Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1889-02-19
DEEP WATER.
Work at the Mouth of the BrazOs-Its
Superior Advantages.

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 19.-E. l.. Cor
thell, chief engineer in charge Of the deep
harbor work at the mouth Of the Brazos
river in Texas, is in the city. This enter
prise is being pushed by a wealthy syndi-
cate which asks no government aid. He
states that the survey of the mouth of the
river and of the bar outside, completed
within the last few days, shows very
marked effects from the recent rise in the
river. A channel, varying in depth from
II to II feet, can now be carried about
1000 feet 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 this rise, instead of depth OF
Is feet there would now be a good 20-foot
channel through the bar. Active prep
arations are being made by Mr.. Wilks,
the contractor, to begin the work within
few days and to prosecute it rapidly to its
entire completion.
Mr.. Corthell, on the general subject of
harbor improvements on the coast of
Texas, has views of importance, coming
as they do from man who was, until
the death of Capt. Eads, intimately as
sosiF.A with that great engineer in most
OF mis- harbor investigations and plans,
both in this country and in foreign coun-
tries.
Mr.. Corthell has recently examined
and carefully studied the conditions of
Sabine pass, Galveston and Arkansas pass.
He says Sabine pass has several peculiar
and very favorable conditions, particular
ly in that two quite important rivers dis
charge into Sabine lake, deposit there their
sedimentary material and the tluvial
waters then flow through Sabine pass,
about six miles long, and enter the gulf
free from sediment. These clear, fuvial
watres, augmented by the ebb tide of the
gulf, create strong current at the mouth
of the pass. The material on the bar is
soft mud for depth of about thirty feet,
and as far out to sea as his examination
extended The material is easily moved
by the accelerated current which the
jetties would produce, and, in his opinion,
a channel twenty-five feet in depth can
be produced there.
Mr.. Corthell expressed himself as en-
tirely confident that 30-foot channel
can be obtained there by properly de-
signed works built of substantial material,
but he says the cost will be great and
that the channel is not likely to be OBJ
tanned by the method of appropriations,
which have been employed by the gov
ernment during the last twenty years.
AS to Aransas Pass, Mr.. Corthell says
that the conditions are more favorable
than at Galveston, because more econom-
ical. The slope of the outer bar being
sleeper, the jetties do not require so great
an extension into the gulf as at Galveston.
The harbor at Brazos is completely
land-locked, the ground is high and firm
and the place selected for the port is ex
ceptionally favorable in all respects. AS
compared with the conditions at the
mouth Of the Mississippi and at the saline
mouth OF the Danube they are very much
more favorable for obtaining deep water,
and the harbor conditions both for per-
manency and safety are much more pref
erable.