New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-04-03

| twenty three feet Of water .,. ,ho
ON other words understand you To say tnat tne
advantages obtained for commerce are greatly IN
creasedi Ayes, sir larger vessels can pass ID anu
out and the channel il good one as 1aF az u go n
frstrate C5ee printed testimony, pages anu io'
Tho declaration that vessels are constantly de-
layed in the icty channel is gross misrepresenta-
| ton. The South Pass is ten miles long, ana the
depth through ii is nowhere less than thirty ieet.
Ii is about GOO feet wide and IA IN reality mag
nfeent natural canal. The law contemplates no
! work It, for 1t needs none. 'he steanlsh'p
Mikado nv bad seamanship, ran aground IN III Two
miles below the head of the pass on me
east side Of the channel. Forthwith, the
| journals referred to published the statement
that sho was aground in the Jettles;
About the 1st OF March, the Imam steamer City of
Limerick. drawing 23l2 feet, bound Tor Liverpool,
came to anchor Port Fans, some defect IN her
| machinery having been discovered; whereupOn one
of the truthful journals promptly informs the pub
lie that the the C 81 mgSE was hcro has pS been
single vessel delayed IN its passage throngh tno
jettles in the last tour months Two or three IN
that time have been detained Tor lew h0urS at Ile
head of the pass, where the depth is probably loot
less. ,
HE Chicago Tribune, within fortnight. contained
the following statement: during the war the
Steamship Mississippi lost IN the Port hudson hgh
came III over the bar drawing twenty-one feet, and
the Richmond and Hartford. drawing about the
same frequently crossed it," similar statement
was made recently in The Commercial. Being
anxious to know the truth Of this statement adj
dressed a note Of inquiry to the Hon. secretary
of tho Navy, and l have mis- reply, dated
2lih inst, before me, from which !
make the following extTact Referring to the
United States steamer Hartford, he says: " An
rs follows: March 2, 1862 10 IT, att 10 it,
g forward .... March 10. began working for the
bar; H. sent tonr mushrooms and CHAINS, SIX
stone anchors, and one lrop DuOv ashore; 10
crossed the bar" Tins record shows how per
fectly reckless these journals are in making their
statements The draft of the Mississippi could not
he ascertaincd, but am Informed that the Pensa-
cola grounded on the bar ID fifteen feet of water,
drawing but 16 fl. 3. Oh the oath of March. 1862.
WILL TIE WORK ENDURED
a piece Of wOrm-oaten wood, alleged to have been
taken from the etties has been shown to these guar
dians Of the public veal and II seems to have Gre
atcd the greatest alarm. Numerous essays upon
the destructive character Of the tCrcdO have crsucd
None Of these journals however, has published The
following statement tins point, made by the five
distinguished engineers of the Army who were re-
qUrCd By Congress TO report upon the Joltlcs IaoI
Winter:
Experience here shows that for about 700 feet in,
the iciy ends the tered" de5LrOJs rapidly all
exposed wood uc,udng III ths term the WILLOWS OF me
mattFcscs lying more than four or five feet below the
surface II the water Evidence enough OF its attacks
upon piles and Willows exists Bnt the teiedo does not
attack OOd where the tree access OF sea-WAter IA IN
peeled Those portions OF stick buried IN md or SAND,
or packed around win nld or sand are secure. We
have 10 reason believe that the tcrcdO has Tene-
trated penetrate far into The interior OF me mat
trcss courses have pretty good reason 10 believe
that the foundation mattresses are and viii remain Sc
and probably alsO the Duih OF the interior OF the
masses ~ wiboW-WOrk
Many important Sca-works are in existence in
Holland and elsewhere, IN which willows constitute
large portions of the work, but no such disastrous
results rs are predicted have yet occurred III any Of
them, 50 far as can learn. Bat should the sca-euds
of our works Toe eaten UP by the teredC, II may
comfort these nervous newspapers 10 learn that the
law provides that million dollars OF my coInpeu-
satiOn shall be withheld as a guarantee that Will
maintain the integrity of the jetles against all
enemies worms included, after their completion,
for 10000 per annum, for twenty years. Hence,
if the worms do get willows enough. the million
dollars reserved must greatly to my sorrow, supply
the deficiency.
no REFORMATION OF The BAR.
IN addition to the distress winch worms have
caused among these journalists, they are sore!y
troubled about the reformation Of the bar III front
of the Jettic5. One of them declares that Captain
Browns report shows the average fill from June,
1876. to June, 1877, from the ends of the jettes
mile and quart +. IS eleven feet ana seven
iuchcs.' II Is needless To say that Captain Browns
report shows no such thing If Il did, the late
board could not have SAID, as II did III its report
" The aCtualresults, therefore 50 Tar as we know
them, do not Justify the predictions OF accelerated
bar advance On the contrary, they show a dsaD-
pcarance of bar material from the front OF the
jettes"
Captain Howelrs report Of 1877 IS quoted to create
the impression that the bar Ormng2j 900 feet out
from the Iettics, although no survey mas been made
in front of the South Pass since 1879 1.-THE year the
jetty act was passed. except those ny Captain Brown
and the Coast Survey and these prove that the sea-
bottom is undoubtedly deeper since the cOnstruc
ton of the jettlcs than before. Captain Howell
likewise predicted that the "jctties would have to
steadily day of each year, TO keep pace with
the river deposit into the Gulf" This we have not
vet found necessary 10 do, the jettieS being now
about three hundred feet shorter than they were
originally designed. He has simply established
new location .Or The anticipated bar, and the re-
spectacle distance Of 1900 rect Tor five miles, from
the icttlcs where il is alleged 10 be reforming
should prevent undue anxiety on the subject for
few centuries 10 come.
The latest official report of the depth of our
channel Is as follows:
Us. ENGINrrR OFFICE, South PASS. La
Mircu IS. 1879.
Editor Eew-OrlednS Times
over sJu,n Pas, Dar The depth Of water at average
food tide. March i, 1879, was 2Ls Ieet Tie least
width iOr This depth wa, 80 feet.
Al high water Of the day the least depth Was 2J.4,
ana at low water. %. 3 feet.
Al head .; passes, March g. the least depth Of chan
mel average flood tide % feet, at hlgn tide 2lO
feet ami at low tlde 1913 teet
certify that the above Is a correct statement.
NJ T. BROWN,
Captain OF EnsiTeers. L. :. A.
Published by order OF the Hon. Secretary ~ VA.
The Hon. &. y. Patterson, superintendent United
States Coast Survey, informs me that the depih
over the bar at SANDY Hook at low tide IL but
the eneo, and OppOseIs Of the jeIics have kept up
a persistent AMI IN many Instances Il most unscru-
puOus warfare upon the undertaking, the work has
gone steadily on until ~ il almost completed and
already IT has caused the current of the Iver to
deepen channel through bar III the Gulf two
miles aud a quarter in extent from depth of about
seven feet al low tide to depth eight tcnths OF
foot greater than that winch exists at low tide III
the chIel entrance to Ncw-Y0rk harDOr
ST. Louis no., March u, 1879. JAS. Il. EADS.
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