Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-07-25
IMPROVING THE oUmBERL AND.
The Snag Boat Weitzel at Work Between
Clarksville and Nashville.

The Cumberland and Tennessee
snag boat Weitzel, Capt. w. Ii. Car
roll in command, arrived at the
wharf last evening and tied up
awaiting orders from Col. Barlow,
who is in Nashville. The boat lett
Nashville the first week in July and
has, since that time, been working
on the river channel between Nash
vile and GAINESVILLE. The majority
of the work done was at RObertson'S
Island and Harpeth Shoals, pulling
snags, removing logs, etc, about the
former and dredging the latter. Capt.
Carroll, in conversation with a repor-
ter, said that in his estimation, the
dredging on Harpeth Shoals did not
amount to much. When one point
is dredged it necessarily lowers the
water at some other point immtdi
ately above. He thinks the only
means by which the river can be
made navigable for large boats the
year round is "A good system of locks
and dams, such as the River Com
mission is working for. The upper
Cumberland is being locked and
damned and the good results are al
ready apparent. The work has ben
Gifted Nashville, and putting the
same kind of improvement on the
lower Cumberland will benefit
GAINESVILLE, and in fact all the towns
along the river. GAINESVILLE will
reap the greatest benefit from the
work because it is the most impor
tant shipping point between Nash
vile and Paducah.
Capt. Carroll is one of the Oldest
Cumberland river steamboatnIen
now in the service. While he does
not appear over so or 55 years of age,
he will tell you that he las been run
ming on the Cumberland As years.
He was we'll known hero in steam
boat circles in the Cumberland pal
miest days and commanded Mississi-
ppi river packets up to the time
the railroads succeeded them in haul
ing freight. He pointed to the river
bank yesterday, and witha sweeping
gesture said he had seen hundreds of
people at time waiting all along
there for a steamboat to carry them
to Nashville. They would crowd on
the boat until standing room would
all be taken and then they would
swing on to the sides, climb the
smoke stacks and run the pilot out of
his box. "That thing up yonder is
what has done the river up" said the
Captain, AS he pointed with wicked
smile at a freight train that was
crossing the trestle just at the moment.
"They tell me-" he continued, "that
Frank Gracey is running the Clarks-
vile portion of the l.. n Ms bust
ness, and that he has gone square
bANh WI hiIV iINOI' hutW hIIIl
when he loved Il steamboat better
than he does his ore banks on the
south side and would ride on one in
preference to any mans palace car,
but he has got in with these fast fel
lows and boat is altogether too slow
for him. I'll tell you, though, he is |
one of the best fellows that ever
showed gang plank, and the boys
were all sorry when he quit the river,
Amt that him driving that gray
horse up there on the bank now?"
he asked AS Capt. Gracey drove along |
Front street. The reporter replied in
the affirmative, and Capt. Carroll was
off like a jug handle, saying that he
wanted to shake his paw just for the
sake of old-times."
The Weitzel will remain in the
Cumberland, presumably all the sum-
mer, pulling snags, removing logs
and taking everything out of the
channel that is dangerous to naviga-
iion. The boat carries about twenty
men and is well equipped Tor lis
work.
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