The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-02-21
DEEP WATER
What Engineer corthell says
About Our Getting 1t.
But Especially as to Advantages al
The Mouth of the Brazos'

But Especially as to Advantages d.
the Mouth of the BraHos'
From the Houston Post
Mr.. E. L. Corthell, the eminent engi-
neer, who is the chief in charge OF 'ne
work at the mouth of the BrazoS, was III
the city Yesterday. He is en- route TO ne"
Orleans. where he has in charge several eA-
tensiye enterprises. Yesterday afternoon
a Post reporter was given brief audl-
ence with Mr.. Corthell. He expressed
himself as entirely confident of obtaining
a good navigable channel at the mouth OF
the Brazos, He came to this conclusion
nearly year ago, from thorough stuuy
of the subject with all the tacts oelore
him, and his recent visits have only COZ
frmed his views. He states that the sur
yey of the mouth of the river and OF the
bar outside, completed within the last two
DAYS, shows very marked effects from the
recent rise in the river. A channel vary
ing in depth from twelve to seventeen
feet can now be carried about 2,OOO teet
outside of the shore line. An immense
amount of material has been excavated by
the current and he is of the opinion that
had the jetties been built previous to TINS
rise to a depth of fifteen feet there would
now be good
TWENTY FOOT CHANNEL
through the bar. He says active prepa'
rations are being made by Mr.. Wilke, the
contractor, to begin the work within few
days and to prosecute it rapidly to its en-
tire com pletion. The reporter then inter
viewed Mr.. Corthell on the general subjec
of harbor improvements on the coast Of
Texas. His views are important, coming
from a man who devoted five years OF his
life to the jetty work at the mouth of the
Mississippi, where he was associated with
Captain Eads on the construction OF the
South Pass jetties and who was until the
death of Captain Eads intimately assool'
ated with the great engineer on most OF
his harbor Investigations and plans both
in this country and in foreign countries
Mr.. Corthell has recently examined ane
carefully studied the conditions at Sabine
Pass, Galveston and Arkansas Pass. HI
says Sabine Pass has several peculiar anc
very favorable conditions, particularly IN
that two quite important rivers discharge
into Sabine Lake-deposit there theil
sedimentary matters, and the fuvial wa
tiers that flow through Sabine Pass abou
six miles long, and enter the gulf free
from sediment. These clear fuvial wa
tiers augmented by the ebb tide of thu
Gulf create strong current at the mouth
soft mud for depth of about thirty fee
and as far out to sea as his examination
extended. This material is easily moved
by the accelerated current, which the jet
ties would produce, and in his opinion {
channel twenty-tiv feet in depth can bt
produced there.
AS TO GALVESTON,
Mr.. Corthell says that he has given it
great deal of study since 1875, and wa
associated with Captain Eads in making
the estimates for that work at the time ht
was endeavOring to obtain the contrac
| from the government. He is of the opin
ion that deep water can be obtained Their
regardless of the failure to increase tn
depth during the last fourteen years, anC
the expenditure of now nearly 100000
| The conditions, however, are more com
pick and more difficult to understand thai
at Sabine or the Brazos. The fact tina
the whole work in it's plans and method
since 1875 have been to the present tim
tentative or experimental is proof of tn
difficulty of the problem, for the best tai
emit at the command of the general gov
eminent has been applied to it with littl
useful result. The proposed width o
jetty channel has been changed from owe
two miles to about one and one-quarte
miles. One experimental jetty has disap
peared entirely, and another, considered
by the engineer as very substantial anC
not likely to deteriorate much, lost abou
20 per cent of its mass by waves, current
and teredo. Mr.. Corthell expressed him
self as entirely confident that thirty foo
channel can be obtained there by properl,
designed works built of suitable material
but he says the cost will be great ant
that the channel is not likely to be OBJ
tanned by the method of appropriation
which have been employed by the govern
ment during the last twenty years. As t,
ARKANSAS PASS
Mr.. Corthell says that the conditions ar
more favorable than at Galveston because
more economical; the slope of the QUITE
bar being sleeper, the jetties do not re
quire 80 great an extension into the gul
as Galveston. At both points the tida
flow is the aid force at hand for increasing
the current and this is not great from the
fact that the range of the tide between
mean low and mean high tide is only abou
one foot and two-tenths. At Arkansas the
cost of ietties would probably not be more
than 80 per cent of that at Galveston and
the same may be said of the maintenance
of the channels. The reporter took oc
casion to call Mr.. Corthell's attention to
the statements recently made by Hon
John Hancock in his remarks before the
senate committee on the subject of
| TEXAS HARBORs.
He said that any intelligent man at all
familiar with the facts at the mouth ot
the Brazos would be surprised to learn
that the two small streams, Oyster creek
and St. Bernard, had any bearing what
ever upon the question of improving the
mouth of the Brazos. 1t will be recol
ected that Mr.. Hancock stated tbs
following Oh this point after saying that
he believed twenty-foot channel could
be obtained there, but cou not be main.
tanned: "The converging waters from
Oyster creek and Bernard will prevent il
tits maiutenance); their waters will de.
stroy the work and fill the channels" Mr.
! GOrthRll sava tbis at,t.,,.-. -,