Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-10-19
spscislcorrsspondsnce of Gazette and Journs

Col. Locke rs Building Big Jetties.
neutrality-suspicious. OF Gazette and journal
JACKSONVILLE, FLA, Oct. OIL have
Just returned from Mayport, at the
mouth of the st. Johns, where spent
Sunday, going down by rail Saturday
evening and returning by boat, de-
lightful trip, this morning, Mayport is
al irregularly built town, containing
probably 500 inhabitants, struggling
along the south shore of the st. Johns
and tapping around on the ocean beach
below, making the town a mile or more
in length. II is unincorporated and, as
the citizens say: "There is no law here;
everything goes" But Judge Gibbons
of the Jacksonville municipal court, a
remarkably youthful occupant of the
bench, who was graduated from Yale
at the age of 10 and doesn't look much
more than that now, tells me that he
expects to get it incorporated in the
near future. The judge has pleasant
cottage at the ocean end of Mayport
and his friends say that he is q promis-
ing aspirant for the Slamese mission.
Across the river from Mayport is st.
Georges Island, "the finest region in
all Florida" according to Mayporters,
with its memories of King Kingsley,
tho Scotch slave trader, who kept up
fine estate here half century ago, with
retinue of 600 slaves, and whose over
seer set out the famous avenue of pal
mettos that is now one of the chief
attractions of the place, but which was
lPo little appreciated by Kingsley that,
ION bis return from one of his slave
catching trips, he dismissed the over
bseer, in high dudgeon, for planting tic
trees. On the island is a marine OBJ.
servatory which boasts Of being located
on the highest ground along the At
Elantic coast south of the Highlands of
ENavesink.
After seeing Mayport am prepared
10 believe that things will grow any
where in Florida. Imagine an oleander
tree, from 10 to 10 feet high and as much
or more in diameter, with some of the
flowers still on 1t that were in luxuriant
rbloom as far back as April, growing
bright out of the pure white sand of the
beach and with nothing but sand from
which TO draw susteuance-no subsoil,
nothing but clear beach sand for
dephth of 10 feet, or 90 feet, as far down
as you can go before striking water |
ESuch is a common sight at Mayport.
Beside oleanders, noticed mulberry
ftrees, Lombardy poplars, naples, live
oaks, palmettos, cedars, chinaberry
trees, and other things-some of the
tree measuring at least two feet through
the trunk, growing vigorously out Of
this beach sand, where they seemed to
have no more right or show to grow
than they would have on a tin roof.
And was told that many garden vege-
tables will grow just as freely in this
wonderful sand.
Captain Blocksom, a well known ex.
Wimingtonian who has charge of some
of the jetty work which Colonel Milo
W. Locke is constructing at the mouth
OF the st. Johns, is pleasantly domiciled
at Mayport, with his wife and his visit
ing daughter, Mrs. Dashiells of VIII
mington, and her two children. Mrs,
Dashiells expects to spend the winter
with her parents, to thoroughly recuper-
ate her health, which has been delicate.
: She is looking quite robust now.
Yesterday afternoon | accompanied
Colonel Locke, on the tug Oceanic, out
to the mouth of tho river where the
Jetties are going up. There was fresh
sea running under northeast breeze
and the way the little tug dipped her
nose in the water made some of the
ladies aboard "want to 60 home" But
/. the trip was success, even though we
did ship sea or two that flooded every
thing on the lower deck and washed the
water butt overheard and away. IL was
not circumstance to the pillows the
Decatur II. Miller labored through last
Wednesday night, but than the tue
Oceanic is not the Decatur H. Miller,
From United States Engineer 81 w
Bruce obtained the following points.
covering briefly the work which Colonel
Locke has in progress here:
The jetties, one to the north and the
other TO the south of the mouth of The
river, are conVerging ietties for approxi.
mately two miles, thence parallel nj
| about 1900 feet apart to deep water,
They are built in water VARYING from
nothing to ga feet in depth. The dentb
Of water now obtained between the iet.
ties is ID feet at low water, with rance
oil tide on the bar of about ST feet. Work
on these jetties was originally started
about 1882. There have been govern.
ment appropriations usually of Sl5O 00,
a year, with some intermisaions. M
Bruce exhibited diagrams showing how
these intermissions had operated 10 in.
crease the total cost of the Improvement,
since IN the periods Of suspension Of
work considerable material accummu-
( lated, TO be removed at extra st,which
would have been saved by continuous
work. 1t will take probably about two
years yet to complete the jetties.
Up to with the past two years" said
Mr.. Bruce, "the foundation course bas
been log mattresses; but for the last
three contracts, including the present.
the foundation courses have been brush
mattresses exclusively, upon which
Florida rock has been piled up to with
In tve feet of low water mark. This
will be capped with northern granite nm
TO low water. The Florida rock weighs
about 100 pounds to the cubic foot II
comes cheaper and measures up more in
place than granite, consequently giving
the same result at about two.thirds the
cost"
The effect of the improvement thus
far in securing out and deepening the
channel is shown by the fact that the
New York steamers now come in and
go out at all stages of the tide. For
merly there was often not more than
seven feet of water on the bar and il
was not unusual to have to wait for
days and even weeks to get in or out of
the river. JupeE.
All Free.
Those who have used DR., Kings New
Discovery know its value, and those who
have not, have now the opportunity to try