New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-04-16

4
awaiting towage, or else they will ground
his vessel. Shipmasters know this and
will not employ him. His business is
ruined-his branch must be thrown up,
and a disagreeable witness As put cut OF
the way.
Next come masters OF sailing ships, who
must keep in good odor with the ring,
else their vessels may be'detained at the
bar for an indefinite time, either waiting
for tow, or grounded. SO as TO make
them pay large bills for being pulled off or
lightered. They seldom dare open their
mouths in condemnation of the ring, and
there are some few of them. owning little
or no part of the vessel they command.
who find their salaries considerably in
| creased at the expense of the owners, by
covering up malpractice on the bar. The
technical name for such addition is
grease
Captains Of steamships are more indie
pendent, but yet are liable at any time,
through carelessness of pilot. to come into
the net of the ring, and when they do So,
suffer severely, but cover up their wounds
and hope for better luck next time.
The United States Treasury Depart
ment maintains boarding stations near
| the bars, and has stationed at them intel
ligent officers and other employees who
would be subject to continual Annoyance,
if not bodily harm, were they to step out
side OF the strict line Of their duty and
/ report the 1.-THE of what they have OBJ
served of the working of the ring.
These are all the parties of the first
class from whom it is possible to obtain
| information of what transpires on and in
| the neighborhood of the bars. and we can
well see why their mouths are studiously
closed or only favorably opened il the in
terests of the ring.
With the exception Of employees on the
dredgeboats and few fishermen. they are
the only people frequenting the neighbour
hood of the bars, or visiting them oftener
than once year.
Of the second class are men Of all ranEs
and conditions in society. Some favored
with a medium amount OF that special
knowledge considered requisite for the
solution of the problem presented at the
mouth of the Mississippi, others with still
less, others with none at all.
They are generally book-learned engi-
neers, with schemes founded on assumed
analogies drawn from the experience of
European engineers Of note. Scientists,
who would spend days in examining the
leg of fly under the microscope, but
inyert their glasses when looking at so
large an object as the bar at Southwest
Pass; editors seated in their easy chairs.
with Cresy's Encyclopedia on one side and
the maunderings of theorist on the other.
Lawyers, who have been favored with
marine cases, and studied engineering in
courts Of law. BraZen-faced adyenturers,
reaching out for a contract, whereby to
make their fortunes. Half crazy invent
ors, with all sorts Of unfedged ideas and
mechanical monstrosities. Even illiterate
backwoodsmen. who have gained their
ideas from wading the creeks of their
native wilderness. These, one and all.
year after year. 50 far. perhaps. as the
memory of the oldes. ;nhabitant goes.
have aired their schemes in print; mys.
titled the people regarding the bars
obstructing their commerce induced
them to vacillate from one plan to
another, supporting none to its test
made them skeptical regarding all. and
pfeiudiced them against the consistent.
faithful efforts made by the United States
engineers for their relief.
To this class is accorded the satisfaction
of knowing that they have steadily. though
without design. worked in the interest Of
the ring. They have delayed and often
caused the failure of Congressional appro-
priations, and they have poisoned the
minds of the people into continual dis
trust of the measures designed for their
benefit They have been blind leaders Of
the generally leading into evil.
seldom TO good.
With this necessary Introduction. let us
pass to the account of blockades that have
occurred within the past four years:
The dredg eboat Essayons arrived here In
1868, heralded through the public prints as
the Boston notion" the 'engineers' tolly,"
and by kindred epithets. The people were
LED to believe from the start that the dredge
was worthless. This impression was sedu-
lousy fostered. and, with the frequent acct.
dents occurring to the dredge, incident to
the working Of all new and imperfect in
ventions, grew to take strong root in the
public mind. So strong, indeed, that for
month. in the spring of 1863 after the Off.
GERS of the dredge had reported having
obtained good channel at Pascal Outre,
it only needed the occasional statement of
d tOwboat captain or pilot 10 cause general
disbelief of the report. In the meantime
the ring was reaplng Itch harvest on the
Obstructed bar at Southwest Pass. In June,
1869. several New York steamers falling TO
cross Southwest Pass bar, i'll desperation
yentured to Pass a-lOutre and 20 their sur.
prise crossed without trouble. The news
leaked ont. Ship masters who had been
waiting at Southwest Pass demanded tow
age 70 Pass a-POutre. and held All indigna-
ton meeting to force compliance. Its mis-
statements having failed ul further ette.:,
what did the ring do.
Seventeen feet at mean low tide was re.
ported at Pass-a fOutre, June -: "a ship
Lizzic Moses drawing eighteen and guar.
te- feet had passed cut without trouble. |
On the eighteenth of June d bark Brit
tania) drawing seventeen feet mad sailed il. |
Something must be done 80 countcract the |
injurious impression these facts had created. !
June %. the ring brought down the ship !,
Tranquebar, drawing eighteen and three.