The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-03-30
succombed and his paper is now as large,
newsy and prosperous as ever
f"NO MORE HUMILIATION AT
CAIRO.n
Chicago Times.

"How TO rid the city of this sipc waiter
which yearly accumulates while high water
prevents the sewers being opened, has Tor
years been a problem the solution of which
has afforded speculations and developed
plans innumcrable, none of which, however,
has appeared practicable, or else too ex-
pensive to be put into execution One
plan recently proposed by a prominent cit
izen was TO provide regular system OF
steam pumps, which should pump the wa
ter out as fast as il run in. The latest plan,
and one which all prominent men and
those best calculated TO judge upon the
subject are approving, is offered by Capt.
w. p. Halliday, to whom Cairo owes most
of its improvements.
The plan, rs submitted 10 the Times cor
respondent by Capt. Halliday, is briefly as
follows: Being familiar with the formation
Of the land upon which the city is built,
the captain asserts that the place was a
sand bar, formed by deposits from the river.
The fact is shown by government survey
bores, the record Of which the captain has
in his Office, and also the formation Of sand
does not extend throughout the entire city,
but is confined principally to the northern
and western part. The sand is found
few feet below the surface soil Below the
sand is a strata of blue clay which is pract-
cally imper7ious to water. The sard strata
is from 3la to feet thick, and formed in
ridges. Upon these sand ridges the levees
were built having almost an unbroken
channel through the sand, between the
high water outside aud the low water in
side. The river water running. through
these sand ridges to the inside of the levse,
rises 10 the surface through cisterns, vaults,
post holes etc, and floods the city. This
theory is advanced by Capt. Halliday and
is backed by numerous government Dor.
ings, and by personal experiments and ex-
animation of mill holes, cisierns and the
like, The remedy is as simple as the
theory of the case is perfect.
The captain proposes to dig a trench
seven feet wide at the top and three and a
half at the bottom, and which shall reach
through the sand strata to the water proof
blue clay bottom, distance probably
averaging eighteen feet. The dirt that is
exhumcd will be kept separate, and the
trench refHri, putting in the waterproof
clay first aud packing it securely, then the
sand is thrown in, filing the trench. Thus
the same material is used, only the earth
has been transposed and a perfect belt OF
water proof clay protects the city, and sipe
wa'erwil be thing of the past for Cairo.
iThe estimated coslof digging and ref liz Q
trench which shall surround the entire
city is'about & 5 900, and il is needless to
add that Capt. Halliday has the none. [,
energy, philanthrophy and experience, and
will do as he predicts-banish sipe water
from Cairo.
OF course this plan would not apply to
other cities where thu formation is diff
erent.n
If Captain Haliday's theory as to the
formation of Cairo's site, is correct, then his
plan Of excluding the sipe water from with
in the levees cannot fail to be equally so.
This is testified to by number of men in
this city who have had years Of experience
in exploring the citys bottom by driving
wells, digging cistcrns, etc. As
an instance that pudding is cifectual,
the neg gas reservoir, which was built
when Mr.. II. T. Gcrould was superinten-
dent Of the company, may be mentioned.
In digging the trench for the gas mains
leading from the gas house to the reservoir
the sand strata was reached at depth
of about ten feet. 1t was necessary
to dig into this strata several feet
in order to lead the main under the reser-
voir, and this was found to be somewhat
difficult because Of the water which poured
out of this sand strata, carrying with 1.-THE
sand from under the upper soil and causs
ing both sides Of the trenches to cave in.
To remedy this evil bulkhcadng was con.
structed on either side in the trench even
with the tops of the sand strata; between
these and the sand earth, was firmly packed,
and the water was effcctually excluded and
the sides Of the trench held in place. Tho
trench, to use Mr.. Gcroulds own words,
"was as tightas bottle"
Captain Haliday's theory as to the
character Of Cairo's bottom can DO easily
tested. When the Mississippi river is low,
the sand strata can be plainly seen from
the river, running irrcgularly and in ridges,
at depth of from two to ten feet from the
surface soil. But ia order to locate tho
| ridues pxactly where thew run under tho