The star of Pascagoula. [volume] (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1873-1878, 1874-05-23

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Mio Register on fha Vsiaa II FL.
Timber Baaiaass wh8es furnishes n,
am0upt N me hmbef ahd ipmher tas
ine@ do6o " Fenaaoola abd speak.
n Tho immense bosibess IN fhis ijas
Thlob might he boili ap N Mobiie
a6d va oe no reason WIZ 10 eahaof
aud should not be-
scafoely three years ago snd tbe
busino@ done At Pascagoala was Inn
iiol almost entirely 10 New Orleans
and Texas and a few shipments ID
Cuba Nov, our mills ore pot ia
thoif utmost capacity 10 hll tho orders
from Boston, New York aud other
Northern Cities from Mexico, Cuba,
South America; from England and
The Continent.
But the other day, md the Timber
business was commenced here, nov
We arc loading three vessels in our
bay for Europe, while two have just
sailed.
AS there Is no limit to the demand
for lumber and timber, from abroad,
so there ia no limit to our supply.
Southern Mississippi is one vast I'M
broken pine forest, whose wealth of
timber has as yet been scarcely tap,
ped. Fifteen hundred miles of river.
n~avigablo Tor rafts, wind throughout
this region, and thoroughly draining
it from the Pearl river on the west,
10 near the Mobile and the Bigby on
the east, and as far north as the Me,
ridian and Jackson railroad, debouch
into the Mississippi Sound at Pasca
goula; on whose waters can be float
ed, with but little cost, the RATS Of
logs to our mills, to re converted into
lumber for the white-winged messen-
gers who bear their cargoes, to lar
distant ports. And the question at
once occurs to any one, with a limit
less demand and an e|xhaustless supply
and such facilities, what is to prevent
a prodigious trade from rapidly
springing up, and at least equalling
that Of Pensacola.
We have not it is true the depth Of
water at the entrance to or bay that
Pensacola has, but we stated
two weeks ago, that the Captains of
the English vessels a few days previ-
ously by actual and careful sounding
found nothing less than nineteen feet
in Horn Island Pass, at common tide,
and with a soft bottom, a vessel
drawing 20 feet can easily 60 through
with a tug; a vessel Of 1000 tons has
been offered here which does not
draw sixteen feet Of course, in the
bay there is plenty of water for any
number OF vessels of any size. And
assume that this depth of water
is sufficient for timber and lumber
vessels. There then is only one,
and simple drawback to the
trade of Pascagoula and
alone has prevented it from
growing TO colossal dimensions. A
5hoal or shell reef at the mouth Of the
river INSTRUCTED navigation in the
liver and to the mills, to all vessels
,ver, say thirty to t~hirty-fve tons. In
1867 one Abram Green procured an
Act from the Legislature authorizing
lin to excavate q channel or canal
through the reef, requiring him to
Keep a depth of water Of 6 feet and
him to charge 80 cents per
en-, of vessels using it. This canal 1,
permitted vessels Of from eighty to ,
me hundred tons to enter and ascend /,
the mills. Though the canal was
great advantage to our commerce, {
be tonnage dues were a heavy tax on !
ur trade. OF this tax Lieut.. James :
}. Quinn, u. S Engineers in his very /,
BILE Report of the survey which he t
lade of our river and harbor, dated +
)ct. Is, 1878, says: "Though this I
AK, imposed upon the commerce using 1
Canal" is Insignificant com I,
ared with the very great advantages :
esnlting from its use, the fierce riv- 7
Try existing between the different
lmbering points on the Gulf coast c
even this a matter of consid- o
importance when successful n
ompetition in the domestic market is u
and is quite sufficient to ?
row the trade into the hands OF =
1850 who have in such navigation :