Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1903-08-19

Henderson Mail.l

/. Y
Dr. s. NJ. Orr and family havo returned
from ten days camping tour in the
Sapphire country. They took the route
by Walhalla to Clayton, down Tonnes,
see Valley and then went up Mud Creek
to "The Flats where they camped
couple of days, and then to Cashiers
Valley.
While in the mountains DIR. Orr visited
the maoh-talked-of dam ut Lake Toxa-
way and examined IL. When asked ma to
the probable durability of the dam, he
replied:
"The dam is built of clay and rock,
and is very much the shape of w.,
The top of the ", or dam, is about 4Sb
feet long. The bottom of the W is
about 100 feet. The width of the dam at
the top is 90 feet and at the bottom 2eo
feet There is layer of stone put in on
tho upper side of the dam 10 feot thick.
There is also a layer of stone put on the
lower side of the dam feet thick. Over
this rock is 1S inches of earth, which has
been sodded, and makes very pretty
green appearance. There is a spillway
on the south side of the dam about 100
feet from the dam, which is blasted out
of solid rock, and is 80 feet wide. This
spillway is IL feet lower than the dam.
Onsthe upper side of the dam break
wator has been built to overcome the
effects of the waves, as it was found nec-
essary to do this from the experience of
last March, as the waves came nearly
over the top of the dam at that time.
This breakwater consists of locust posts
IL feet long imbedded in the dam, with
stringers and spiling, and two-inoh boards
driven down in the dam. Since this
breakwater has been built it has had the
effect of stopping all the force of the
waves of the dam"
The water over the spillway comes too
close to the dam at present, and DIR. Orr
recommended to the engineer that wall
of masonry be built feet wide and 90
feet long to carry this waste water en-
tirely away from the foot of the dam,
which will be done at once, as tho rock
has already been blasted out of the spill
way and will be used for this purpose.
In examining the bottom of the dam
it was discovered that more water was
going from this place than came into it
from the spillway, which looked as if
there was aleak through the dam. But,
upon investigation, it was found that
this water was coming from two free
stone springs and one sulphur spring.
They each have their origin from the
lower or down side of the dam, and were
piped into the stream below the dam,
and consequently did not come through
the dam at all.
DR.. Orr is convinced that there is no
leak from the dam at all nor evor has
been. When asked as to what effect the
bursting of the dam would have on Port
man dam, he replied:
eff Toxaway lake should burst it
would probably raise the water over
Portman dam Is inches, or at the most
"a inches. But as our last freshet went
over the spillway of the dam nine and
one-half feet, this little rise would not
bother us much. During tho last cloud
burst, which occurred about June 6, and
caused the water at POrtman to rise to
the unprecedented level of nine and one
half feet, the large dam at Sapphire,
which is on Horse Pasture river, and
which is nearly three times as largo as
Toxaway river, did burst and come down
on us. Now if Sapphire dam, in addi-
tion to water-spout and cloudburst,
didn't hurt us, l have no dread what
ever of the break in Toxaway lake, even
if such thing should happen.
~ had read SO much in the newspapers
about this lake, and was interested 80
much from financial point of view that
| was very anxious to examine it, and
the result of my examination is that so
far as Portnan dam is concerned don't
care cuss whether Toxway dam bursts
or not"