The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-08
DISMAL SWAMP'S CANAL
TO ENJOY NEW LIFE AFTER YEARS
OF COMPARATIVE DIsUsE.
For Long Time 1t Did n Very PrOs-
porous BusineSs-A Million to BE
spent in Improving 1t.
Philadelphia Record.

Philadelphla Record.
OF all the artificial waterways in the
world probably none is so replete with
historical associations as the old Dismal
Swamp canal in Virginia and North Caro-
lima which Is now being reclaimed by
dredging after long period of comparative
disuse and idleness. The preparatory work
for the removal of upwards of 5000 600 cubic
yards of earth from the bed and banks OF
the canal has been completed, and the
dredging has been begun. The process Of
regeneration involves the expenditure of an
enormous sum of money, but in seven
months the canal will be wider and deeper
than it was when first constructed. The
commerce which has dwindled away as the
channel gradually filed in with mud and
logs will be regained and the connecting
link of the inland waterway between the
North and the South win be re-establshed.
The construction of the Dismal Swamp
canal, one of the earliest works of it's kind
in the country, dates back to the time of
George Washington, and it was largely due
to his practical knowledge of the subject
that the project of cutting through the
Dismal swamp was regarded as feasible.
The swamp was then an almost unknown
territory. and few had penetrated it. In 1868
Washington, who was then thrty-one
years of age, explored the swamp from end
TO end Later he acquired a large body
OF lands in that territory and became ac-
tive in his adVoca ton of the proposed wa
terway, which was finally constructed UNI
der his supervision
THE ROUTE OF THE CANAL.
The canal was originally only seven or
eight feet deep and thirty miles long, con-
Meeting the Chesapeake bay with Aibemare
sound. The Elizabeth river, which empties
into ChpSanaqIxh hay &c M vi
to point about eight miles south of Ports
mouth, Va. where the Gilmerton level Of
the canal begins. The Gilmerton level is
a stretch about six miles long, ending at
Deep creek From Deep creek to the point
where the canal connects with the Pas
quotank river Is a distance of twenty-four
miles, about half OF which is in Virginia
and half in North Carolina. The Pasquo-
tank empties into Albemarle sound about
twelve miles below or south of the terminus
of the canal. The waterway is fed from
Lake Drummond. Il natural reservoir, in
the heart of the swamp, near the boundary
line between the two States and three and
one-half miles distant from the canal.
LAUNDERING was the great industry about
the time the canal was built, and small
bitches cut through the swamp We're used
to float juniper, holly and cypress logs TO
the canal. on the banks of which con-
veniently-stati sawmills converted
them into shingles. railroad ties and tele-
graph poles. The town of Deep Creek
where shingles used to be made by hand.
was 1OurlSnlnS settlement overcoming
with money. In its paimy days smau Ior-
tunes were gambled away at single sit
ting, and the place was IN many respects
like a Western mining town. Now the ma
chine has usurped hand labor, and the prin-
cipal industry of Deep Creek has gone else
where
The canal was navigated by small boats,
and shingles and lumber were got out to
go TO the West Indies before the close OF
the last century. The latest locks were put
in in 1891 The original owners fell into
difficulty after the war. and work which
had cost more than $1,0O00o0 was sold for
$275.0G0. The present owners, under the
corporate title of the Lake Drummond
Canal and Water Company. drew profit
from the transportation of lumber, cotton
and garden truck.
BUTLER'S GREAT SCHEME.
Years ago Gen. benjamin f. Butter orig
mated project in regard to the regenera-
ton of the canal which created a great
Juror at the time, but never came to
head. He was member of Congress at
the time, and introduced bill to make the
Dismal Swamp waterway a ship canal. He
proposed that the government should buy
up a strip of land half mile wide on each
side of the canal, clear it off and convert it
into a monster truck patch for Northern
supply. That was soon after the war, ana
Butler was so jeered at by the hackmen
who drove him to the site of the operations
that he became discouraged. He hnally
gave up his pet project in disgust.
The gradual filling IN or the bed or the
canal and the formation of shoals in the
rivers at either end in all these years since
its construction have made the waterway
unfit for the navigation of vessels or any
considerable draft, and the business OF the
company has been slowly falling off. Care
less rafting has done a great deal toward
the accomplishment of this result, and
numerous dangerous distractions in the
shape of sunken logs are found in the more
shallow places All of the locks are leaky,
and the supply of water from Lake Drum
mond, though abundant is somewhat cut
off by distractions in the feeder. A recent
government survey shows that the water
in some places is only three feet in depth,
and in very dry season sometimes only
two feet.
All this is to be changed now, and
contract has been awarded to p. Nc
Manus, of this city, for the reclamation
New locks. dams and waste weirs are
to be constructed, and the dredging COM
pleted Jan, %, 1888. From, end to end
and a width of sixty feet at the top and
forty feet at the bottom. Experienced men
have been at work on the construction OF
dredging has been in progress nearly as
long.
The IS to be used four in num-
ber r with two log and pile ex-
tracto Iere set up in this city some
time 5 -, and were sent South on lighter
from the foot of Norris street. They are
of a novel design. constructed under the
supervision of Samuel j. HILL They are
technically termed automatic cutting and
uyuLdulC QiGdSillS ludtllliiSo'
Each dredge has two sets Of cutting
blades. not unlike pTopellers in shape, liked
at right angles to vertical shafts. lhey
are placed against the banks that are to
be cut away. and the revolution Lutte OF me
blades car cut to the depth of sixteen
feet, if necessary The loose ia m ma ma
two hydraulic suction hoses, which are
capable of dischdrging on either side OF
the canal The water mixed with the
material deposited on shore flows back into
the canal Each dredge can r, take out about put
$500 cubic yards per day; Inc pie ana Jog
extractors will remove the sunken obstruc-
lions from the bed of the canal; $1,000
was commenced last fall it found
that some of the elementary parts of the
irnplements used were of too light con-
sfriIctiOn. the material to be removed be-
ing harder than was at first supposed. No
little delay has been caused in the dredg-
ing while the weaker parts of the ma
chinery were being replaced by heavy ones,
but the work will be in full progress within
two or three weeks and Contractor Nc
Manus expects TO complete it on schedule