Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1876-08-12
JETTIEs.
Grand Engineering Project.

Grand Engineering Project.
Capt. j. B. Eads, Of st. Louis, whose name
hereafter will be associated with one of the most
tupendous of the many great works of civil en-
cheering which this country has Witnessed-the
cities ut the South Pass Of the mouth of the
nittee on Commerce of the House to address
hem on the subject of the best method OF i'm
The OF ns
the committee of the entire practicability Of
protecting the alluvial lands of the Mississippi.
by hs
of the river channel, by which the
Hood line would be reduced to the least degree,
ana further. a channel Of twenty feet
secured from Cairo to New Orleans at all sea-
sons of the year: The lood-line of the river at
Cairo. Captain Eads said, was nearly afty-two
feet above the extreme low water, and it is only
to lower this 00d-line 10 or IL feet to
points below % that city or or above the mouth Of the
Red river. Captain Eads assured the committee
that the system which he proposed was not
success for the reclamation Of the alluvisl lands
of the Rhine and in Holland, and that it had ac-
cOmpllshed great improvement in the naViga-
dering the of levees for the projection of the
bordering lands entirely unnecessary.
gress at the south Pass e of the mouth of the &s
sissippi, in connection with the above project.
can not be overestimated 1t is Of vital interest,
mense territory, from the Alleghanies to the
Rocky Mountains, is drained by the great
rivers and their navigable tributaries. and who
will be more directly benefited by it success,
but also to every section Of the country as rem
dering uninterrupted the connection of ocean
navigation with the great system OF the internal
river communication on which the prosperity of
the country at large SO much depends. There
have recently been influences at work which
Infi<. nff fIsA
South Pass upon which Capt Eads has been
engaged. Official jealousy manifested itself in
various ways, but that Is now happily ended,
and the work IS satisfactorily progressing to-
wards complete success. A representative of
the Press has just been enabled to ascertain the
following interesting facts IN connection with
this great work, and as they are from an Official
source an accurate idea may be formed of the
gigantic operations now In progress.
When Captain Eads commenced work at the
bar Oh the South Pass OF the Mississippi, the
depth of water was scarcely over eight feet.
The last report from the jetties show that there
remains only u ridge IS feet wide to interrupt
there Is from Is IL to 10 feet OF water. The
magnitude of the work accomplished may be
separated % feet of water in the river from 20
feet of water in the sea, was at least IL mile and
moved to give the present channel is very con-
sideraby IN excess OF ), 600, 900 cubic yards. To
asd Il 81 sstsi ih tSat E the be
deposits excavated, if placed gin market street,
q
depth OF % feet, distance of Six miles. The
20-iOOt channel which has been excavated will
average from 200 to 800 feet in width all the way
from the jettics except over and near the ridge.
the channel will be somewhat narrower. This
channel is far superior to that of the Southwest
there. One obstacle to MIR. Eads' I'M
provement is found ut the head of the
South Pass of the river. This is a shoal
which Obstructs the entrance to the pass and
over which there is depth OF between IL and Is
feet of water. MIR. Eads earnestly strove when
the bill was pending in congress to be authorized
four times Us large as the one which the United
States senate compelled him to take from
having previously passed. by an almost unani-
nous vote, an act authorizing him to improve
the larger pass. at the entrance of which no
the large sailing vessels and steamships are still
using the Southwest Pass, notwithstanding the
fact of the work on the other, that the depth of
water in the South Pass is not SO much. and that
the success of the jetties is not an assured fact
In explanation Of this it is not generally known
to the public that the pilots all live in the South
west Pass, which is now kept open by the con-
slant operations of the United States dredge
boats. When these pilots take vessel out to
sea from the ietties, they have from twenty-five
to twenty-three miles to return to their homes
at. PilOttown. 1t they take vessel in by tho
jetties they cannot leave her until she crosses
the shoal at the head of the pass, this shoal
being twelve miles above the jetties and fifteen
miles from PilottOwn. 1t is evident, therefore,
that so long rs sufficient depth is maintained ut
the mouth of the Southwest Pass, the pilots will
no not be in a. favor S Of taking vessels out by or in
from New Orleans to Philadelphia and other
scaboard ports is saved by passage through the
jettIes, the Cromwell and Morgan steamship COM
panies Peremptorily ordered their pilots to take
their vessels through the South Pass. This they
continued to do until about q month ago, when
they temporarily discontinued for the following
Re of e the south sss
plated the closing of Grand Bayou, an outlet
halfway down the pass, which discharges near
ly one quarter Of the water entering the head of
the pass. 1t was fOrseen that the closure of this
bayou would largely increase the volume of
water through the jetties and would temporarily
which cause the loss of depth would ensue above
the shoals at the head of the pass. A part of the
system OF IL works, p however, contemplated re-
of the pass. An island is situated at the head
of the pass and divides the How of water into it.
