Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-03-28
SABINE PASS.
Only Matter of Time Until Texas viii
Have n Great Harbor.
o,,oa 81 tho Hoga4to


Have n Great Harbor.
Correspondence OF the Gazette.
SABINE PASS, TEX, March 23,--I am
one of those restless wanderers whose
home is the wide world. A week ago
drifted here, why scarcely know. Per
haps it was patriotic motive led me to
come. had read in the papers good
deal about Sabine Pass and its natural
advantages. ] wanted to know whether
the truth had been told. wanted to
find out if there was not under all this
fine talk a scheme to waste Uncle Sans
money.
| find here O struggling town of some
six or seven hundred souls, granting that
they all have souls, which is doubtful.
But some of them have enough surplus
to make good average all round. The
houses are scattered over an area large
enough for a population tenfold greater
Most of the houses are plain, but well
built and substantial. There is an air OF
comfort about the residences not common
in the new towns of the West. This is
owing to the shade-trees, shrubbery and
hower-g gardens in which many of them are
embosomed. In this genial climate it is
no trouble TO make beautiful home. In
fact, nature will do the work, ii she Is al
lowed to.
Appearances do not indicate any great
amount of business, although there are
usually several steamers or schooners in
the harbor, and the trains on the East
Texas railroad arrive and depart regu-
larly. There seems to be little of the
hurry aud push characteristic of Ameri-
can life. Everybody seems to be
at leisure and to have plenty
of time. BY aud by, when they
get deep water, all this will be changed.
say when they get deep water, for | am
now convinced that it is only question
of time. Nature evidently intended this
for great seaport For this assertion
do not rely so much on my own Judgment
as on the published reports of the gov
eminent engineers, and everything | see
tends to confirm their statements.
BY invitation of Messrs. Plummer and
Terry, joined an excursion which went
out to the jetties this morning aboard the
tug Idler. The party numbered about
twenty, prominent among wnom were
Capt. Hyatt, superintendent of the work
on the jetties for the last two years; DR..
Baird, late of Brennan; Dr. Grain,
brother of the Hon. VIM. Henry; and
last, but by no means least, Mai. Nc
Clanahan of the Sabine Pass Times. 1t
was glorious morning, not cloud to
be seen, a gentle breeze from the South
west, in short, perfect day. Nor was
the company In which | found myself in
ferior to the day, and Jest and jolly
laughter and excellent cigars (L assure
you there was nothing stronger aboard)
all conspired to make the occasion
memorable among the red-letter days of
the scribe's life. The object of the ex-
cursion was to observe the effect of the
late high water on the bar. 1t was low
tide, and according to the gauge two
tenths lower than mean low water.
an the way down, about half mile be-
low the lowest wharf, we passed the
United States life saving station, now
abandoned, 1t is said, because no wrecks
ever occur here. The property is in
charge of Capt. John Stewart, an old salt,
who smokes his pipe, makes his weekly
report ard draws his monthly stipend us
one OF Uncle Sans commissioned officers.
Lower down is the quarantine station,
while nearly opposite ON the Louisiana
side is the lighthouse
The soundings taken showed a mini
mum depth In the channel OF nine feet.
Ihis Is a gain of about one foot since the
last soundings were taken in February
last, and total gain Of about three feet
since work on the jetties ceased last
August.