Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1895-10-05
A eaeAr SNIP CANAL.
VIII Make IN immsWse Hasbos a
Seattle.

VII, Make IN Immense Hasbos a
Seattle.
While the great Chicago drainage
canal, which is to turn the waters
Of the lakes into the Mississippi, has
been attracting the attention of the
engineers of the world, o work has
been quietly commenced on the bor-
der OF Puget Sound, hardly less i'm
portant from commercial and naval
point Of view, which may make
Seattle the Chicago Of the Pacific
Northwest.
Seattle has q topography in many
respects unique among the cities Of
the world. It is situated upon the
east shore OF the great American
Mediterranean, its streets rising tier
on tier, facing the Sound, and the
majestic snow.clad Olympics on the
western shore. Four miles back
from the Sound is Lake Washington,
q beautiful inland fresh water lake,
twenty miles long and from three TO
five miles wide, lying nearly parallel
with the Sound. Already Seattle has
reached out until IL covers nearly the
whole territory intervening between
the salt water and the fresh, aud
line Of electric cars runs to Lake
Washington. on which many Of the
residents OF Seattle have built SUM
mer homes.
A ship canal connecting Lake
Washington with the Sound has been
the dream of Seattle from It's infancy.
Il has even been made the issue OF u
State campaign, and for moro than
forty years the general governments
has been recommended to construct
the waterway % the approach to .
splendid inland harbor, whers the
navies Of the world might ride Mt
anchor and where the dreaded and
destructive teredo would drop harm
lessly from the hulls. which In salt
water are cleaned only by dry docking.
Congress did finally make an appro-
priation Of $25, 600 for preliminary
surveys, but meantime Seattle and
King County, impatient OF delay,
raised o subsidy Of $500, 600, while
Eastern capitalists subscribed ~.
OOO, 600 for the great work which has
now been actually commenced.
In front Of Seattle IL Elliott lay,
where lies an immense area OF tide
fats useless alike for docks or for
building purposes. When the water.
way was really determined upon, an
ingenious engineer figured out that
the material excavated for the canal
would exactly suffice to reclaim these
tide flats and make them available
for commercial purposes. The two
enterprises, therefore, supplement
each other almost perfectly, ard are
being operated together.
Lake Washington lies sixteen feet
above high lido in Puget Sound. The
canal will run through neck OF land
10, 225 feet wide, and will be EXTEND
ed through the flats an additional
10. $50 feet, so that Its length from
deep water In the lake will be 90, 7S5
feet, or 3. g3 miles. The hill section
Is projected through the high lands
due east OF the fats It plunges into
4 hill Of glacial drift where q cut Of
8OS. 5 feet will be required; then ID
enters q valley In which the lowest
point will DO 81.4 feet; then into
another hill rising 14l.G feet above
the bed Of the canal, and finally
through a slough into the lake. The
canal will be eighty feet vide on the
bottom and twenty.six foot deep ut
low water. Near Elliott Bay. on tho
west, q lock will be built 400 feet
long and 50 feet wide.
The completion OF the canal will
open up to Improvement tho entire
shore Of the inland lake, while the
filling OF the tide fats will contribute
u large and convenient acreage for
manufacturer, for railroad yards and
docks. increasing greatly the deep
water frontage Of the city. II will
furnish y safe and accessible fresh
water harbor for war ships, merchant
vessels and steam craft OF every do.
scription, and will endow tho city OF
Seattle with facilities for commerce
enjoyed by few OF tho most favored
seaports Of the world.