Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-07-29
The Texas HarbOr.


BERTRAM, BURNETT Co. TIN, July Is, 81.
To the Editor OF the Gazette.
In my letter of the 9TH instant, the
relation to the pier and breakwater on
the Padre Island, you make me say
1000 feet. 1t should be 1000 yards.
This was doubtlessly mistake by the
printer. have submitted my plans
to Chas. Mcdonald, Esq, the engineer
who built the iron pier at Brighton
Beach, Coney Island. His estimate OF
the akwater 1000 yards long SUM,
In thirty-iive feet of water, was 81 600.
900. The iron pier 80 yards long was
$500, 900. The Loguna Madre can be
crossed at point about eight miles
from Corpus Christi over reef or
either across clay bank of about
five miles long with an average
depth of about eighteen inches
of water, except distance
of about sixty yards, which has a
depth of three feet. Wagons and
stock cross to-day and have for many
years crossed over this reef. The bot
tom Is solid and near one-third of n
mile wide; no DOGGY or soft places.
The island can also be approached at u
point forty miles south at a place
known as the Rock Pens. Here the
Loguna Madre is not overa mile wide;
the ford or pass is the same AZ at the
north end of the island. Ordinary
tides do not exceed twelve inches in
depth at the inlets on the island and
on the mainland. During the dry
seasons tens of thousands Of tons of
salt Is made by solar evaporation. 1t
is Is simply without limit as to guam
tity, as the salt raked out to-day fills
up with salt water, which evaporates
very rapidly. Here is where the salt
was obtained to supply Texas
during the Confederate war. 1t
has no value to-day, simply
because there Is no means TO transport
1t cheaply. The railroads finding ter
minus at this pier would derive a large
traffic In moving this salt to the inte-
rior of Texas and furnish the stock
grower cheaper and better article for
all purposes than Liverpool salt, /
beg TO call your attention to traffic
incident to this locality which could
have no competitor. the shipment of
refrigerated meat direct from the pas
lures where the cattle aregrown. They
can be driven on Padre island and
slaughtered literally at the ships side.
Also live stock for New Orleans and
Havana. Il a glance at the map will
show the La PARA pier could have no
equal In this important traffic.
The extraordinary Sierra Mojada
region in Mexico, discovered
In 1870 and now being largely de-
veloped, shipments of base bullion
(silver and lead) are daily
being shipped from Corpus
Christi and Galveston to England.
The duty in the United States il 30
great on lead that this product goes
direct TO England In pigs" weighing
$50 pounds, where the silver is separat-
ed from the lead. These mines are
new, and while there is no very high
grade ore being worked the immense
deposits Of low grade ores assure for
this mineral belt profitable investment
for capital and large field for labor for
many years to Come. The district has
sulphur. almost pure, lead, copper,
silver and anthony In large guam
titles, covering an area of over two
hundred miles square, aud do not
think there IL any mineral district on
The continent to compare with 1t. The
discovery of these ore deposits In 1879
met with many great difficulties. Its
remoteness from civilization, the want
IF water on the roads that lead to 1t,
and q scarce supply Of water at the
mines, with All absence of fuel, q
species Of cactus being the only
Iuel used. But time, enter.
prise AMI energy have overcome
The difficulty. Abundant water las
been found In wells. tanks and In the
mines. The water supply Is assured.
Coke has been brough for the
last two years from England, and
landed at Corpus Christi, thence by
rail- TO Lampasas, Mex. thence 30
miles by wagon transportation tn tina
mines. I mention these details TO
dive you m idea Of the value and ex-