Wilmington daily gazette., 1874-01-27
The chesapeake and Delaware ship
Canal.

II j. TO be hoped that the Legislature VIII
provide for the survey of this Important work
| (not Tor any part that personally desire to
! take III 10, in regard TO which have read
| yonr remarks in yOur paper of this morning.
| some years since, at the request Of President
Garrett. Of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
| locked into the question of route for such Ca
| MAJ so far as the maps of the United States
Coast survey and the protes OF the Delaware
| liaiiioad to which had access would give
| information "a To SoundineS, heights of ground
and course of streams. AS you speak OF the
| route by Chester river, and state the distance
from baltimore to the mouth OF the Delaware
lay upon 1t, ! will mention that thero are
two other routcS-ono further, hy SasSafras,
and the other south, by Choptanl1 river, The
distances upon these several routes, as found
| hv measurement upon the large map of Mary
| land and Deawate, would I've Fiist, 10y Sas-
Satras, no miles second, Ivy Chester, 1o0
| miles third, By Choptank, 40 miles, from
Baltimore to the Delaware Dreakwatcr ut ( ape
Henlopen,
First. The loxtc by SaSsafraS would turn up
the Chesapeake Bay thirty-four miles and as
cend that river to lis tidal head. and then pass
directly across the peninsula of Delaware to
the mouth of Blackbird creek (forty-siX miles
above the Breakwater) the bed of which creek
it would occupy. This route would be in Mary.
land fifty miles, and in Delaware for about
fourteen miles Of its length, and the distance
of very heavy cutting through the watershed
between the heads OF the two streams would
be probably about seven miles. The SaSSafraS
river carries fifteen feet water to some two
miles above the town of Frederick, on its
north bank. The great directness OF the route
will strike you on inspecting of the map. The
length of bay navigation would be thirty -four
miles on the Chesapeake and forty-siX miles
on the Delaware-eighty in all-and Of river,
on the Sa5saiIas, about twelve miles, leaving
eighteen miles OF canal proper. There would
be dredging TO do both on the bay and river,
but similar work would be required on all the
routes. include the Patapscor0ute in the Ches-
apeaEe Bay navigation, as common to all the
routes,
Second. The route by Chester river would
turn Go.cv the Chesapeake Bay twenty-five
miles to the mouth of that river, which il would
ascend thirty-eght miles, passing Chestertown
TO IT. tidal head, and pass thence by Milling
ton over to the head waters OF Duck Greek j,
which ii would descend by Salisbury to the
Delaware Bay, forty miles above the Break
water The length of very heavy cutting
through the watershed would be probably
| about twelve miles. There would be of bay
navigation twenty two miles and of canal
proper twenty miles This route may be short
| ened some seven miles by cutoff at Eastern
Neck, opposite Kent Island at what expense
cannot now be estimated. If it can adyanta-
geously be made, the route would be but three
| miles longer than by Sassafras. There would
be sxty-four miles in Maryland and sixteen
| miles in Delaware.
Third.--The route by ChoptanE il ons lie o.
scription Of which read some time ago BIZ one
who claimed 10 know tho ground well, and 30 /
| describe it m he did, without recolectn z
| the name Of the person who suggested IT, If it
| was given.
This route world decend the Chesapeake Lay
| fifty miles to the noath Of Choptank; thence
| passing Cambridge up the river to Cabin creek
| twenty six mllts. thence eight miles up that
/ nj 49, n, H.
| creek; thence elk miles down the latter creek to
| the Nantcoke river and fourteen miles up the
| river, passing Seaford Delaware, to Deep creek
| thence up that creek and across the divide pas
| sing Georgetown TO the Long Bridge, branch Of
| BROAD Xii! creek, and thence passing Milton to
the mouth of that creek four miles above the
| Breakwater. From the Nanticoke at tho mouth
| of d ep creek TO the Delaware Bay at the month
| Of Eroadkiu will be about twenty seven miles,
and the total leng.h Of the route one hundred
| and forty niles would be in Maryland and thir-
| t. nine in Delaware. There would he two
water sheds to pes, one between the Choptsuk
| and the Nanticokc, aud the other between tho
latter river AMI EroadEi'l of the Delaware Bsv.
The two would require some forty miles Of canal
| proper, LEAVING sixty miles Of river, assuming
| the Nanticoke TO be ravigable for fourteen miles
between the mouth Of Mr-shy Hope creek and
paep creek, without further improvement than
dredging Tho elevato-. Of the water sheds
may be so much lower than those of the other
routes as greatly 10 reduce the difference in the
cost eli the canaling oil th'' route nolwitbstand-
| ing its greater length. Having had only
| maps TO guide me, the preceding estimates are
| altogether prozimate, hut cannot be very far
| from the Truth, and they are presented simply
| TO show that there is a choice Of routes between
| which careful surveys can alone decide.
The distance down theChesapeake bay and up
| the coast of Cape IIenlOpen and the Delaware
Breakwater il about 32j miles. If these were
the navigation distances TO be compared for
voyages TO Europe and to all points on our coast
| norh of that cape, the Sassa .as route would
save 2l5 miles, the Chester route 205 miles,
| and the Choptapk route 1876 miles. From these
savings, however we must subtract the distances
seward from the Breakwater, at which the
| lines OF navigation on the canal routes would
meet those OF the present route down the bay and
out of the Capes. The distance 10 be deducted
| would, Of course be greater for the European
| than the coastipg voyages. but would leave the
| saving by the canal route not less than from
$50 TO $50 miles, according TO the one chosen
My object has been simply TO p.esent some
! more definite ideas Of the great work which has
become subject Of such increasing interest to
| our State anu city, and the magnitude of which
must make its construc tion an enterprise not
only worthy Of National aid, but one which
eau scarcely be effected without il. The cost
OF the work muat depend mainly upon whether
il he made tidal canal OF one with sum init
level, sufficient supply of water for the latter
beinp scGrceiy IN be exnected an low dawn the