San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-10-21
AUSTIN IN A DAM FIX.
That is Austin Has Fixed Her Dam
The Capital City People in a
Fever of JOYFUL Excitement.

II set dUOuU "dhlbk "a lOpuOIlNoh MI
| ton to congress in the Tenth congress
sional district, and that matter being dis
| posed of a movement was made to get a
look at the dam site. Pen. Woodbridge,
the banker and university man, and one
of the live citizens of the state capital,
was interviewed as to means of trans
portation. Arrangements were made
S Msi ve a. into p the m rear the seat L of 4
carry-all with two able bodied represen-
tatives of the surveying corps, and an
equally comfortable trio on the front seat,
and the word to start was given. The
LIGHT was under the safe conduct of
Chief Engineer FriZelle, who was very
courteous in his reception of the scribe
and answered all questions unheSitating-
ly. j. f. Pope, engineer who made the
kept up a running fire of answers as the
horses sped on toward the dam site, some
three miles distant from the capt.
toll. The suburbs of the city
through which we passed looked
very inviting in their greenness, and
many cosy, substantial dwellings and
others of much greater pretensions were
passed, but no stop was made by our
jehu. Out past the Confederate home
over stones, regardless of ruts, down gull
lies, up sleeps, through laurel brake and
cedar thicketS till the waters of the Colo
RADIO lay nesting at the foot of the rug
ged bluffs, way down at our feet, and the
Journey was over at the famous dam site,
which will be still more famous when the
site is merged into a dam. The locality
chosen is between two bluffs, one on the
south side of the river some four hundred
or five hundred feet above the present
stage of low water. The descent to the
bed of the stream On the north side
of the river is more gradual, and at sixty
feet above present water stage a level
plateau is reached. which Chief Frizelle
pointed put as about the level of the crest
of the dam. Across the river was seen
the surveyors stake indicating the height
at which the masonry will stand against
stretches away up the river, which will
be overlooked when the reservoir is full,
forming a beautiful sheet of water, va
rying in width from 800 or AGO yards TO
half a mile and stretching up stream to a
distance of 81 miles.
As the LIGHT readers already know, the
for the excavations, masonry
and power canal below the dam have
been awarded. and the sur
the contractors can commence
work at any hour.
The work is under the direction of the
Austin board of public works, OF which
Mayor John Mcdonald is president. The
finance committee are Frank Hamilton,
John Hancock and A. p. Woodbridge;
construction committee, NJ. A. Taylor,
W.. c. Walsh, Henry Herschfeld; the COM
mittee on ways and means, Walter Tipps,
John w. Maddox, S. X. Morley and r. NJ.
The specifications call for a dam of
solid masonry sixty feet high, &C feet wide
at the bottom and Is feet wide on the
crest, which will be 1,150 feet over from
extremity to extremity. Every stone will
be laid in hydraulic cement, and the faces
are to be of Burnett granite. The canal
will be twelve feet in depth and will
run down the river following a level ledge
about sixty feet above low water. The
mills will be located between the canal
and the river and fed by sluice-ways. The
estimated power at low water mark is
/, 400 horse power for ten hours run, a
greater power than is furnished at the
Lowell, Mass, factories. The flow over
the dam will be 100000 cubic feet.
Above the dam a few hundred yards
and on a bluff above the stream will be
placed the reservoir for the city'S water
The capacicty of this reservoir
will be about 100000 gallons and al I'M
supply will be secured with press
ure ample for all purposes of domestic and
service.
A railroad is in contemplation to the dam
site from the narraw-gauge road in the
city and it is expected to be built within
sixty days. The moSsback, who sets on
the coat-tail of progress and says halt, is
trying to defeat the construction of the
road by interposing objections to the
right of way, but Austin has a move on
herself and all such men must get out of
the way or go under the wheels.
The people of the city of Austin have
literally in this movement and
they are certain to reap a rich reward.
This water owe once created will be
utilized and from its operation n 3the
creative industries it will call into work
ing activity the city will reap a hundred
fold. Large industrial populations will
be added, her real estate men will thrive
and real property be advanced in value,
for homes will be required for these
new and ever growing populations. The
merchants of all kinds will reap an in
creased trade from the outlay, first in
material, and new business houses will
spring into existence to supply the trade
so continually %enlarging its volume.
This prosperous condition will attract
Others and thus a populous city will rise
into being as the result of this dam opera
tirn, against which so much has been
croaked by the croakers. Austin is going
W ocO Vic pdCc ioi 1uc SIdVc anu San hH-
tonic can hustle herself into manufactur-
ing clothes or she will not be ready to
join the Texas procession when the band
plays. For courtesies extended it's re-
preventative, the LIGHT returns thanks
in the Austin Board of Public works, and
the chief of engineess and his corps of
assistants, not forgetting the driver
whose driving was like that :of Jehu the
son of Meinshi, for at times he did drive
%furiously.
Cut Her Throat.
A lady living on Travis Park Square,