Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-08-01
COMMERCE BETWEEN THE LAKES
AND THE MISSISSIPPI.
Practicability Of the Fox and WILSON,.
sin river 00ute-Cosnpar rat tive En-.
cheney with the Erie Ca mal-A Work
OF Great National Importance.

SIN 4t1vef 1k0ute-Cosnparatlv En-
OF Great National Importance.
From the Oshkosh Times.
The great importance of the Fo
and Wisconsin River Route, as a lin
in the claim of water communicable
between the great lakes and the Mis-
slssippi river cannot be over estimated
1t will be to Wisconsin, and the CHS
mississippi, what the Erie canal ha
been to New York. Under the toucl
OF improvement its capacity for publ
service will greatly exceed the palmies
days of Clinton's ditch" 1t DOS
sesses all the elements of an adequat
Underwater communication for man,
decades to. come, the adverse " opin
ions of croakers out of its range. not
withstanding.
The Wisconsin river, so long fearet
from its treacherous sand bars, ant
trua"t channel, is no longer a barrie
to the hopes of those whose interest,"
it is proved capable of serving.
Capt. John Nader, under Col. Hous
ton (both practical and skillful engi
neers) has 30 far brought the turgit
Wisconsin into the family of steam
bearing rivers, that surprise takes thu
place of doubt, and no longer a ques
ton exists as to the feasibility of max
ing the Wisconsin a navigabfe stream
at the lowest stages of water.
The wing dams put in last year, in.
stead of yielding before the foods and
sands, as predicted by enemies Of the
improvement, have not been injured
in the least by ice gorges or spring
treshets, and fair channel is assured
from Portage to the Mississippi.
The steamer Winneconne, q boat we'll
known in Oshkosh, drawing three fee,
three inches of water, will be able to
pass from Lone Rock to the mouth OF
the river, in the very lowest summer
stage OF water, this season. Also, that
the boat now at work pear Portage, will
be able at the same time to reach Lone
Rock from Portage, SO that our people
need not be surprised If, during the
present year, Jana the work is not vet
Completed we have q reliable channel
of three feet of water in the Wisconsin
River, during the dryest season, from
Portage to the mouth.
With three feet water land it is now
estimated that half million of dollars
Will give good foe feeO under our sys-
TEN of navigation, and with our class
of boats, the channel hence to the
Mississippi will be as efficient, mac m
mercial point Of view, when We take
into account the carrying power of our
boats, as the. Erie canal, with six feet
of water.
The movement on the Erie Canal is
but one-and -a.half miles per hour,
while our river movement, including
Lockage, is over sic miles oer hour,
There are u locks on the Erie Canal.
while between Green Bay and Prairie
du Chen, there are but %.
The whole distance from Green Bay
to the Mississippi is 275 miles, while
the Erie Canal is $50 miles long.
So, that it will take but 46 hours to
make the trip from Green Bay to
Prairie du Chen, whereas it takes 233
hours to pass q boat from Buffalo to
Albany, or little over five times as
long as it does from Green Bay to the
mouth of the Wisconsin.
And, besides, though the present
style of our boats are of less capacity
than the locks will warrant, they will
carry 800 tons, while 200 tons is the
maximum of the Erie Canal.
Our locks are 35x16O The Erie locks
are 171110, giving ours nearly double
the capacity. =
The great point of efficiency in canal
navigation is to have plenty Of water at
The summit level, to supp " the waste
If lockage. At our summit level we
nave the Wisconsin River, with a vol.
line of water twenty times greater than
8 needed for all lockage purposes.
The summit level of the Erie Canal
s the long IS miles level, between
Syracuse and Utica. which, for the
greater part of the way, is nearly TWEEN
y feet above the level of the surround
ng country. .'
There are to that level ten feeders,
which cost the State of New York $11,-
'OO, 600, or about twenty-five times the
ntire cost of procuring q five feet
;hannel to the Mississippi.