II was contemplated to close one of the outlets
by the side of this island and thus concentrate
the flow OF water into the remaining one, and
this would have been accomplished simultane-
Olsly with the closure of the Grand BAYOU, If
this programme had been carried out no shoaliug
would have occurred at the head Of the pass
Of this outlet was not accomplished until six
weeks after the bayou had been closed and the
result was that the water shoaled at the head of
the pass un til only fifteen feet remained in the
channel there. The eastern outlet into the pass
has been closed within the last ten days or two
weeks, and in that time the water has deepened
over the shOal to more than its original depth
and this deepening, at last advices, Is still in
creasing. When the depth had lessoned to ten
or fifteen feet the Morgan and Cromwell line of
steamships We're compelled to temporarily aban-
don the Use OF the jetteS.
The merchants OF New Orleans. knowing the
Iact that the sea entry into the Mississippi WAS
much superior by the jetties than by the South
west Pass Bar. .petitionod the Government some
months ago to order the United States dreIra
boats removed from the Southwest Pass to t6,.
head Of the South Pass, to deepen the shoul
there. this shoal not being exposed to the waves
Se lIvf fIla Ian1
petitioners set forth that whatever was accom-
plished by the boats at the South Pass would he
permanent, whereas on the other bar the oper-
ations were several miles out at sea, and every
storm or gale destroyed the work previously
performed. The matter was referred To COM
mttee OF ngincers. They declared that it was
the duty of MIR. Eads to deepen this .hOal and
they refused to recommend the use of the dredge
boats upon it. Works have, however, been de-
signed and are under construction for the deem
enins of this shoal. and there Is no doubt what
ever that within Il few months depth Of twenty
feet will be secured upon 1t.
The terms upon which Mr.. Eads ID proceed
ing with this great work not generally
known. The grant to MIR. Eals. by the United
States government. requires him to deepen the
channel o:Southlass bar 10 20 feet OF water before
he ls entitled TO receive any aid whatever from
the Government. 1t is estimated that over n
million dollars have already been expended up-
ON this great work. This money Is wholly the
contributions of private citizens. The Mer-
chants Exchange OF st. Louis has done much
to forward the enterprise. Some idea of the
benefit of this great project may be had from the
iact that IL VIII make an average saving of IL
cents on oil the wheat shipped from the Missis-
sippi Valiey-a sum sufficient it is estimated, in
one year to cover twice the entire cost of the
improvements. This simply represents the
saving on one product, and when immense
agricultural products annually shipped from the
Mississippi Valley are taken into consideration
some idea oil the great Importance Ofrhis project
may be obtained. When Capt. Eads shall
have succeeded in obtaining clear depth of thir-
y feet of water he is to receive the sum OfS5. 49,
900, and is to be paid an annual sum of SlO0, 900,
the total amount for the entire work being
81, 90, 900; 500, 600 Is to he paid when twenty
after are secured. 1t may be said in conclusion
that Captain Eads is thoroughly sangulne of the
success of his great project, and that the COM
ofrendering theMississippi to 81. Louis navigable
for the largest class Of seagoing vessels is not
only possibility. but probability which few
completion,