Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-06-19

ed to blast down the bluff and road tc
the top of the ridge, Commissioners Nc
Knight, Gwin, Stanton, Ashe and Wilk'
erson, followed by the representative Of
THE ENQUIRER, reconnoitered the pros
pect up through the woods. The com
missioners referred to made a thorough
examination Of almost every consdera-
ton that seemed to enter into the problem
by which they were confronted. They
had but little to say, and what they did
say was not about the advantages but
rather the disadvantages. None of them
expressed themselves definitely; but
from all he could gather, the reporter
formed the impression that while they
were not especially pleased with the pros.
pect, all of them had seen good roads
constructed under as many, or even more
disadvantages.
The opposite side Of the river did not
appear to receive much attention from the
majority of the board. The proposed
landing was in plain view, only 800 feet
away. All looked at it carefully from the
top Of the bluff and quietly kept their
own counsel.
From Neely's ferry, the commissioners
and the crowd went down to Harris's
ferry-some ON one side Of the river and
some on the other. The distance by wa
ter, 80 the river men all say, is not less
than two miles. BY the road down the
east bank, the distanceis in the neighbor-
hood of four miles; and by the road on
the west bank, it is about two miles-and-
a-half. The reporter was with the party
that went down the west side, and reached
the point of destination considerably in
advance of the party that went down the
east side.
At Harris's ferry, there is another gran
ite bluff similar to that at Neely's ferry,
except that it is not so high, and it Is sit
uated on the opposite or east side OF the
river. Here the width of the stream is
$40 feet. From the edge Of the river to
the foot of the bluff on the east side, the
distance is 1OS feet, and from the edge OF
the river on the other side, to the
top of l0-foot rise above the level
bottom land, is IA feet. The distance
from the bluff to the rise referred to,
over river and all, is 1872 feet. Beyond
the rise at the west side landing is wide
stretch of low level, alluvial bottom that
is not more than 7 or 8 feet above
ordinary water. Then the stream from
bank to bank is wide and sluggish. In
taking across five men in little bateau,
the boatman does not find it necessary to
20 20 feet above bee line to strike q
given point on the opposite bank. The
estimated depth of the river is from to
10 feet, and the bottom is principally mud
and sand.
The commissioners and others took in
every detail of the situation and talked 1t
over thoroughly among themselves. One
of the commissioners did some rough
figuring like this: IF 1872 feet Of bridge
and approaches at Harris's ferry can be
built for $1,000; then leaving out of con-
sideration the difference between rock
and earth bottoms, the $40 feet Of bridge
and approaches at Neely's ferry, ought to
be built for S8,137. In speaking of the
low bottoms between the proposed bridge
landing on the west side of Harris's ferry,
some of the people in the neighborhood
SAID they had known the water to be
over them deep enough to swim horse.
Others who had been living right there
for years, said that the water did not get
over the bottoms oftener than once in
five years, while Neely's ferry advocates
claimed that when the water got high
enough to flood the proposed east side
landing at the upper site, the west side
landing at the lower site could only be
reached with fiat boat, and so on. All
of this, however, was in the nature OF
side remarks. There was no quarrel and
all parties appeared to be in the utmost
good humor.
After the members of the board had
seen all they wanted to see and learned
all that it was practicable to learn, at the
call of the supervisor, they withdrew
from the crowd and assembled in the
shade of clump of trees growing on the
north side of the rock which forms the
proposed Harris's ferry abutment. Here
the proceedings were opened by MIR.
Wilkerson, who stated that notwithstand-
ing all that be had seen, he was still very
much undecided as to how to vote, and,
therefore, he moved that further action
be suspended until the next regular meet
ing of the board, OH Monday, July 5.
Mr.. Brice seconded the motion, saying
that had Mr.. Wilkerson not done so, he
would have made just such a motion
himself. 1t was his desire to vote on this
matter intelligently and correctly, and
this he felt sure that he was unable to do
at that particular time.
Mr.. Stanton was also for postponement,
if for nothing else, to get estimates as to
the cost of building road to the pro-
posed approach at Neely's ferry.
Mr.. Culp said that he had been inform
ed by bridge men that bridge material
was $40 ton cheaper now than had ever
been known before. This was because of
the collapse of the trust not long before.
The probability was that the trust might
succeed in a reorganization at an early
day, and, if so, prices would go up. For
this re ason the bridge men suggested that
delay was to be avoided.
Major White suggested that the advice
OF the bridgemen might possibly be due
to over-anxiety to begin work.
Mr.. Gwin inquired into the parliament
tary status of the bridge resolution, and
the inquiry developed the fact that the