River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1902-05-15
TO AVOID CAPE HATTERAs.
sysfem Of Canals and Channels
Planned by the Government ZOE
Protection of ships.

Cane Hatteras, the most dangerous
point upon the Atlantic seapoaru' VIII
cease to exist as a menace TO coast
wise navigation if the present plans Oh
the United States government are car
ried out, the details of whlch VIII oe
called to the attention OF congress a'
the present session, and an approprla-
ton urgedNfor their execution stateS
the Washington Star.
For carnations the name OF cape
Eatteras has been synonymous WIN
storms, shipwrecks and loss OF me-
All sorts of schemes have been pro-
posed to minimize its dangers. Mil
lions of dollars have been spent in at
tempts to properly light the celebrated
Diamond shoals, which surround cape
Hatteras. 1t was found Impossible
after years of labor to build hght-
house there. The heaviest ana stanch-
est lightship ever constructed was
placed at Diamond shoals only to be
blown away from her giant mushroom
anchors.
During all this time steamers lost
their bearings, vessels were driven
ashore and millions of dollars worth
of propertv and hundreds of lives con-
tinued to be lost. Every winter brought
a long record of disaster on Cape HAT
teraS.
The sailors coming from San Fran
cisco dreaded this one spot more than
any other in the long voyage round
the Horn. The coastwise vessels tried
to give it a wide berth. But 1t has re-
NAMED as a permanent menace to nav
igation, and has done more to inJure
roastwise commerce on the Atlantic
than any other agency.
The plan to avoid the cape contem-
plates an ingenious and thoroughly
practicable system of inland canals
and channels, by which the coastwlse
trade will be enabled to pass behlnd
Cape Hatteras protected from the fury
of the ocean the whole way down the
coast by low lying sand bars.
The Dismal swamp canal, mser'
able ditch of comparatively small I'M
portance, is to be DEEPEN Jed through
it's whole length. Here, hordered by
cypress, gum and magnolia, large
coastwise vessels can sail or tow In
safety.
The extra insurance now put on
ships because of Cape Hatteras and
it's dangers will, it is claimed, more
than pay for the cost of towage IN
this nev inside route The saving in
time Il be great, and the safety to
human life will be an item of no small
Importance.
The magnificent feet of yachts kept
in northern waters can then pass up
and down the coast in safety. When
the inside route is finished a great adj
vance in coastwise transportation is
expected to take place.
An inside passage from Boston to
Florida is believed by officials to be
one of the possibilities of the future.
The present plan is looked at as the
first and most important step i'll this
development.
TO large extent the proposed wa"
! terway is natural one and to fit 1T
for the passage of vessels of the larger
class, as contemplated in the survey
now being made, is simply a matter OF
dredging channels through the vari-
our sounds lying back of the narrow
strip of land which forms Cape Hat
teras and the dangerous coast on it's
north and south
Hampton Roads, which will be the
northern entrance to the inside pas
sage, is considered one of the safest
and most easy of access of all the har-
bors on the coast. Vessels will pass
into the Elizabeth river at Norfolk
and thence down the Dismal swamp
canal to PasquOtank, into Albemarle
sound, Pamlico sound, Gore sound,
Back sound and Beaufort harbor
When the improvements contem-
| plated are made it. is probable that
| the "inside route" will be continued be-
| low Beaufort inlet. This will give the
United States the greatest stretch Of
protected water in the world. 1t will
| be valuable in war time, as small war
ships and whole fleets of torpedo boats
can pass from northern waters almost
to the gulf without going outside.