Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-10-11

established and conclusions arrived at by
your committee. 4 =. ,s-
Having secured the assistance of Mr.. @. s.
Philbrick and Mr.. Hoyt Delvin, two
of the oldest and most experienced river
pilots in the northwest, who have been
familiar with the Mississippi for more
than twenty-five years, and for fifteen
years constantly navigated it from the
Falls of st. Anthony, and accompanied by
number of citizens and representatives
of the press of the two cities, we proceeded
to make an investigation as follows:
Having provided ourselves with pointed
iron bars, gripping hooks, iron scoops,
sounding poles, ETC., we placed our three
batteaux in the river below the Tenth
avenue bridge and proceeded down the
river sounding its channel and stopping at
all the sloughs, islands, sandbars and bends
and along the shores to ascertain what, if
any, deposits had been made.
This examination was continued down
into Lake Pepin, eight miles below the city
of Red Wing and covering distance Of
eighty miles. At Hastings your commit
tee were joined by a number of prominent
citizens and at Red Wing by score of
leading men who aided in making the ex-
animation below those cities.
Reserving detailed statement for the
final report, we now state generally that
we found no appreciate quantity of saw
dust, mill debris or any other substances
which have been thrown in the river with
in its broad channels. The bottom was uni
formly composed of sand, gravel and rocks,
with occasional stretches of silt. On the
islands and behind them in the sloughs
and in the slack water of the sharp bends,
under the lee of the sand reefs and back
from the shores in the woods on the wide
bottoms, We found sawdust, and debris of
all kinds scattared broadcast. Some of
the islands have been built up several feet,
many of the sloughs closed up and the
water thrown into the main channel, prin-
cipally by mill debris
The river between Minneapolis and St
Paul has now a much more defined, deeper
and clearer channel than it ever had before
since it was first navigated.
The principal obstruction to navigation
on this stretch of river, consists Of some
heavy boulders laying in the channels
Their removal and the closing up Of a few
chutes would permit the free prssage of
the largest steamers which ply the upper
Mississippi.
Below st. Paul there are but two points
where difficulty has been experienced by
steamers. This is at Pigs Eye and New
port bars. At the former we found five
feet of water in the channel and the bot
tom in the channel composed Of sand and
gravel. At this point in the shoal water
on the bar outside of the channel no ap-
preciable PEI cent. of sawdust could be
discovered and only few small pieces
of mill wood was found after
hours of search, digging and sounding.
Nor could we discover the least evidence
of subteranean deposits differing from the
surface. The government engineers have
constructed two wing dams at this point,
and propose to build others, and soon the
immemorial bar at Pigs Eye will be a
thing of the past.
A committee representing the st. Paul
chamber of commerce, assisted your COM
mittee in examining the deposits on the
island opposite Fort Smelling, on which
island deposit of sawdust and slabs was
found, as was greatly improved channel
in the river opposite. They also assisted
in determining that the new bar formed in
the slack water below the st. Paul boom
and caused by it, was composed, in PARTLY
sawdust and mill refuse, which bar also
greatly improved the old channel on the
south side from Pike island to the bridge
They were also with us in examining the
shoal at the head of Pigs Eye bar outside
the channel, but did not cooperate at any
other points.
A series of dams above Newport bar has
so far improved that crossing that no
trouble is experienced by boats, and con-
slant improvement is anticipated. At this
point not the slightest trace of sawdust
could be found. Above and below Robin
sons island hole in the wall the wide
river has been narrowed down one-half
by series of wing dams built by the en-
gineers and an excellent channel estab-
lished. Robinson's island was originally
a heavily timbered island which twenty-five
years ago was some three-eighths of mile
long and stood on the west side of the
channel and some twenty miles below St.
Paul. This timber was all cut off and re-
moved and successive floods have
washed the island all away save
small point at the lower end
which is rapidly disappearing. For the
purpose of expediting it's destruction a
canal was cut through it, and in this cut
ting We found among the yet live willow
stumps which grew four feet above the
water, deposit of sand and sawdust in
alternate layers of from two to four inches
thick nearly three feet deep, and which
had lodged among the willows on top of
the island years ago. In the channel OPP
posite we found deep water with sand and
gravel bottom. From there to Lake Pepin
the sand bars were carefully examined, and
no mill debris found anywhere near the
channel, but much better defined channel
and deeper water than formerly existed
was sounded, especially at Diamond island
and the bars below Prescott and Hastings.
We found the old north channel or chute
which leaves the main river mile or more
above Red Wing and keeps down the north
side of the bottoms into Lake Pepin, dis
lance of nearly ten miles. The channel on
this stretch of the river, wherever bottom
could be reached, wvs found to be sand and
gravel. Upon reaching the lake, bars and
shoals were found each side of the middle
channel, by which we entered the lake and
a large area of made land was discovered
and new bars we're formed all in the north
east corner Of the lake front of Bay City
and north channels Upon careful but linn
tied examination we found this made land
and the new bars to be composed largely
Of sawdust. but reserve full report as to