The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-06-13

river. The river began TO fall In July and
reached the low water stage Dy the LAST q
August.
lshed fact, ascertained by repeated examine
ton. which no person acctIstomedHto the In
vestigatlon OF physical phenornena can or
does question, that when the mississippi
river Is I'M the Hood condition, and the rising
river gets above nine feet on the CarrolltOn
gauge, there is broad, thick sheet OF earthly
matter moving along the bottom OF the
passee which Is carried over the bar crests
and dumped on the outer slope Of the bars
This process continues during the flood stage,
and constitutes the bar growth During the
low stage Of the river the fresh water OF the
river does not touch the bottom OF the passes,
nor OF the river for some distance above the
head Of the passes, the lower part OF the
channel being occupied by salt water whose
chief movements are independent OF the fresh
water current. At this low water period there
is an accumulation Of soft earthly matter on
the bed, and the bar growth does not go on.
On the contrary the waves OF the gulf ana
its salt water currents modify the new bar
growth of the previous flood stage, the crest
usually receding and the depth on IL tncreas-
Ing.
1t will be perceived from this statement, and
that which precedes 1t concerning the hlgnne,sI
reading of the guage ut Carrollton, and the
volume of discharge through the passes, that
during the high water stage OF the Mtssis-
sippi In 1876 and 1877, there was comparatively
little bar-growth at the mouths OF the passes
Iii those years.
Before the construction of the ietties the
annual extension into the sea of the bar OF
the South Pass did not exceed 100 feet O year.
The construction Of the 'ietties st the South
Pass was begun In the fall Of 1875. The re-
port and map Of Gen. Comstock, the inspect
Ing officer, oil the ninth June, 1876, show that
Hts bar had extended seward 400 or 800 feet,
isOundings early In May, the depth III the
bar-grUwth being between twelve and ntteen
feet ioUd tide, and It's outer line or crest rest
ing In water that was about forty feet deep In
November, 1875.
The next report of Gen. Comstocl, Septem-
Der 20, 1876 tsoundings between last OF July
and first half Of Anguish, shows the bar growth
In about the same position, the average depth
on ii being from eighteen to twenty feet, HOOD
tide.
The next report OF Gen. Comstock, Decem-
Der 6. 1876, shows the condition Of the work In
November, 1876. The depth on the bar growth
had increased about two feet.
The next report Of Gen. COmstock, April 8,
1877, shows the condition Of the work March
1G 1879 The depth on the east side OF the
bar had increased.
BY the next report, that OF Capt Brown,
August /, 1877, showing the condition of the
work July "a, 1877, we find the total extension
of the bar up to that date to have been 600 feet,
the depth on the greater part OF the bar vary
Ing from fifteen to twenty feet, flood tide; on
the inner eastern side the depth being about
twenty-one feet*
The next report OF Capt. Brown, December
23 1871 was made after O powerful, newly
constructed dredge had been working on the
bar seward Of the ietties for a month, by
which means the depth on the bar had been
increased and channel twenty-five feet deep
st flood tide and 200 feet wide had been Sc
cured This dretlge was designed to work on
the newly grown bar seward of the ietties,
where, from exposure to the sea, the ordinary
dredge cannot be used TO advantage.
~
The river at New Orleans began to rise
about the first Of January, 1878, and during
February and March was In condition to cause
some bar-Rrowth, the Carrollton gauge read
ing between nine and ten in February and be-
tween ten and eleven In March. Accordingly
we find Capt Brown reporting on the fourth
and eighth Of March that the channel Of
twenty-five feet depth at flood tide was but
one hundred and ten feet wide for o portion OF
fits length "over the bars crest" Through the
new bar seaward OF the iettfes), and on the
third Of April reporting that the least width
oil this channel Ton this bar-gr0wthl between
South Pass ietties" and deeper water in the
Gulf Of Mexico" was seventy feet. This de-
crease of the channel width had taken place
notwithstanding that the dredging on the
baT-gr0wth had been going on with the new
dredge designed for sea dredging. Capt.
Browns report of the third OF April also
depth Of twenty-one feet at average flood tide
was found on the eighteenth of March,"
1t will be noticed that Mr.. Eads obtained
the channel 200 feet wide and 20 feet deep De-
cember III 1876, that Is when the river had
been in the low water stage for several
months. The channel 200 feet wide and ~
feet deep was obtained December II, 1877, at
which time also the river had been in the low
waterTstage for several months. In fact these
depths were obtained at the end Of the low
water stage of the river.
1t may be needless to recur again to the re-
suits of careful investigation at the mouth OF
the Mississippi river, one OF which is tnat
during the low water stage of the river there
lis no bar growth.
Notwithstanding the discharge Of the river
through the passes in the flood stages Of 1876
and 1877 was so much reduced by crevasses
that comparatively little bar forming process
the facts exhibited by the reports of the Off
GERS inspecting the South Pass show that the
views expressed by many engineer officers,
the Chief OF Engineers among them, that q
new bar would form at the sea end OF the jet
ties and that 1t would extend into the sea
more rapidly than the old bar, are correct
even during the changes going on under the
securing power of the jetties aided by
dredging between and seaward OF them; and
1t IL also evi tent that the only method OF per-
manently maintaining deep channel to the
sea is to constantly extend the ietties into the
sea In advance OF the bar. 1t Is evident that
this has not been done In the present case, and
undoubtedly because of the great difficulty
and expense OF extending the loItleS IntO Jne
deep water of the sea. 1t was precisely this
objection to the ietty system which the Chief
of Engineers and other engineer officers
made. This new bar growth beyond
the ietties has been formed under
the action of the jetties. To make
channel through 1t, and to endeavor to MAIN
tain the channel, dredging has been resorted
to. precisely as was done on the Southwest
Pass bar, process which it was designed by
Congress to dispense with in entering into a
contract for deepening the South Pass chan
mel by the construction of ietties and auxlli-
airy works, for that contract declares its in
tent TO be mot simply to secure the wide and
deep channel first above named, but likewise
10 provide for the construction of thoroughly
substantial and permanent works by which
said channel may be maintained for all time
after their completion"
The foregoing historical summary suffi-
GENTLY proves that the resoults actually at
tanned at the South Pass disprove the views
advanced by Mr.. Eads and confirm those of
the engineer department. Hence any claim
that he should be entrusted with the control
OF the Mississippi river, in SO far as it rests
upon the results thus far achieved by him, has
no proper basis.
Ii remains to consider the other ground of
el1ah a. claim viz. the DrOnOSitiOn latAiy adj