The Savannah morning news., 1901-11-24
WORK MUCH NEEDED
IMPROVEMENT of sKIDAwAY MAR
ROWS WOULD HELP SAVANNAH.
INSIDE ROUTE TO SOUTH.
SHORTENED GREATLY IN TIME
AND DISTANCE BY IMPROVEMENT.


Committee to Capt. c. e. Gillette.
Report, Made Up of Information
Secured and Collated by DIR. l.. A.
Falligant, Gives an Interesting
Account of the Importance of the
Suggested Work of Improvement.
A Much Better Route Than That
Through Romney Marsh--Prelimi-
nary Survey Ordered May Soon Be
Made.
In response to his request. made upon
those citizens of Savannah who have
evinced an interest in the movement.
Capt. C. E. Gillette, engineer officer in
charge of improvements of rivers and
iharbors in the district of Savannah,
has been furnished with information
and data relative to the vital import
arce of the proposed work of widening
and deepening Skidaway Narrows.
The Skidaway Narrows extend from
Thunderbolt to the Ogeechee river,
and even in their present defective and
inconvenient condition are much used
by vessels following the inside route
between Savannah and Brunswick and
Darien and other points on the coast.
In the cary history of the colony they
were regarded as of first Importance
and the ancestors of the present De-
Renne family were granted the land
around Isle of Hope, on condition that
they would defend the narrows against
incursions by the Spaniards. In the
course of the years that have followed
changed conditions, and the action of
the winds and the tides have served to
fill them up, so that they are passabie
only at high water.
1t Is said that something like thirty
miles will be cut off the inside route
If the Skidaway Narrows scheme is
found to be practicable. At present the
narrows are not navigable by any save
the smallest craft, except at high wa
ter, but 1t is believed that dredging
VIII so widen and deepen them as to
admit the passage of steamers and
other larger vessels that ply between
savannah and points to the South.
A considerable volume of business is
handled over the inside route, though
not so much just around Savannah as
near and between Brunswick, Darien
and Fernandina. During the season.
however, great many oysters are
brought to canneries in this neighbor-
hood from down the coast while the
inside route also provides a short, easy
and safe method of reaching the Sa-
vannah mills with the great quanti-
ties of rice grown along the banks of
the rivers to the south.
Congress has passed a resolution
providing for a preliminary survey of
the narrows, to ascertain If their con-
dition and their importance to com
merce render them worthy of i'm
provement by the general government.
Capt. Gillette invited those in a posi-
ton to give information along these
lines to do so, and meet
ing of those interested was held last
February to consider this question, At
this meeting Col. j. H. Estill pre-
sided, and by authority of the meeting,
appointed DR.. L. A. Falligant chair
man of a special committee to secure
and collate information along the lines
suggested by Capt. Gillette.
Yesterday morning Col. Estill trans
mitted to Capt. Gillette the report &c
this committee, which had been filed
with him by DR.. Falligant a day or
TWO before. This report, making an in
terestlng and valuable summary of
the Importance of the narrows to COM
merce along the Georgia coast, Is
dated Nov. 20, addressed to Col. Estill
as chairman of the meeting, and is as
follows:
Having been appointed by you chair
man OF the subordinate committee to
ascertain as far as possible existing
facts bearing upon the Importance of
widening and deepening Skidaway
Narrows for the benefit of local COM
merce between Savannah and the To-
calitieS between Savannah and the
Ogeechee river which are most natu-
rally interested therein, enclose here
with certain papers which have come
into my possession in response to cir
cular letter addressed by me (marked
exhibit AZ and sent to a large num-
Der of parties who could give me all
the information likely to be obtained
from the owners and masters of YES
sells concerned in local coastwise COM
merce. You will also find in the en-
closed letter or package a considerable
list of names of petitioners, signed in
pencil, and which for convenient ex-
animation I have copied in ink
Two important revelations appear to
be developed by these facts. One of
which is that the route of travel is
shorter in time, shorter in distance, ana
in every way safer than the lower route
by way of Romney Marsh, and would
on practically all occasions be used by
boatmen If it were wide enough and
deep enough in its progress through
Skidaway Narrows. One reason for this
preference is that Il is further away
from ocean gales; and another reason
is that there are but four rises and
falls of the tide between Hellgate
and Savannah, as follows: From
Hellgate to high water in the
Narrows on flood tide; from the Mar
rows by Isle of Hope to Wilmington
river on the ebb tide; from Jackson
Point to St. Augustine creek bridge,
and possibly to Savannah, on the next
flood tide, If the wind is favorable, all
of which would only constitute two
flood tides and one ebb tide between
He'll Gate and Savannah.
THE lower route through Romney
March, so far as controlled by rising
and falling tides, independent of wind,
gives an ebb tide from He'll Gate TO
the mouth of Adams river; second, a
food tide in Adams river to the d.
vides'; third, an ebb tide through
Odingsell river TO the mouth OF the
cut through Romney Marsh: fourth. a
food tide through Romney Marsh,
with an ebb tide to Warsaw or Will
mington river, unless a good breeze
drives the boat 10 Warsaw river dur
ing high water: NTH, a pull against
an ebb tide from Warsaw Island 20
Thunderbolt. II the wind is not favor
able; or. sixth. "A wait near Warsaw
until food tide. II the wind IL not fav-
orable. and subsequently all the irregu-