Arizona weekly citizen., 1896-12-19
BLASTING OUT THE BAR.
An Easy Proposition, Says Superin-
 teDdent Arnold.

An Easy Proposition, Says Superin.
 teDdent Arnold.
 Superintendent Arnold of the dypa. mlters went over to Corpus Christi Tuesday night to ascertain whether he could obtain enough oyster shells st the packing houses to make jetty foundation. He says oyster shells, when laid on a submerged bar, rapidly fill with sand and become 8 rigid msss, making the most satisfactory kind of 6 foundation.
 MT. Arnold says that in all bis long experience with hsibors he has never seen any hsrbor proposition approach. ing that ct Arapsss Pass for simplicity and absolute Certainty of the most ga. tisfactory results for an expenditure in- significant ID comparison with what would be required Io open any other bsroor entrance. He would prefer that the newspapers would not say much about his work until he has time to car. ry line of blss tlnR acroes the bar. bO ooyct to ROS1hot ta itc operation. Each discharge tears @ hole washes back into the hole. filling it up. Th.t is the case in the early stages of the work, but when the blasting is car. ried across the bar, then the line of loosened sand will be rapidly carried out into the gulf, the deepening channel will concentrate the current, and the securing will proceed in esrnest. Mr. Arnold says if the people will only rest easy, and say little, next spring they can invite thelr friends down to see what they have, and it will be worth seeing.
 Parties who came over from the works Monday evening gay that on ths llns of the old government jetty, to which the blasting is connned, the depth IS now over fifteen feet. the old jetty having been puiverized and washed into the Gulf. Chief Engineer Jenkins reports the depth on the inside of the bar in creased by the two feet, and the pilots give satisfactory accounts of the iDcress- ing depth all aoi oss the bar. However, 1t IS not to be expected that a uniform increase of depth can be reported until the blasting has been carried along the line Of the channel.
 Here in Aransss Pass it appeared that larger charges were being used last Monday. They caused very percepti. ble jar of the ground at this point, over six miles from tbe bar. Citizens who kept watch could see the columns of water thrown up at the Pass, and timed the sound as taking about 30 seconds to reach them, the jar of the earth com,ng at the same time. The detonations V were so strong as to rattle the windows.
 The work of constructing a south Ietty of sand bags is progressing rapidly. Seven thousand sacks were delivered at Tarpon for that work last Saturday. President T. H. Franklin of the Harbor Company. and Mrs. Franklin, came and on Saturday visited the scene of operations with Vice-President o. H. Sawyer and Secretary T. B. Wheeler. They watched the blasting operations with deep interest and were highly pleased with what they learned of the progess of the work and conditions in general. They found that the speed of the ebb currents. formerly two miles an hour, has increased twenty five per cent, which is amply sufficient to carry of all the sand as it is loosened up on the bar. MT. and Mrs. Franklin remained at the Hoyt over Sunday. and returned to San Antonio Monday.
 The 25O0 pounds of dyamite received from G weston has been used up. The bill of lading of the ten tons coming from New Jersey bss been on hand for several weeks, but the oar has not yet arrived. In the meantime another 2O00 pounds has been procured ct Dallas, 90 the work will go right slopg. The Good. year forces will not allow any barn scles to grow on their fsst.-Aransas Pass Herald. Dec. 10.