New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-05-26
ENTRANCE TO THE CANAL FROM THE mAR LEM RIVER

Hudson IS nearly one foot 1851 fooD lower than
u Is In IN" Harlem
Tho mean rise and fall ~ the tide in
tho Hudson IS 2i2 feet less than it is in the iiar
lem
Tho moan duration # the rise Of tides
/ I'm IN. Hudson is ihirty-sx minutes shorter and
the mean duration ~ the fall tN"nty-slN minutes
longer than in the Harlem.
The mean level - the Hudson at the mouth
Of the Spuyicn Duyvil Creek Is O26o of foot lower
than a. Fordham Bridge.
D. High water occurs one hour and thirty-f1ur
minutes earlier In the Hudson than In the liar-
lem.
# was not until October 1856 that the canal
project was approved by the Secretary If war.
The cost Of The Undertaking had been estimated
a, s.. 100000 II which s2.lOO0oO was for cutting
the caral through pH ckrnan's Meadow ana
dredging ont tho Spuytcn DuyNil Creek 10 IN"
Hudson River and 900 was for dredging the
Harlem River from Two hundred twentieth
ST. to Third-ave. Legal difficulties a. to riehi OF
way were not overcome until May. 1857. In Janu-
ary. 1885 the work 81 cxcavating the canal cut
through Dyckmans Meadow was begun by John
Satterce the contractor. S4DO.o~ ~ IN" candi APP
propriatIon having become Immediately avail
able The work i'm the great ditch was slow. a.
II WAS necessary TO blast out masses OF rock
along the entire distance.
THE EAST DAM DESTROYED.
At the end Of each ditch was "A great dam to
keep back the waters Of the river and the creek.
and over the ga tern dam ran the old kinGsbr dge
Road. one night In the spring Of 1892 tn" resi-
dents of Kingsbrdge heard great rushing 81
waters and I'm the morning they found the big
ditch full Of water The east dam had given way,
letting IN the food and destroying the road TO
Manhattan Island. II was fortunate" that the
break had occurred In the night. or several hun
dred workmcn might have been engulfed In the
flood hut the presence OF the water made the
work of completing the cut more costly and
difficult AS all Of the drilling for blasts IN the
rock had then To- be performed ny divers. me
people II kingsbrdge made "A great outrry pc
cause they had To go around 10y Washington
Bridge when they wanted To reach Inc upper
part Of Manhattan Island. temporary wooden
bridge erected on the runs OF the """
which for "A time served IA way. but the great
steel drawbridge which now crosses the canai
was built rapidly as possible II was NOT un'il
after the bridge was completed ana open i"'
traffic how ever. that the work OF dredging away
the remains of the old dam could be prSui ana
that work was not finished until last iail.
Meanwhile the work OF dredging OUT the
Spuyten Duyv Creek had been gong on, ana
the channel being deepened ana widehed
Last winter when the Harlem River and the
creek were locked in Ice. the western na'n Oh the
canal cut removed and the connection ne
tween the canal and the creek was maze. "nen
the ice began to break up in February IL was
noised abroad In Harlem that some Oh 'he iich
men who had been Interested In the caiIai enter
prise were preparing to MAKE s"S ,, hrs ,, ZIP
through the canal In "A steam lauhch' WI" piass
hand footing and flags flying. on FEBRUARY -
however, n snub-nos tugboat bearing the name
OF Lillian NJ. Hardy pushed her way ,nrousn the
lee az the mouth Of the Spuyten Dnyvii Creek
and steamed along the creek toward the cut
Sh. encountered considerable tee on the way
hut abe kept on prrsistently. passed through The
canal cut and under the drawbridge. ana then
down the Harlem River footing her whistle de-
family. ,A NO.. . .,
After that performance the rich men VINO had
counted on being the first 10 sail through the
cana, concluded that they would wait Tor time
,'h"m The canal could be officially declared OPEN
That time will be June II. when great fleet OF