Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-01-02
SnuNDINGS FOR The SoIDGE Al
LEXINGTON
From the Lexington Mo-, IntcliigenceT. d.
cember -, 1885.

T From the Lexington Mo-, IntcligenceT, d.
cember ~, 1855.
Mr.. Charles A. Morrison, of Ksns
CITY, has been here for some time s' -
Ting up mis- Old business. Know;rE
that ne assisted in making the soIr"
ir"s cf the river at this point tnT ilc
3. & >. W railroad in 1873. we i'.'.,.
We've! him oi he subject, las; :"
day. Mr. Morrison said:-''ihe sorud-
ings were made in the spring or fall of
70. They were made under direction
Of H. A. Sumner, chief engineer B. Is
$. W.R.R.. and James Morrison bridge
builder of the Burlington system, who
had Just completed the bridge over the
Missouri river at Plattsmouth, Ncb.
We used a flat boat with well in the
center, with pile driver aud tools used
before for the same purpose. We COM
menced on the point of the sand bar,
1T that time just across the river OPP
posite my foundry, and found rock at
distances of 200 feet apart and at
depths from 76 to 81 feet as far down
as opposite the old soap factory site.
where we lost it, although we expected
to find it more favorable in front of the
Clagelt coal banks, where the rock reef
CAtCHNS INV tuC iiNCi iioHi thC s'oth
bank. We continued on down nearly
to the head of the island or just oppo-
site the point below Ciagett's, but with
started opposite the foundry again.
about 100 feet from the north bank and
sounded about the same distance as be-
fore with about the same result. We
then went down about the middle of
tbn river with tho rnSrlt Tho
results thus far were very satisfactory,
but where we expected to find most
favorable soundings we We're disap-
pointed, that is on the rocky reef above
Clagett's where we only found large
loose bOulders with no solid rock nn-
der. We had been nearly two months
at work, and the engineer concluded TO
make use of the remaining one day, so
we anchored our boat just above Nc
Intyres coal bank, and to our astonish-
ment the first length of pipe strnck the
clean solid rock at a depth of 16 feet.
We followed this out tor a distance of
1896 feet where it went deeper, and as
night was on us and our time had eX-
pired we lett off. The sounding OH the
north bank opposite was S3 feet. The
result, after all, was far better than ex-
pected and was SO stated by the engi-
neers and officers connected with the
road, who said it was the most favora-
| bic they ever heard of on the Missouri
river. AT the time we were sounding
corps of engineers was running lines
of the shores and sand bars and taking
distances. The whole work was un-
der Engineer Hurst, who reported to
and we were paid by the B & S. W.
| r n 70 Tho oynonco corna g am
to $4,000" We have already printed
an engineers report upon the distance
across the river at the point last men,
toned to be $500 feet, covering the
entire river bed and sand bar. Mr..
Morrison shows that solid rock fonnda-
ton is here found, going from this
shore to the northern one, at depths
from 16 feet, S96 feet out, to 50 feet on
the northern bank. This, he says, the
engineers declared the most favorable
souudings they had ever heard of on the
Missouri river. This survey, made by
order of Mr.. Sumner, and under the
immediate superintendence of MIR.
Hurst, is Il matter of record in the
archives of the b. & S. w. railway.
To add to its value, since it was made,
the government of the United States
has spent several thousand dollars in
constructing a revetment just above
Lexington, on the Ray county shore,
which has already proven its efficiency
i'll stopping the ravages of the river
upon that bank. In such an uncertain
stream as the Missouri this is very
great advantage in the location of a
bridge, as its safety from mutations of
the stream is thereby insured.