Omaha daily bee., 1883-04-05
THE RAGING CANAL.
Jay GOuld'S Western Union
EClipS0d.
Hopkins Pools.

RrOuuu, Whb BiVoh oNof w oaoh ffoo's
TO Jay that when the thermometer
got up to a position somewhere above
the freezing point, there would be dirt
throwing all along the water work,
line. Hence THE BEE scribe wanted
to see how well the promises he had
made In behalf of the water works
company were beingredeemed, and he
wanted to ascertain what truth there
was In the rumor that the river was
tapped at q point that would give US
the benefit of Omaha sewerage, to
keep our water from being too thin.
So yesterday afternoon We drove to
all the points where work was being
done by the company, and notsd, for
the benefit of the public at large and
the people of Council Bluffs In par
%ticular, the state Of affairs, SO far as
We could ascertain.
First we investigated the sewerage
rumor, by going directly to the spot
where the piles have been driven for
the connection with the Missouri, and
found that o canal Is being dug 1000
feet In length, and running north to
q connection with the river, at q point
about 5000 feet above the foot Of the
''cut off," This taps the river fully
half a mile above the point from which
the Omaha water works draws its
supplies, and as the Omaha water Ia o
superior article, 1t is fair to presume
ours will be fully as good, for If we
are to get Omaha sewerage 1t must
run up steam at least q mile, against q
current that Is good for five miles an
hour to say nothing of crossing the
river. We wonder If It was Ell Perkins
that vented that sewerage nonsense.
Such a lie should certainly be the pro-
perty Of some professional liar. No
one horse amateur liar could have In.
such q preposterous malignity
In the AnaniRs line Of business.
The canal ID quite q piece Of work
II isr40 feet wide and slopes to q width
of feet at the bottom. Scores OF
teams and gangs of men, aggregatlng
perhaps Q hundred, all told, were
scattered along Its banks and busy
,cooping out the bottom.
In . few days all will be complete
10 far as the canal Ia concerned.
Driving back to the reservoirs and
The engine houses, we found that the
we'll had ceased to attract the
of the workingmen. They
polished that of, during the time when
The standard condition Of the thermom-
ater was twenty below zero.
The reservoirs looked as fresh,
smooth and even as they did In the
fall when the last shovelful was laid
On the embankment, and the millions
Of brick had all been put In position
on the western basin. Not a particle
Of displacement had been caused by
the lntense cold of the past winter.
A sewer, thirty inches In diameter,
Is now occupying the attention of a
big gang OF b~ricklayers and shovelers.
Judging by the work we saw, this
sewer Is artistloslly constructed, snd
built In suoh . manner that 1t ought
to last q thousand years.
The engine houses are ready for the
builders and that Ia saying a great
deal when 1t is known that the piles
driven would make o nice grove II
they were standingin tree shape above
the gsound, and the broken brick put
on top Of them, would pave q block or
two. In the shops, hammer, axe and
saw, made Q clattsr that vouohed for
the industry of the occupants.
Driving back to town we
noted telegraph line now
In working order. It connects
the engine house With the city, and it
IL as fine = telegraph line as any. Its
poles, wire and insulators are of the
best, and II owned by Jay Gould 1t
would be valued at about q thousand
dollars o mile. There Is three
miles Of this, and 1t was built for q
figure which Indicates that Engineer
Birkinb.ne IL q master of the science
of economy.
After examining the works at the
river, we concluded that 1t would bs
In order to 60 up Glen avenue and see
how things looked ut the reservoir OF
top Of the bluffs, A vast mount o
work has beau done AT this point.
The first object to attract attention
Ia the wall that dams the glen. TIL,
top is fully fifty feet above its base
and this mountain If earth is but
tressed by foot hills thai form hug
steps like the walls of the pyramids
On either side there is u brick gutter
extending from the bottom to the.top
and the reservoir at the summit is o
beautifully and symmetrically con
structed as any We ever saw.
The hill ut Its back 10 CAREFUL
sloped by the spade, and we ventur
the assertion that when time hs
thrown natures tlnts over the work.
there will not be q prettier spot
Council Bluffs than the reservoir /.
the head Of Glen avenue.
The FIRE protection or valve hou,
Is now being built and will be a VOL
substantial structure 24y14 and IL fe,
!. high. The b~rioklayers will have
8 completed in a few days.
There Is just one thing lacking
a make the water works company
B Council Bluffs s~upremely happy, ar
n that Is q bridge between Council BLU
and Omaha. Give them that, OF
? they will get half a million dollars +
their lots adjoining the works and e
! aotly opposite the centre of Oman
OF course we mean a good railrol
y and wagon bridge, with reasonab
y tolls, and not an abortion erected
o tOx commerce and travel for eve
cont they will stand.
l The waterworks the city
getting are superior to tho