The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1879-02-07

inaiasw8t OF fEEpLoSfTEE .4lE lfs
Tie effect t7ot explosives was, tried near
The extreme lower end an Kingland,s reach
by 0ar.9 E.5G G.. Hais. Superintendent Of rock
excavation, with NO Tessi!ls iWershy ;of men.
|fion, except thatafh effect was too limited
to be OF the slightest service, as had been
nfedieted. III; lsHia!fiIs f,iIilaal ..!.E n
4H. Klngsldnd's reach the Jam wns tight
enough 20 fuise the water so that portion
ESCAPED across the bend! where the freshet
Of Noven Der, . 1877, had n5ade o. breach /;
but the. main body OF water must ;hnYe
passed Under the ice, aand It's effeetLon the
ah6aiin Kiagsiaad d's Jreacfiifs very sr1arkea1
FAisufNey ee this' shoals bad been made
the latter parttof November; 1873. There
was then barely 1G4 feet r,dsPth Of, water I'm
the channel at hjgh tide, We found yester:
day, says Mfr. Whitcomb (January 22), i'd
the ordinary channel from 90, to 21ieet at
high tide, but did net. examine for width;
The, rush OF water between, the iceaRd The
sandy bottom removed tie latter to o depth
OF 4,or 5 feet about one third of a mile in
length. The opening across the bend should
now be closed by q leyee and proper dikes
;Duilt TO maintain !. the present excellent
channel. 1t Is remarkable that wlth all this
PACK OF ice the can. buoy marking the chan
hSi WAC NV 11iOFSus. lCc, lTESuGU
two years since it was carried to- Osborne g,
FIVE or six miles below and over water forty
feet and upwards In depth. The. TWO ves-
seis caught In the ice at this place were ua.
injured, and. have since come to the city. {
CHANGES MADE IN THE R1yER-BoTroM By THE
! hs7r..tsN - TIE. FRESHET. :s.,{.~ .., .
The changes made in the river-bottom
nearer the city seem to be Very slight.
There; Is perhaps b better channel below
fats. On the bar aud on the
flats there appears to have been no scour at
all Had the ice gorged there as it did
below the effect on the bottom would have
been favorable, but there was at no time any
stoppage of the ice due to the wing.dams.
The losses due to this ice. gorge are less than
It was feared there would be at one time.
A vessel loaded with -four, bricks, and ma
cbinery WAS sunk on the Manchester side,
and two large barges were somewhat in
iured on the Richmond side. The United
States will lose about 10000 feet Of sheet
piling, and have to replace the gauge
house on the bar. The wing-dams nre
not materially injured, and aside from the
repairs to the tugs Craighill and Somers,
due as much to decay as to the ice, there
was no loss or damage to the city or the
United States machinery on the improve
ment. At one time it seemed to be in great
danger, and Captain Frank Cunningham
and his assistants deserve the commenda-
tion Of the committee for their Watchfulness
and iudiciolls labor during these trying
nights Of the ice-gorge.
i HOW A GORGE MIGHT BE PREVENTED. =
In such pack Of ice as this, no explo-
sives, OR such boats as are used to break up
ice in harbors would have served; nor
would such steam-tugs as we have on james
river be more than logs in such gorge
once formed. No better vessels for such o
purpose can be found than the powerful
iron ships Of the Old Dominion Steamship
Company. With properly sheathed steam,
tugs patrolling the riyer!in short beats, such
an ice!gorge might be prevented from form.
ing. It would take several boats and un-'
watchfulness, however. ~ st,a
Although there has been some further
improvement in the depth and width Of the
channel at Rockets and elsewhere, / do not
consider it advisable, says Mr.. Whitcomb,
to change the recommendation of the COM
mittee made Noyembers2. 1878, as TO the
draught which can safely be brought to the
city. l. prefer to await the, effect of the
ireshets hich usually occur in the spring
before advising any further report on the
subject. - ,.rI-la-,s. q, @.,., ~ i~rFi
-. YoUNG MEN's CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION
MEETING AT DIR. PREsTON's CHURCH.-The
rain lessened the congregation, but by no
means the interest, in the meeting yesterday
evening. - g5 ..,e..lt,-;. s...-,l, ~.
Rev. DR.. Hatcher conducted the meeting,
and made very effective address on making
Christ first. s.,:r ,;g-,-. i, .,-,'