid on those terms.
1t is a misconcepton that the bar at the mouth of
the river just outside of the points, is formed by the
deposit of the river The bar consists of pure sand
and the St LOuis river carries down no sand Before
reaching the open lake the St. Louis river passes
through two basins expansions the bays of ST.
Louis and Superior. As there is but very little
rent in either of those bays, it is evident that any solid
matter brought down by the river from above would
be there deposited and the fact that the relative depth
of these basins has not materially changed for
many years that soundngs taken now show about the
same water those laid down the map made ten
years ago affords the best evidence that the ST. Louis
river passing succession offas and rocks, finds
nothing abrade nothing to take up and carry along,
and therefore contains nothing to deposit.
The bar the mouth of the river is formed by the
sand thrown up by the waves of the lake during
storm The northeaster sweeping along the south
shore of the lake, upon wave rushing along that
beach stir up the sand and carry it along. The sand
is not brought up from the bottom of the lake, but
carried along by the waves they break along the
beach If therefore the piers in construction
at entry carried the BAR the
of the river confined between those piers will wash out
. channel to depth amply sufficient for any vessel
navigating the lakes and the piers either side will
prevent the sand from being carried into the current
OF the river and will thus protect the channel from
being filled up.
Again the current of the river, rushing out through
the entry at the of four five miles hour and
meeting the waves of the lake during storm, has the
power check the force and headway of those waves
and BY that protect the piers from damage
This fact was most remarkably exemplifed, during the
late northeastern whose effects were so serious upon
the breakwater Duluth The improvements at our
entry have proceeded so far to give now about
fifteen feet of water in the channel.
The day after the storm, and after the people of
Superior learned the damage done by it TO the Duluth
construction, party of citizens went to examine
the piers a the entry The most outward piers had
not finished last fall and large amount of square
timber intended to be used in their construction,
together with some wheelbarrows used for wheeling
rock had been left the top of those piers entirely
unfasened and only few feet above the level of the
was displaced, and the same storm which broke up
the boasted breakwater at Duluth, unable to move
a wheelbarrow upon the piers at the mouth of our
river though the piers there extended further into the
lake than the Duluth breakwater, The spray had
reached the piers and everything coated with Ice
but the of the lake had lost their headway their
force the of the river had protected the piers
1t is true that in the fall of 1869 bar formed
at the entry which partly composed of clay clay
which was carried down the St Louis river. This is
an isolated fact and was brought about by conjunc
tion of circumstances which will probably never occur
again The Lake Superior Mississippi railroad was
then in process of construction along the banks of the
St Louis. After an extraordinary wet season. during
whole of which the river kept above its average
height this country visited in that fall by heavy
rain for nearly entire week The river to an
extraordinary height, sweeping away the newly made
embankments of that railroad which were formed of
clav Mr. DaCosta the engineer of thak road, esti-
mated the amount of clay thus swept at between
thirty and forty thousand cubic yards The e.traor-
dnarv rise of the river created strong through
the BAY of ST Louis and that of Superior, and the
elay which the railroad company had thrown into the
river in making their embankments carried along
with the aud deposited at the entry where the
waters of the lake met the current
But il is evident that the formation of that bar
due not SO much the rise OF the river, nor to de
posts which the current eeen at that height would
have carried doxn from natural eauses; but that Il
owing the exposed condition OF the grading ae
work of the Railroad Company, then newly made
which the current of the river swept away Ii mos
improbable that such a combination OF circumstance