The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-10-05
ENGINEERING NEWS.
work ut Sabine Pass, and work I'm TIM
MRrbpF Of New Orleans.

work ut Sabine Pass, and work I'm the
MRrb0r Of New orleans.
A representative of the DEMOCRAT called upon
Major Howell, of the United States engineer
corps. to have friendly chat with him. and ut
the same time to CLEAN some items from the
Major. who Is always ready to give whatever In
formation within his power.
The Major. after @ conversion on general
topics, such as yellow fever. politics. the
weather. etc.. favored the reporter with the fol-
lowing clipping from the Engineering Ne,ps Of
the nineteenth instant in regard to the work OF
the dredge boat Essayons:
THE United States dredgeboat Essayons,
known to many Of the readers of the Ne,Ds In
! connection with Southwest Pass and Pass-a-
POutre, Mississippi river. has succeeded in
working her way over the sane. bar at the en-
| trance to Sabine Pass. Texas. leaving behind
her channel forty feet wide and fourteen, to
q bree miles dne nnd for ow Ra
miles has depth varying from seven feet three
inches to eight feet at mean low ttde. She has
work. and will continue her oDerati ms on that
bar. widening and deepening the channel al
ready COMMENCED. The bar is largely. com.
white and blue clay very hard to dig through
Her success proves that the principle on which
theory
Ourreportet next inquired into the progress
ofthe work inaugurated In the harbor of New Or
leans In accordance with the river and harbor
bill passed before Congress. Major Howell said
that the work of driving piles had already been
commenced at Post No. 16. PlcRyune Tier. The
work to be- done is az follows: Plies will be
driven five feet from the edge o. Tie WuarveS
each pile at distance of, say, six feet from each
other. Then carpets of swamp canes inter-
woven with strong WIRES will be attached to
the piles by means of wires. These carpets
will be heavily bnllasted ut the end SO as to
spread over the slope of the river and prevent
the current from eating away the embank-
ments,
These carpets will be made on board Of %
barge, and they shall be 400 by Is feet. When
| finished. 1t is proposed to roll them up as any
| ordinary carpet; then to fasten them to the up
| per end of the piles by means OF etout wires.
| The carpets will natu rally roll doWnwards,
| being heavily ballastud at the end and spread
| below. What from the deposit of river sediment
and the weight Of the ballasted carpets. the
river current will be prevented from encroaeh-
ing upon the banks and causing the sudden
oavin gs which have occurred for the past years:
| The Congressional appropriation Of 40 600
from Post No. 16 to Esplanade street. and
should larger appropriation De voted the
whole city front could thus be effectually pro-
| tected Many persons would condemn the use
| of light swamp canes for the purpose mem
| toned above, but when they are appraised Of the
| fact that each joint will have a chisel hole cut
| into 1t so as to allow the water to fill the cavi-
| ties, reasonable conclusion will be arrived at,
| in this that the canes being full of water, will
sink and settle more readily than willow limbs
of the same size and length.