The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1873-09-06
A GREAT CANAL DESTROYED.



In my letter of the 2ist the destruc-
ton of the lower level of the Chesa
peake and Delaware canal was record
ed. To day the work of destruction has
continued to the upper level and the
whole work, built at great expense of
life and money, is a total ruin. To
make the situation understood, some
description of the canal is necessary.
1t is thirteen miles long, and is
divided into two levels. That empty
ing into the Delaware is four miles
long, and is about the same height as
an ordinary high tide, making locks
necessary for the admission on ennis
sion of vessels at low tides. The up
per level empties into a back creek,
tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. 1t
is nine miles long, and is at all times
sixteen feet higher than tide water
The crevasses in the bank of the lower
level suspended transportation, and
| for ten days vessels bound north have
been collecting at this town awaiting
| the repair of the banks.
Continuous rain so far increased in
volume yesterday that at five o'clock it
seemed as though the food gates were
opened, and water descended in such
| sheets that the whole flat country
seemed afoat. While the lower banks
| were being repaired, it was necessary
to keep the locks at st. Georges closed,
and if the lock-keeper had allowed
| some of the accommodating waters of
! the upper level to escape, even at the
| risk of renewing the breaches in the
lower bank, the latest disaster, pos
sibly, might have been averted. As it
| was, the waters accumulated without
any effort to relieve them, and at eight
o'clock last evening the banks gave
way right where a fleet of schooners,
canai-boats and immense RATS of logs
were moored. Between the town of
ST. George and the canal is a low
meadow. The state road, which
crossed the meadow over raised way,
offered slight impeachment to the rush
| ing waters, and in a few minutes the
| disaster of the previous week was
many times intensified. Vessels were
tumbled out in confused mass,
crushing weaker ones like egg shells,
and strewing ali the meadows and adj
joining cornfelds with wrecks.
Almost simultaneously with this
| breach was made another about half
mile farther along the COW path, which
is there skirted by pond of twenty
acres in area No less than ten canal
| boats were shot through this breach,
| wrecking each other as they drove
along This second breaking let loose
a wide torrent along the narrow strip
of meadow, rising higher than the
| foundation of some of the houses built
on the lowland edges. A schooner,
borne on the torrent, was driven INTO
large stable belonging to the hotel, to-
tally wrccking the building and killing
several valuable horses. Thirty-five
| vessels were thus cast away upon what
will in few days be dry land, and
those not utterly wrecked will probably
never be fioated again. To make mat
| ters worse, some ten hours after this
chapter Of disaster, and when It's effects
| had been to some extent estimated, the
feeder of the upper level broke its
| banks. This feeder is a lake several
hundred acres in extent. and in
some places sixty feet deep. This i'm
mense volume of water completed the
destruction A few vessels that had
escaped the other disaster were caught
in the torrent and sent far into the
fields. Thousands of raft logs that
collect in the canal coves, awaiting
| transportation to Philadelphia, were
| plunged like battering rams through
vessels sides.
This morning the country is picture
of desolation for long distance on the
| north side of the canal. The waters
have fallen on what were growing corn
| fields, and rich pastures are covered
many feet deep with sand and dotted
| with broken timbers of the wrecks. YES
sells lie on their sides and rank meadow
grasses depend from the rigging, show
ing that they were driven along on
| their beam ends. It is difficult to esti-
mate the extent OF the losses. That
upon vessels and lumber will exceed
| $1,000 The Canal Company lose
upwards of 81, 600, 900, while the losses
of the Delaware Railroad and of land
owners will swell the total consider
ably. 1t may be safely said that mil
lions of dollars viii be required to
open the canal and repair the damages
of that day of disaster. Rumors have
been rife for year past that the Penn.
sylvania Railroad Company was about
to lease the canal, but with its usual
good luck it had not yet done SO.