Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-10-02
THE KENNEBEC CHANNEL,
Mhat Has Been Done and Should Be
Done to Deepen II.
A Serious Obstruction to River EaYiga.
ton that Should Be Removed.
Some Interesting Facts OF Local His
tory Contributed by East Side"

In my brief sketch published in the Daily
few days ago, mention was made of the
East side channel, its gradual filing up and
It's causes, may have led some TO suppose
mat the same Causes have been going on to
nil up the main channel of the river. Bur
such is not the fact. There has been no
time within the memory of the .ollest in
habirant' when vessels could come up the
river from Gardiner to Augusta, drawing as
much water as to-day. Prior to thirty-fve
years ago, l2 to 8 feet of water, in ordi-
nary tides, was all there was this side of
shepherds Wharf, or steam Mill Point, a.
against 10 and 10 l-2 feet to-day This
greater depth of water is the result of large
appropriations and expenditures of the Gov
eminent, in the past forty-fve years. Many
methods were tried by interested parties to
improve the navigation of the river before
the national government took hold of the
matter.
One method, which accomplished some
'h'hB az poihts NHefe II cOuIl De
worked, was constructing machine
on the principle of mammoth
rake, having strong piece of timber ten or
more feet long for "head" with long iron
or steel teeth set in the same, about one foot
apart, and into the center Of this head was a
long tongue, on which oxen would be hitched,
and when ready to work the machine would
be thrown into the channel, at low water the
oxen on the shore, hitched to the tongue.
would haul it in, bringing rocks, sunken logs,
and whatever else the teeth might catch on
to. Of course this could only be worked at
points where the channel run near to the
shore, and was therefore limited in its oper-
atoms. Next came the mud digger" as it
was Familiarity called at the time This was
about the year 1916. The dredging or dig
ging was mostly done b. tween Hallowell and
Augusta. The work accomplished at this
time was not very satisfactory. The p.wer
TO operate this machine was supplied BY
son to one of the steam dredgers of to-day
would be the stage CO oh of fifty years ago to
the railroad of the present time. A few years
later, the government had built, in
this city, two gundalows, both the
the same size, about thirty tons capacity
each. They were placed few feet apart
and secured in this position by tmbers rum
ming across their decks, something after tn.
fashion of a Catamaran. The late George
Williams of this city had charge of this
work. The manner of operating these
boats, was to first ascertain the location of
ANY obstruction in the channel, and then, if
the object was "A large rock or boulder, to
drill hole in the rock in which TO drive
long large bolt. and then place the boats, at
low water, so that one would be on either
side of the rock and then the boats would
be dashed down to the bolt, in the rock, and
when the tide would flow, it would lift the
boats, and with it the rock, when it would
not interfere with navigation, and in like
manner old suuken logs and every object
that tended to obstruct the channel was thus
removed This work was not very expen-
sNe but much good was accomplished. A few
years later, about 1868 4, the Government
sent a steam dredging machine, which operat-
ed one season. between Hallowell and Au-
gusta, and it did more to give US the greater
depth of water, which we have si0ce been en-
Toying. Than ali the previous efforts combined
some idea may be had of the advantages
resulting from deepening the channel as
described coal first began to be
brought to Augusta and used for fuel in our
homes, every vessel coming to Augusta load
ed with coal notwithstanding they were much
smaller than the vessels of to-day, had to be
lightered, or the coal partially unoaded, at
some point below, and brought up on gund-
lows, this of course increased the price of
coal to Augusta consumers 1t was also true
that all shipments of lumber and other freights
from this city, could only partially load here
and then proceed to Gardiner where they
would complete their loading.
There has been, during the past twenty
five years, since the last dredging was done,
many rocks, that have been dislodged. along
the shores of the channel, by the action of
the frost and ice, that have found their way
into the channel, making it important that
moval There is also no doubt that if S25.-
600 90 was economically and judiciously ex-
pended, the channel might be further deep
ened. so that we should have twelve feet of
water between Gardiner and Augusta, and
this would be all that we could ask, or ex-
pect.
very serious obstruction to navigation,
above Hallowell, are the bridge piers at that
place. They should be removed. Perhaps
the most conspicuous mistake of the time
was the building of the Hsllowell and Chel-
sea bridge. 1t never should have been built
There was no travel to warrant so large an
outlay of money. But if built, it should
have been constructed in a manner, and with
material--that it would have been standing
today in good condition. The piers were
substantially built, but the bridge proper was
built of spruce, and unprotected from the
elements After standing eight or nine
wears. il rotted and tumbled down of its own
weight. leaving the piers standing as monn-
ments-not to the wisdom, but to the folly of
its projectors. EAST SIDE
The game of ball between the Dirigos
and Commercials yesterday resulted
II, fnrnr of the former by a score of %