The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-25
THE SWAMPS ARE SOGGY.
POOLS OF STAGNANT WATER
STANDING ALL AROUND Tue CITY.

Work Mt the Instance of the Morn
ing News and Reports the Drnin-
age in Fearful PIiGht-Can Mo- Tn
dcrStand Why the County Com
vicfs Have Been Taken Away
From the Suburban SNNamps and
Carried out to Northumberland
of the Work OF Investigation
which Was Resumed Yesterday
Continuing their work of inspecting the
county's drainage. the citizens committee
at the request of the Morning News, took
another trip yesterday out in the subur-
ban districts of savannah and spent the
afternoon visiting Lamar and Minis
swamps The party met at tine DE soto
hotel at $50 clock ana found carriages
awaiting them The personnel Of the
committee was the same as formed the
party that went out last Friday, with the
exception of MIR. NJ J. solomons. whose
place was taken yesterday by Mr. A. W.
Harmon, who is a brother of Mr.. A. c.
Harmon. chairman of the special com
mittee from the grand jury, whose report
was recently published in the Morning
News There is an honest difference OF
opinion between Mr.. a. c. Harmon and
MIR. A W. Harmon in the question OF
where drainage is needed.
Messrs. A. Nice. Duncan, c. H. Dorset,
John II. Cavauaugh, A. w. Harmon, John
ID. Robinson. Dr. Besselieu and Mai.
Bandford formed the party that left the
city yesterday to resume the work Of in
specting the drainage in order that fair
and impartial conclusion may be drawn
as to the real condition of the swamps'
drains and canals in the close neighbor-
hood of the city. They took up the work
where it was eft off by the committee last
Friday, and completed the work for the
most part of investigating the darins OF
the Musgrove watershed. The party Of
Investigation went out on Ogeechee avenue
and crossed several tributaries of the Minis
canal where they found that these drains
needed clearing Some of the drains are
pretty well established, but they all show
the need of clearing as grass is growing
thick in the beds of the bitches and drains.
At several places they found water stand
ing on the low,ands. Crossing the Minis
tdHu1 AlNS Ob9tl gu tAitAt - AiNNN'A'
enlarging and resoping.
The party then went through Southover
and passed some tributary bitches of La
mar canal, which were foul ana over
grown. They then went up the west side
of Lamar swamp, crossing en- route sew
eral undrained gals, coming around ana
crossing an arm of Lamar swamp which
was found to be DOGGY. From this place
they went UP on a hill. or elevation, which
A.. Al, "a grrp9f water
sheds of the county, the Musgrove water
shed and the Buckhalter watershed All
the point where the party drew up 10
view this divide there is a negro cabin
in the woods. There Is no road there
and the vehicles were drawn through the
pathless woods The road which crossed
the neck of the Lamar swamp a short dis
lance behind was DOGGY and was being
repaired by a half dozen negro tenants
who til the acres in that locality. They
were putting logs across the road IN or
der TO make the road 'passable," they
said.
The Hill which Is the divide between the
two main watersheds Of the county, az
forded the committee of citizens a spien>
did opportunity TO study the position taken
bv MIR. Kehoe of the county commission
ers. who had objected to the plan of the
chairman of the county commissioners 10
turn the Lamar swamp portion of the
Musgrove watershed into the Buckhalter
watershed. Mai. Blandford explained to
the members of the citizens committee
from his thorough knowledge Of the topog-
raphy of the county, how impossible 1t
would be for the county commissioners 20
turn the waters of "a swamp whose nat
ural flow was towards the savannah river
over into another watershed, whose flow
was towards the Little Ogeechee river The
divide would have 20 be cut through and
the canal would have 20 be extremely
deep TO ever establish anything like a sys-
tenn of drainage that win do more than
destroy such system as Is
already in effect in the La
mar swamp IL would only neutralize
the work which has taken years to achieve
on the Musgrove watershed by the coun-
~. Ia calling for the plans for the drain
age OF Buckhalter swamp Commissioner
Kehoe raised the point that IL would be
folly to undertake TO proceed aimlessly
with the work there as il has been taken
up already. He called for the plans and
they nave not yet been furnished him. lie
stated that IL il he the purpose OF the
Oh airman Of the county commissioners ana
tire superintendent Of public works 20 en-
ceavor 20 throw the drainage of Lamar
and Musgrove swamps into Buckhalter he
would object to II.
To the citizens committee, it was plain
yesterday. when they viewed the lay of
the land from the hin that makes the d.
vide that il would he folly 10 undertake
such a scheme as the running together OF
these watersheds Mai. Blandford is per-
haps the most thoroughly posted man on
this particular issue before the county
commissioners than anybody else I'm the
county, as il is by his map that the county
work at Buckhalter Is undertaken With
out any further plans. The map was not
made as a plan for the work that Is now
being pursued there on the contrary, IL
shows how utterly impracucable II would
be to cut a connecting canal between the
Musgrove and Buckhalter watersheds. The
fact IS. the county commissioners have no
definite plans by which the work at Buck
halter s. now being carried
on further than map of
the county's watersheds and the
outline map Of Buckhalter swamp. The
system of drainage IN Lamar swamp IS
nearest completed Of an the systems la
the Musgrove basin. having a good flow
and needing only such clearing ANA re-
pairs as bitches and canals must have
from time 90 time. The waters of this
watershed run towards the Savannah rive
er naturally. ana have a good flow. Those
OF the Buckhalter watershed flow towards
the Little Ogeechee river, bon 3u opposite
direction. and the two could never Doe run