Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1897-08-19
WANT A PILE Dixie Built.

MILFORD Herald.
That is the caption of an article in |
Every Evening Of the 18th inst, stating |
that Gen. Smith, IN his report sub
mitted last year suid; "Attsntion is
called in the last annual report to the |
necessity OF modifying the present pro-
iect 30 as to include the construction OF
pile dixie to the six.foot depth in
Delaware Bay, the estimated cost OF
which is $50, 700. Without this dixie
improvements cannot be SUCCESS, nor
can they he made even partially avail
able for navigation until they are nearly
or entirely completed.
We congratulate Gen. Smith for sug-
costing tho project of pile dixie. as it
seems to US laymen a practical plan for
remedying shallow navigation between
Mispillion River and Delaware Bay.
We are sure that our citizens having
interests in the matter Of a good, per-
maneut, nayigable outlet are careless
how or where improvement ia made, so
that it is made, and made speedily.
Nevertheless, we cling to the idea,
after many years of observation and
study of the aGtion of the current, of
the tides, of the shifting sands and OF
the ice both 10 moderate weather and
during the prevalence of come of the
worst easterly storms that probably
ever occurred there, TINT any improve
ment made there preference should be
given to the bed of the river proper, as
it once enptied into the bay. For the
main rehson that its bottom to well out
in the bay was composed of mud. the
proof of which was the abundance OF
oysters that grew there. A sandy bot
tom is sure death to the oyster. Fur
ther than this, within the memory OF a
number of persons now living, there
were three islands 300 yards out in front
Of the present lighthouse, with but salt
grass growing thereon and between
these islands was the main channel of
the river. but beyond the islands out to
six feet OF water we have no data as to
the kind of bottom.
1t may be interesting to the general
to state that just out from where the
late improvement stopped was 80 years
ago high sand ialand, il was inhabited
by man named Jones with his family;
the island was partly covered with large
red cedar trees, the roots of which are
| found there now sound and fragrant.
While fishing the seines often get hung
to the roots, and they are brought up
to daylight. We inclined TO think that
| it was part of the foundation of that
island Of fine sand, that has given the
| engineer SO much trouble in dredging
nut the new channel. and the further it
goes the greater will be the trouble
with the sand.
Much fault is found with the mound
Of sand dug from the new cut and de-
posted between the piiug and the
water, because the Rtrong abb tides
that run from south reach into the new
channel, undernines the sand and
carries it into the channel again.
We beg to call special attention of
the engineer to one very important
oversight, which, ii not early attended
to will render any improvement nuga-
tory. Ii is that part OF Sand Point
beach from the piling up to Broad
reach. Storm tides sweep over this
beach at times from one to three feet
deep, and the sand is washed into the
river above the improvements. Already
the channel between the bend of Broad
reach and Pond Gut has Swallowed so
much that vessels ground where few
years ago was seven feet of water at
low tide.
1t is hoped that in any estimates for
the pills dixie the ice question should
receive consideration. On the breaking
up Of the ice 10 the Delaware River and
its tributaries, and the wind is favor
able for it, immense fields OF ice come
down the bay. extending at times to
the Breakwater and as far aH the eye
can reach from the lighthouse tower
toward New Jersey, an easterly wind
gorges the ice in Mispillion cove and
as sometimes as much as IS inches
thick, it is capable of doing great dam
age. that may require some heavy stone
ON the work proposed.
The great "ice tide" OF 1881 may be
said to have greatly increased the trou-
bla to our navigation; before that storm
came the beach from the mouth OF Mis-
pilion River to Clark's point was high,
with sand hills high enough to enable
the farmers to see their cattle from the
top for miles over the marsh. The bay
was full of heavy ice at the time, a
violent storm set in from east south
east soon the water rose high enough
for the dense mass of ice to sweep over
the beach to farms inland; the beach
was leveled as Hat as floor and spread
into the marsh, when the vast body of
water began to subside it carried great
quantities of ice which secured across
the beach carrying with the help OF
the water thousands Of tons of sand into
the bay. The beach has remained fiat
ever since, but the sand dragged and
washed away never to come back again.
1t now, to great extent, helps to make
tho flats, and is the cause of much of
the trouble,